CHOU ( ' ; ; ) is a

multilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. When the languages are just two, it is usually called bilingualism. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolin ...

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

radio station Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting 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 rad ...

broadcasting in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

at 1450 kHz and retransmitted at 104.5 MHz. The main programming is in

Arabic language Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

and caters for various Arab and Middle Eastern communities in Greater Montreal and vicinity in Arabic including Lebanese, Syrian, Egyptian and Maghrebi dialects. CHOU also runs a two-hour weekly show in Armenian. It is also offered online and on various applications. In 2016, Middle East Radio also launched CHHU-FM (99.1 MHz) in

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...

, with a multicultural/multilingual programming licence, with most of its programming in the Arabic language in addition to various multilingual programming in 10 different languages.

History

The station started its Arabic programming in 1996. For almost 10 years, and until early 2007, the station used SCMO (Subsidiary Communications Multiplex Operations) service located under the main carrier of CISM-FM. Subscribing listeners would have to buy special receiving devices to be able to tune in to the broadcasts. Radio Moyen-Orient/Middle East Radio received approval to broadcast on 1450 by the CRTC on March 15, 2006,Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2006-82
Ethnic AM radio station in Montréal, ''CRTC'', March 15, 2006 enabling the station to broadcast starting January 18, 2007 on the newly assigned AM channel without any need for acquiring special devices by listeners. This resulted in a big increase in the listenership of the station. The 1450 kHz frequency had been previously used by

CHEF A chef is a professional Cook (profession), cook and tradesperson who is proficient in all aspects of outline of food preparation, food preparation, often focusing on a particular cuisine. The word "chef" is derived from the term (), the di ...

, a station in Granby, approximately east of Montreal. That station had stopped operations in 1996 and the frequency was reallocated to CHOU. Middle East Radio main studios are located on de Meulles Avenue in the Cartierville region of Montreal. CHOU broadcasts on 1450

kHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in terms of SI base uni ...

with a power of 2,000

watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of Power (physics), 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 quantification (science), quantify the rate of Work ...

s as a class B station, using an

omnidirectional antenna In radio communication, an omnidirectional antenna is a class of antenna (electronics), antenna which radiates equal radio power in all directions perpendicular to an Cartesian coordinate system, axis (azimuthal directions), with power varying wi ...

. It was originally authorized to use only 1,000 watts; the power increase was implemented after being authorized in 2008. On October 1, 2013, CHOU submitted an application to the CRTC for a new FM transmitter in St-Léonard, on the east end of Montreal Island, which was to operate at 104.5 MHz with 50 watts. The application was denied by the CRTC on October 7, 2014, as they felt that there were no broadcasting deficiencies of the 1450 AM signal within its immediate broadcast area, in addition to interference concerns with

CKDG-FM CKDG-FM is a radio station located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Owned and operated by Groupe CHCR Inc. (formerly Canadian Hellenic Cable Radio), it broadcasts on 105.1 MHz using a directional antenna with an average effective radiated power of 52 ...

105.1, and CBME-FM's 104.7 transmitter in

Notre-Dame-de-Grâce Notre-Dame-de-Grâce (, , ), commonly known as NDG, is a residential neighbourhood of Montreal in the city's West End, with a population of 166,520 (2016). An independent municipality until annexed by the City of Montreal in 1910, NDG is today o ...

, on the west side of Montreal. However, on February 26, 2016, the CRTC reversed course and approved the transmitter application. The FM retransmitter with a height of 60 meters (200 feet), is located near Pie-IX Blvd, and broadcasts mainly cover Eastern Montreal at a low power of 49 watts, but its FM signal reportedly reach parts of Western Montreal, Ahunstic, Ville Saint Laurent and Laval as well, which is a similar coverage as for the AM signal. Unlike other FM stations, the CHOU-1-FM 104.5 FM retransmitting signal is in mono.

Ownership

The station is owned and operated by 9015-2018 Québec inc., an independent company doing business under the name "Radio Moyen Orient du Canada". The broadcaster received approval to broadcast by the CRTC on March 15, 2006, and began broadcasting on January 18, 2007 with an AM signal on 1450 AM. The two founders/owners of the radio station are Antoine (Tony) Karam and Zeina El-Soueidi.

Expansion to Halifax, Nova Scotia

On September 15, 2015, Middle East Radio's application for its second radio station channel with a multicultural and multilingual programming licence in

was approved by the CRTC. The new station was assigned the call sign CHHU-FM and started broadcasting on 99.1 MHz/FM with a power of 600 watts. The station is owned by Radio Moyen-Orient (in English Middle East Radio) and licensed to Antoine (Tony) Karam (on behalf of a corporation to be incorporated) receiving CRTC approval.Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2015-424
Specialty ethnic FM radio station in Halifax, ''CRTC'', September 15, 2015 CHHU-FM will eventually broadcast programming in ten languages, though its main target audience will be Halifax's

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

-speaking community, as the station will broadcast exclusively in Arabic during the day and in other languages during night hours. CHHU-FM currently has no studio in the Halifax area, though they intend on building one in the future; in the interim, programming originates from a dedicated studio at the

sister station, CHOU.CBC News: "Halifax Arabic-language radio station begins testing signal - Station promises programming in over 10 different languages, but only Arabic during the day", February 26, 2016.
/ref> where there is a studio dedicated to Halifax programming. CHHU-FM began testing on 99.1 MHz on February 26, 2016 and began regular broadcasting in April 2016.

Further planned expansions

The Middle East Radio media group also announced that expansion to Halifax will be part of a larger network that will share on-air content. Antoine (Tony) Karam said that his company was building a bigger network that will expand further to Ottawa and Edmonton where there are sizable Arab Canadian communities.

Format

CHOU has a variety format which mainly targets the local Arabic community; most of its programming is accordingly done using the various

Arabic dialects Varieties of Arabic (or dialects or vernaculars) are the linguistic systems that Arabic speakers speak natively. Arabic is a Semitic languages, Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic family that originated in the Arabian P ...

including: * Lebanese dialect *

Syrian Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine and Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend ...

dialect *

Egyptian ''Egyptian'' describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of year ...

dialect * Iraqi dialect *

Maghrebi Arabic Maghrebi Arabic, often known as ''ad-Dārija'' to differentiate it from Literary Arabic, is a vernacular Arabic dialect continuum spoken in the Maghreb. It includes the Moroccan, Algerian, Tunisian, Libyan, Hassaniya and Saharan Arabic di ...

dialects from Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco. The station covers local, artistic and religious events for many

MENA The Middle East and North Africa (MENA), also referred to as West Asia and North Africa (WANA) or South West Asia and North Africa (SWANA), is a geographic region which comprises the Middle East (also called West Asia) and North Africa together ...

(Middle East and North Africa) communities in Quebec and Canada. CHOU also carries news and discussion programming from ''

Voice of Lebanon Voice of Lebanon (; ; VDL) is a private radio station in Lebanon, owned by the Kataeb Party since 1958. In December 2010, two rival Lebanese radio stations using the same name ran at the same time,

'' and Monte Carlo Doualiya. CHOU also runs a two-hour weekly show in

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

Rebroadcasters

References

External links

Official Group Radio Moyen-Orient website

CHOU history
-

Canadian Communications Foundation The Canadian Communications Foundation (CCF) was a Canadian nonprofit organization which documented the history of broadcasting in Canada, particularly radio and television networks, programs and broadcasters. The organization was established in ...

* {{Montreal Radio Arab-Canadian culture Armenian-Canadian culture Middle Eastern-Canadian culture in Quebec HOU HOU Arabic-language radio stations Radio stations established in 1996 1996 establishments in Quebec