CIMI-FM
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| CIMI-FM | |
| City of license | Quebec City, Quebec |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 103.7 MHz (FM) |
| Format | talk radio / modern rock |
| Power | 20 watts |
| Owner | |
| Website | http://www.cimifm.com |
CIMI-FM is a French-language talk radio and modern rock radio station in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The station broadcasts at 103.7 FM and broadcasts from the borough of Charlesbourg.
Contents |
[edit] History
The non-profit organization which manages the radio station was registered in December 1999 by three young promoters, Philippe Bélanger, Domenica Tessier, Pierre-Luc Dancause, and the board of directors sat for the first time in January 2000. During the summer of 2000, a business plan was assembled, a technical study carried out and an application for a broadcast license was filed with the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). On 31 March 2001, the CRTC granted the license and the station began broadcasting on 10 August of the same year at 4:15 p.m.
In the beginning, 24-year-old Philippe Bélanger was program director and hosted the station's launch. The station would broadcast exclusively French-language music during the day, and Canadian, American, and British alternative rock in the evening and overnight.
On 2 July 2002, André Arthur took to the microphone at CIMI after he was dismissed from CJMF-FM ("FM 93") in November 2001. Arthur then signed with CKNU in Donnacona (owned by Genex Communications) in August 2002, where the program would now originate and be simulcast to CIMI. Between 2002 and 2005, in spite of relatively good ratings, the station's weak signal made it hard to keep sponsors, as Genex was more interested in bringing advertisers to CKNU, to the detriment of the small Charlesbourg community radio station. As CIMI accumulated complaints, and telecommunications giants like Astral Media (past owner of CHRC) and Cogeco (FM 93) accused the small station of not respecting its broadcasting mandate, they began to lose advertising revenue. François Beaulé (formerly of CHRC) directed the station from 2003 until the summer of 2005. The station now offered programming more focused on "talk radio" and has as its slogan "la radio qui vous parle à Québec" ("Radio which talks to you in Quebec City").
In October 2005, CKNU was sold to RNC Media, the transaction was approved before the holidays, and everyone was laid off. CIMI lost its programming, but it applied for an increase in power and an antenna relocation, along with a frequency change to 106.9. This application was refused by the CRTC, and the frequency was obtained by Corus Entertainment to serve Trois-Rivières in order to move CHLN from AM to FM.
This small community radio station was sued by local radio personality Robert Gillet who claimed three million dollars for defamation, after André Arthur spoke extensively about the Scorpion case, a scandal which has embroiled Gillet, having been found guilty in a court trial[1] of having sex with a minor for a fee. In February 2006, CIMI was targeted by another lawsuit on behalf of a lawyer from Quebec following allegations by entertainer Roby Moreault.[citation needed]
[edit] CIMI 103.7 today
On 23 August 2007, CIMI's licence was renewed until 1 September 2011. The next step for the station will be to increase its coverage, something to which the CRTC seems open. On 22 August 2007, CIMI announced the return of André Arthur on the air for a live broadcast; André Arthur broadcast there each weekday with a prerecorded commentary since June 2007. The show in which Arthur took part is called "Rebelles" and is hosted by Marie St-Laurent. Arthur has since left the program, but Marie St-Laurent remains.
The schedule of CIMI today emphasizes talk radio while continuing to play a significant amount of music, in particular, English-language alternative rock in the evening. The programs L'Alternative, Rebelles and Moreault dans le retour are focused on the news, whereas Total Sport concentrates, of course, on sports.
Community programming is still important to the station with Pêcheenville.com on Mondays at 7 p.m.; Freedom (metal/hardcore) with Dominic Daviault, Tuesdays at 7 p.m.; Les Incorruptibles (arts and entertainment) with Sebastien Noël and Pascal Nolin; Wednesdays at 7 p.m.; Les Mémoires Oubliées (metal in all its forms) with Éric Bédard and Patrick Bolduc, Thursdays at 7 p.m.; Les 2 Snoozes (humour) with Marcus and Alex, Fridays and Saturdays at 9 p.m.-midnight and 100 commentaires (current affairs and opinions), Sundays at 4 p.m. Sundays at 9 p.m., CIMI presents Top 30, a weekly countdown of English-language hard rock, and Monday through Thursday, also at 9 p.m., is Pre-Top, a listener survey to determine the next Top 30, which also runs special requests. These two programs are hosted by Luc Laroche and Guillaume Lemieux.
[edit] Audience
The audience of CIMI-FM 103.7 is generally different depending on the time of day. Programs like L'Alternative, Rebelles and Moreault dans le Retour are targeted to a very large audience (males 25-54). Mornings, CIMI is aimed to an older audience with programs like Hier Encore (men and women 55+). As the day progresses the audience becomes younger in the evening (males 18-25) as it plays hard rock music.
In 2003, the Canadian polling company SOM found that more than 100,000 people in the Quebec City Area listen to CIMI-FM, and that over 190,000 people know of or have heard of the station.[2]
[edit] Musical format
Since its establishment in August 2001, CIMI's music mandate is to be 100% in French during the day and rock and nu metal in the evening. The lack of visibility of this musical style from commercial radio stations in Quebec (and also a little because of quotas requiring 65% French-language music imposed by the CRTC) makes those who are in the English music department of CIMI, even with a low-power antenna (20 Watt ERP (Effective Radiated Power), work so that CIMI becomes a major player in the musical landscape of Quebec City in the evening. This is why at 9pm each evening (a turning point in the day when other commercial broadcasters in the city begin their 100% French-language musical programming), CIMI is an alternative for the listeners in the Quebec City Area, featuring well-known groups like Breaking Benjamin, Linkin Park, Papa Roach, My Chemical Romance, Chevelle, Rammstein, Killswitch Engage, etc., as well as others not as well-known in Quebec such as Skillet, Vaeda, Proximity Grey, Red, 3against1, Dry Kill Logic, etc.
French-language music is programmed by station producer Dave "Bauer" Lafond.
[edit] References
- ^ "Radio host Gillet convicted on 1 of 3 charges", CTV News, 25 March 2004
- ^ RadioActu.ca, 11 April 2003 (in French)
[edit] External links
- CIMI-FM (in French)
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