CHMP-FM

CHMP-FM is a French language Canadian radio station located in Montreal, Quebec. While the station's official city of license is and always has been Longueuil, both its studios and transmitter site are in Montreal, and it identifies itself as a Montreal station.

Owned and operated by Corus Entertainment, it broadcasts on 98.5 MHz with an effective radiated power of 40,800 watts (class C1) using an omnidirectional antenna.

Since April 2, 2007, the station has a fulltime talk radio format (except for some music shows on Saturdays and Sundays and also, effective for the 2007-2008 season, simulcasts of the Montreal Canadiens (NHL hockey) play-by-play from sister station CKAC). The station identifies itself as "98,5 FM" and is one of the few full-time FM talk stations in North America to broadcast in stereo.

From February 2005 until April 1, 2007, the station had an all-talk format only during Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) regulated hours (it played continuous music at night). While the station wanted to switch to such a format beginning in January 2004, it was previously unable to do so because of CRTC regulations limiting talk shows on the FM band and aired a mix of talk and adult contemporary music in 2004 and early 2005. Notable hosts include popular morningman Paul Arcand and afternoon drive host Paul Houde; while Jacques Fabi is heard every weekday night on the station, it is actually a simulcast that originates from CKAC. Gilles Proulx was also heard on the station, from 2004 until his retirement on August 7, 2008. [http://www.cyberpresse.ca/article/20080808/CPARTS/808080622/5050/CPPRESSE]

The station went on the air as CIEL-FM on April 9, 1977 and had an adult contemporary format. In August 2000, the station's call sign was changed to CKOO-FM as it switched to an alternative rock format branded as "COOL-FM". The format was changed to modern rock in 2001, and classic rock in 2003, but the branding as "COOL-FM" continued to be used and all those rock music formats failed to attract listeners. The station announced it would implement a talk format on November 27, 2003, and immediately started to air continuous Christmas music until the new format was launched on January 5, 2004.

The call sign CIEL-FM ("ciel" being French for "sky") is used since 2001 by a station in Rivière-du-Loup formerly known as CJFP-FM.

CHMP-FM holds the distinction of being the last station to broadcast from the legendary 211 Gordon Avenue studios in Verdun, which had been home to CKVL and CKOI-FM for decades. The station moved to new studios in Place Bonaventure in Downtown Montreal on July 29, 2006; the old 211 Gordon Avenue studios were demolished in December 2006.

Another station, namely CJRM-FM, previously used the 98.5 MHz frequency in Montreal during the late 1960s.

External links

* [http://www.985fm.ca 98,5 FM]
*RecnetCanada|CHMP-FM