CHBE-FM (107.3 MHz) is a commercial

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radi ...

in Victoria,

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include ...

. The station is owned by

Bell Media Bell Media Inc. (French: ) is a Canadian company formed by the amalgamation of several companies. Establishment (2011–13) On December 9, 2011, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan announced the sale of its majority stake in Maple Leaf Sports ...

and broadcasts a Top 40/CHR

format Format may refer to: Printing and visual media * Text formatting, the typesetting of text elements * Paper formats, or paper size standards * Newspaper format, the size of the paper page Computing * File format, particular way that informati ...

. The

radio studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for sound recording, mixing, and audio production of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large en ...

s and offices are on Broad Street in Victoria. CHBE has an

effective radiated power Effective radiated power (ERP), synonymous with equivalent radiated power, is an IEEE standardized definition of directional radio frequency (RF) power, such as that emitted by a radio transmitter. It is the total power in watts that would ...

(ERP) of 20,000

watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Wa ...

s horizontal polarization only. The

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to ...

is on Claudette Court in Victoria. CHBE broadcasts using

HD Radio HD Radio (HDR) is a trademark for an in-band on-channel (IBOC) digital radio broadcast technology. It generally simulcasts an existing analog radio station in digital format with less noise and with additional text information. HD Radio is used ...

technology. The HD-2

digital subchannel In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a method of transmitting more than one independent program stream simultaneously from the same digital radio or television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compressi ...

carries the talk format on co-owned

CFAX CFAX (1070 AM) is a news/ talk radio station in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. It was independently run until September 30, 2004, when it was taken over by Canadian media company CHUM Limited. Its sister station is CHBE-FM, which began b ...

. The HD3 subchannel rebroadcasts the comedy format heard on CKST.

History

CFEX (2000-2004)

The station received approval in October 1999. It originally launched in May 26, 2000 as CFEX, a

modern rock Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music. Radio format Mod ...

station branded as ''Extreme 107.3''. It was owned by Seacoast Communications, which also owned

in the city. On August 16, 2002, at 1:07 p.m., it changed to adult hits as ''B107.3''.

Kool FM (2004-2019)

CFAX and CHBE were acquired by CHUM Limited in November

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

. On the 19th of that month, CHBE began playing all

Christmas music Christmas music comprises a variety of genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or, in the case of carols or songs, may employ lyrics whose subject m ...

. At Midnight on December 26, CHBE changed to

hot AC Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, qui ...

as ''107.3 Kool FM'', bringing back the format since CHTT-FM flipped to adult hits in January that year. Kool's first song was

The Black Eyed Peas Black Eyed Peas (also known as The Black Eyed Peas) is an American musical group consisting of rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Taboo. The group's line-up during the height of their popularity in the 2000s featured Fergie, who replaced Kim H ...

' '' Let's Get It Started''. CHUM Ltd., in turn, was purchased on June 22,

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ...

by CTVglobemedia, which now owns CFAX, CHBE and CIVI-TV in Victoria. Months later, CTVglobemedia would acquire CFBT-FM in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. Th ...

, with CHBE shifting to Top 40/CHR. The shift to

top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "conte ...

proved unsuccessful, and around August 2010, songs from the

1980s File:1980s replacement montage02.PNG, 420px, From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, ''Columbia'', lifts off in 1981; US president Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev ease tensions between the two superpowers, leading to t ...

and 1990s were phased back in the playlist, bringing the station back to hot AC. The station placed 3rd in the Spring 2012 BBM Ratings for Victoria. In its final rating survey as "Kool", the radio station placed 6th for the fall 2018 Numeris Diary Survey for Victoria.http://assets.numeris.ca/Downloads/2018_Fall_Radio_DI_TopLineReports.pdf

Virgin Radio (2019-present)

On February 8, 2019, the station re-branded as ''107.3 Virgin Radio''. The last song played on "Kool" was " Thank U, Next" by

Ariana Grande Ariana Grande-Butera ( ; born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Her four-octave vocal range has received critical acclaim, and her personal life has been the subject of widespread media attention. She has received ...

, while the first song on "Virgin" was " High Hopes" by Panic! At the Disco.

References

External links

107.3 Virgin Radio
* *

HBE Hemoglobin E (HbE) is an abnormal hemoglobin with a single point mutation in the β chain. At position 26 there is a change in the amino acid, from glutamic acid to lysine (E26K). Hemoglobin E is very common among people of Southeast Asian, Northea ...

Radio stations established in 2000 2000 establishments in British Columbia Virgin Radio {{BritishColumbia-radio-station-stub