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CJMS (defunct)
Encyclopedia
CJMS 1280 was a French language
Canadian
radio station
located in Montreal
, Quebec
.
The station went on the air on April 25, 1954. CJMS got an FM sister station in 1964 as CJMS-FM (later CKMF-FM
) began operations. The AM station adopted a highly popular Top 40 format
in the 1960s and became the flagship
of the (now-defunct) Radiomutuel network in 1969. The Top 40 format remained popular until the late 1970s, but it started to lose listeners rapidly in the early 1980s due to the increasing availability and popularity of FM radio
.
CJMS, along with other Radiomutuel stations, switched to a news/talk
format in the early 1980s, which resulted in Quebec having two separate popular AM
news/talk networks covering most of the province (the other one being Telemedia
, whose flagship was competitor CKAC
). For various reasons, including the prolonged economic recession
, the licensing of Télévision Quatre Saisons in 1986 which persisted in their practice of selling advertising
for extremely low fees, the presence of a third French-language news/talk station in Montreal (CKVL
) and a general migration of listeners from AM to FM, both networks had less-than-stellar financial performances.
Telemedia and Radiomutuel secretly decided to merge their operations to form the Radiomédia network in June 1994. While both AM networks were losing money overall, Raynald Brière (then general manager of CJMS and vice-president of the Radiomutuel network) admitted in a 2006 interview that both CJMS and CKAC were profitable, with the later being slightly more profitable, although the profit margins of both stations were low.
The merger deal was publicly announced on Friday, September 30, 1994 at 9:15 AM, and in each of the six markets where the two networks competed, programming on the station slated to be closed immediately stopped and was replaced with continuous music fed directly at the transmitter
site. The music continued until 6 PM, when all six stations targeted shut down. The last song played on CJMS was Michel Fugain
's "Tout va changer" ("Everything will change").
In every market the station with the best signal was kept, and even though CJMS 1280 had a fulltime 50,000 watt
s signal, it was no match compared with CKAC's clear-channel status on a lower frequency (730 kHz). Thus CJMS became one of the very few 50,000 watts AM giants to shut down in North America
's radio broadcasting history.
As most of CKAC's new programming was actually composed of shows, hosts and journalists previously heard on CJMS, it led some critics to nickname CKAC as "CJMS 730" or "Le CJMS renouvelé à la fréquence 730" ("The rejuvenated CJMS at 730 on the radio dial"), and some pre-1994 CKAC fans still claim today that it is CKAC which actually really died in 1994.
Since 1999, there is a new station using the call sign CJMS in the Montreal area, however it has no links whatsoever with the old CJMS. While that new station initially tried to get permission to broadcast on 1280 kHz (hence their choice of call letters CJMS), they were denied that frequency as the old CJMS owners had chosen to sell their transmitter site to multilingual station CFMB
, which applied successfully to move from 1410 kHz to 1280 kHz.
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
located in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
.
The station went on the air on April 25, 1954. CJMS got an FM sister station in 1964 as CJMS-FM (later CKMF-FM
CKMF-FM
CKMF-FM is a French-language Canadian radio station located in Montreal, Quebec.Owned and operated by Astral Media, it broadcasts on 94.3 MHz with an effective radiated power of 41,400 watts using an omnidirectional antenna from the Mount Royal candelabra tower.The station has a contemporary hit...
) began operations. The AM station adopted a highly popular Top 40 format
Radio format
A radio format or programming format not to be confused with broadcast programming describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. Radio formats are frequently employed as a marketing tool, and constantly evolve...
in the 1960s and became the flagship
Flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
of the (now-defunct) Radiomutuel network in 1969. The Top 40 format remained popular until the late 1970s, but it started to lose listeners rapidly in the early 1980s due to the increasing availability and popularity of FM radio
FM broadcasting
FM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"...
.
CJMS, along with other Radiomutuel stations, switched to a news/talk
Talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
format in the early 1980s, which resulted in Quebec having two separate popular AM
AM broadcasting
AM broadcasting is the process of radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation. AM was the first method of impressing sound on a radio signal and is still widely used today. Commercial and public AM broadcasting is carried out in the medium wave band world wide, and on long wave and short wave...
news/talk networks covering most of the province (the other one being Telemedia
Telemedia
Telemedia was a Canadian media company, which had holdings in radio, television and magazine publishing.The company was launched in 1968 by Philippe de Gaspé Beaubien.Telemedia was held privately until it became publicly traded in the late 1980s....
