CJFM-FM

CJFM-FM (95.9 FM) is a commercial English-language radio station located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Owned and operated by Bell Media, the station broadcasts a Top 40/CHR format branded as 95.9 Virgin Radio.

CJFM-FM
Broadcast areaGreater Montreal
Frequency95.9 MHz (FM)
Branding95.9 Virgin Radio
Programming
FormatTop 40/CHR
Ownership
Owner
CJAD, CKGM, CHOM-FM, CITE-FM, CKMF-FM, CFCF-DT, CFJP-DT
History
First air date
October 1, 1962
Call sign meaning
CJAD-FM (initial call sign)
Technical information
ClassC1
ERP41,200 watts
HAAT297.4 meters (976 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
45°30′20.16″N 73°35′30.12″W
Links
WebcastListen Live
Websiteiheartradio.ca/virginradio/montreal

CJFM-FM broadcasts with an effective radiated power of 41,200 watts (Class C1) using an omnidirectional antenna located atop Mount Royal, at 297.4 metres (975') in height above average terrain. Its studios are located at the Bell Media building at 1717 René-Lévesque Boulevard East in Downtown Montreal.

History

The station first signed on the air on October 1, 1962.[1] Owner CJAD, Ltd. initially intended to use the call sign CJAD-FM, to pair it with its sister AM station, but would settle on using its current call letters. CJFM was one of four FM stations which came on the air in the 1960s using common transmitting facilities on the new Mount Royal tower, the other stations being CFCF-FM, CJMS-FM and CKGM-FM.

CJFM 96 had several formats through the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, including easy listening, album-oriented rock and adult contemporary. By 1992, CJFM changed monikers to Mix 96, and altered its format to a more Top 40-leaning hot AC format. In that era, the CRTC did not want FM stations airing a Top 40 format in order to protect the AM band, so FM stations like CJFM went as far as they could with Hot AC, featuring a broader playlist than AM Top 40 stations.

From 1962 to 2007, CJFM was owned by Standard Broadcasting. Standard Broadcasting sold the station to Astral Media in 2007. In 2013, Astral was acquired by Bell Media.[2]

Virgin Radio (2009-present)
Mix 96 logo

On December 4, 2008, Astral announced that CJFM, as with sister stations CKQB-FM in Ottawa and CKZZ-FM in Vancouver, would be rebranded as a "Virgin Radio" station, effective January 12, 2009.[3][4] This is in addition to an existing "Virgin" station, CKFM-FM in Toronto.

On January 12, at 4 p.m., the station rebranded as Virgin Radio 96. The final song played on "Mix" was "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" by Great Big Sea, while the first song played on "Virgin" was Madonna's "Like a Virgin". CJFM kept the same hot AC format and most of its on-air staff from its "Mix" days, albeit with several programming changes. By July 2016, CJFM made the transition to Top 40/CHR, putting it in line with the "Virgin" branding that Bell Media has been expanding in Canada.

Previously, when CIDC-FM in Toronto moved from dance hits to mainstream Top 40, CJFM was the only radio station in Canada playing dance Top 40 music every day. From Sunday to Thursday, the all-dance hours were midnight to 3 a.m., and Fridays and Saturdays from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m.

On March 4, 2018, CJFM rebranded as 95.9 Virgin Radio, dropping the "96" from its branding for the first time in the station's history.

In October 2021, WYUL in Chateaugay, New York (which serves the Montreal area) was sold to the Educational Media Foundation and flipped to contemporary Christian music as K-Love, leaving CJFM as the only English-language CHR station in Montreal.

On November 19, 2021, longtime DJ MC Mario was let go. He had been hosting "The Top 10 Mix Down" and "The House Party."

References
  1. Broadcasting Yearbook 1964 page B-185
  2. "CRTC approves Bell-Astral merger". CBC. Retrieved 5 July 2013.
  3. "CNW Group | ASTRAL MEDIA INC. | Astral Media ignites the radio industry with the launch of three more Virgin Radio stations in Canada". Archived from the original on 2008-12-07. Retrieved 2008-12-04.
  4. "Mix96 deviendra Virgin Radio - Matin - Montréal". Archived from the original on 2008-12-22. Retrieved 2009-01-02.
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