, whose flagship was competitor CKAC
CKAC (AM)
CKAC is a French-language Canadian radio station located in Montreal, Quebec, currently broadcasting a traffic information format as Radio Circulation 730....
). For various reasons, including the prolonged economic recession
Recession
In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction, a general slowdown in economic activity. During recessions, many macroeconomic indicators vary in a similar way...
, the licensing of Télévision Quatre Saisons in 1986 which persisted in their practice of selling advertising
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
for extremely low fees, the presence of a third French-language news/talk station in Montreal (CKVL
CINF (AM)
CINF was a French language Canadian radio station located in Montreal, Quebec.Owned and operated by Corus Quebec, it broadcasted on 690 kHz with a power of 50,000 watts as a clear channel station, using a slightly directional antenna solely for the purpose of improving reception in downtown...
) and a general migration of listeners from AM to FM, both networks had less-than-stellar financial performances.
Telemedia and Radiomutuel secretly decided to merge their operations to form the Radiomédia network in June 1994. While both AM networks were losing money overall, Raynald Brière (then general manager of CJMS and vice-president of the Radiomutuel network) admitted in a 2006 interview that both CJMS and CKAC were profitable, with the later being slightly more profitable, although the profit margins of both stations were low.
The merger deal was publicly announced on Friday, September 30, 1994 at 9:15 AM, and in each of the six markets where the two networks competed, programming on the station slated to be closed immediately stopped and was replaced with continuous music fed directly at the transmitter
Transmitter
In electronics and telecommunications a transmitter or radio transmitter is an electronic device which, with the aid of an antenna, produces radio waves. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to the antenna. When excited by this alternating...
site. The music continued until 6 PM, when all six stations targeted shut down. The last song played on CJMS was Michel Fugain
Michel Fugain
Michel Fugain is a French singer and composer. Originally he released music along with his singers and dancers entitled "Le Big Bazar" but went for a more solo approach 1977. In 1969 he published his first album: Je n'aurai pas le temps...
's "Tout va changer" ("Everything will change").
In every market the station with the best signal was kept, and even though CJMS 1280 had a fulltime 50,000 watt
Watt
The watt is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units , named after the Scottish engineer James Watt . The unit, defined as one joule per second, measures the rate of energy conversion.-Definition:...
s signal, it was no match compared with CKAC's clear-channel status on a lower frequency (730 kHz). Thus CJMS became one of the very few 50,000 watts AM giants to shut down in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
's radio broadcasting history.
As most of CKAC's new programming was actually composed of shows, hosts and journalists previously heard on CJMS, it led some critics to nickname CKAC as "CJMS 730" or "Le CJMS renouvelé à la fréquence 730" ("The rejuvenated CJMS at 730 on the radio dial"), and some pre-1994 CKAC fans still claim today that it is CKAC which actually really died in 1994.
Since 1999, there is a new station using the call sign CJMS in the Montreal area, however it has no links whatsoever with the old CJMS. While that new station initially tried to get permission to broadcast on 1280 kHz (hence their choice of call letters CJMS), they were denied that frequency as the old CJMS owners had chosen to sell their transmitter site to multilingual station CFMB
CFMB (AM)
CFMB is a multilingual Canadian radio station located in Montreal, Quebec.It broadcasts on 1280 kHz with a power of 50,000 watts fulltime as a class B station, using a directional antenna with different patterns day and night .The station has a multilingual format targeting ethnic minorities and...
, which applied successfully to move from 1410 kHz to 1280 kHz.
Trivia
- CJMS was the world's first French-language station to broadcast in AM stereoAM stereoAM stereo is a term given to a series of mutually incompatible techniques for wireless radio broadcasting stereo audio in the AM band in a manner that is compatible with standard AM receivers...
. The station used the C-QUAMC-QUAMC-QUAM is the method of AM stereo broadcasting used in Canada, the United States and most other countries. It was invented in 1977 by Norman Parker, Francis Hilbert, and Yoshio Sakaie, and published in an IEEE journal....
system, starting in June 1983, until it ceased operations.
External links
- CJMS historical information at Canadian Communications FoundationCanadian Communications FoundationThe Canadian Communications Foundation is a history of Canadian broadcasting for radio and television chronicles and documents. It also provides a history of radio and television stations, including networks, programs, broadcasters and many others....