| Broadcast area | Greater Montreal Area |
|---|---|
| Branding | 9-2-5 The Beat |
| Slogan | "The Beat of Montreal" |
| Frequency | 92.5 MHz (FM) |
| First air date | 1947 (experimental as VE9CM 1945-1947) |
| Format | Adult Contemporary |
| ERP | 41,400 watts |
| Class | C1 |
| Callsign meaning | CK BEat |
| Former callsigns | CFCF-FM (1947-1966) CFQR-FM (1966-2011) |
| Owner | Cogeco (Metromedia CMR Broadcasting Inc.) |
| Sister stations | CHMP-FM, CKAC, CKOI-FM, CFGL-FM |
| Website | 92.5 the Beat |
CKBE-FM (9-2-5 the Beat) is an English language Canadian radio station located in Montreal, Quebec.
Owned and operated by Cogeco, it broadcasts on 92.5 MHz with an effective radiated power of 41,400 watts (class C1) using an omnidirectional antenna. It is the only English-language station in Montreal that carries an adult contemporary music format, but in September 2011 it began adding rhythmic adult contemporary songs to its content while retaining its AC direction.
Like other Cogeco radio stations in Montreal, CKBE is located at Place Bonaventure in downtown Montreal.
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CKBE first hit the airwaves in 1945 as VE9CM, a 25-watt experimental FM station owned by the Canadian Marconi Company along with CFCF radio (AM 600, later CINW on AM 940 before its 2010 closure). It simulcast nearly all of its AM sister's programming. In 1947, Marconi gained a full licence on 106.5 FM with the calls CFCF-FM. After changing frequency to 92.5 MHz in 1963, CFCF-FM was one of four FM stations using common transmitting facilities on the new Mount Royal tower. The other stations were CJMS-FM on 94.3, CJFM on 95.9 and CKGM-FM on 97.7. In October 1966, the station changed call letters to CFQR-FM and adopted a beautiful music format. It kept this format for several years simply as CFQR 92.5. By the 1980s, the station segued to more of an easy listening station by adding vocals.
The 92.5/600 pair underwent an ownership change in 1991 and the following year CFQR dropped the remaining instrumentals and became its fulltime adult contemporary format. The station adopted the Q92 branding as well.
Gordon Courtenay died suddenly Saturday October 29, 2006, only an hour before he was supposed to host his Saturday night show live from D'Aversa restaurant, a show that had been running on Q92 for almost 30 years, starting at the Airport Hilton in 1981.
On July 14 and 15, Q92 launched its Summer Concert Series, drawing more than 300,000 for several outdoor concerts at the corner of Ste-Catherine and Peel.[1]
August 27, 2007 saw the launch of the new Live Drive Show with hosts Ken Connors, Sonia Benezra and Judy Croon.
By 2007, the Aaron & Tasso morning show changed formats to hot AC, although the format remained AC the rest of the day. However, the experiment didn't work, and their morning show was reverted to fulltime adult contemporary when the station rebranded to The Q. Also, the playlist began to tweak, with most of the soft rock being dropped (Faith Hill was dropped from the playlist in favour of Carrie Underwood and Taylor Swift titles). However, Q92's playlist is now considered as younger-skewing adult contemporary playlist, with most of the popular music from the adult contemporary chart. Q92's first tweak happened by 2003, when they were known as The New Q92, with a more softer-leaning AC format. Another tweak occurred in 2005, when the station re-added hot AC titles to the playlist, and dropping all 1960s titles from the playlist.
In September 2008, Q92 stopped playing oldies because of sister CINW changing to oldies in July 2008. The on air lineup was also changed. Q92 midday personality David Tyler was replaced by Donna Saker. Terry DiMonte started a noon-hour show which originated from co-owned classic rocker Q107 in Calgary. It was cancelled during the station rebanding as 92-5 The Q. Terry DiMonte, remained the morning announcer on Calgary's Q107. Montrealers had listened to him for decades on all three of Montreal's Standard Radio stations (even during Standard's sale of their terrestrial broadcasting assets to Astral in October 2007). His ended his career in Montreal on CHOM 97.7, a classic rock station, in February 2008).
Morning man Aaron Rand played a featured role in YTV's Prank Patrol (a nationally-viewed kids show on cable) debuting that show's 3rd season.[2]
The annual one day Corus Montreal Radiothon for Sainte-Justine's Hospital for Children, hosted by CFQR and its sister stations, raised more than $560,000 on November 16, 2007.
On April 14, 2009, the station, widely known as "Q92", changed its identity to "The Q 92.5" (pronounced ninety-two five) and unveiled a new logo and website. This became the third station in Montreal for the late 2000s to change its branding. A new jingle was also introduced: "Montreal's, Montreal's Music, The Q's just right for you!". In addition, the station began phasing back softer adult contemporary songs (as a result, Faith Hill and LeAnn Rimes were returned to the playlist); however the station re-added 1960s songs such as Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison. CFQR-FM changed its playlist and schedule in the rebranding.
On August 19, 2009, an announcement was made that Tasso Patsikakis and Suzanne Desautels would no longer be part of the morning show and that Aaron Rand would be going solo. Rand and Patsikakis had worked together for 23 years.
In November 2009, two additions were made to Rand's morning show; Murray Sheriffs as news announcer (replacing Barry Morgan) and Sarah Bartok hired from Vancouver as traffic reporter (replacing Shaun McMahon - now producer). At the end of November, Chris Reiser, long-time morning host of Krater 96 in Honolulu, Hawaii, was added to the mid-day line-up from 8:45 to 1, replacing Tammy Moyer as she took a temporary personal leave. She was expected to return to work in the new year, but it was later announced that Reiser had become the permanent host of the show. Tammy Moyer has since moved to CKWX Vancouver.
In December 2009, a brand new tabloid show was introduced. Every weekend, the two hour show, All Access Weekend with Anne Marie Withenshaw features the latest Hollywood, showbiz and music news, airing Saturday mornings at 10, and reprises Sunday afternoons at 4.
Beginning in 2010, host Leta Polson stopped doing her noon to 6 shift on the weekends, but continued doing promotional remotes, commercials, and other features for the station. The main weekday hosts (like Donna Saker, Ken Connors, Sarah Bartok, Chris Reiser) alternated for the Saturday shift, and Christin Jerome hosted Sundays.
On April 30, 2010, it was announced that Cogeco will acquire most radio stations owned by Corus Entertainment in Quebec.[3]
In the summer of 2010, more changes were made. The station's main tagline became "More Music Variety" along with new, more upbeat jingles retaining the catchphrase "The Q's just right for you!". The Q also began running 92 minutes straight of commercial free music, during the daytime, replacing 10-songs-in-a-row introduced in April 2009.
In late July it was announced long time feature on Q-Mornings, "The Last Word with Maureen Holloway" would no longer be used due to the station's pending sale from Corus to Cogeco, as Holloway works for Corus. The feature was replaced with "Startalk with Bartok", with the show's traffic reporter Sarah Bartok.
On December 17, 2010, the CRTC approved the sale of most of Corus' radio stations in Quebec, including CFQR-FM, to Cogeco. CFQR-FM is Cogeco's first English-language radio station, as all of its other stations are francophone.[4] In terms of the adult contemporary format, Cogeco owns French-language station CFGL-FM. The deal finalized on February 1, 2011.
From 2009-2011, CFQR-FM was the largest adult contemporary station in Canada not locally-owned after Astral Media's CJEZ-FM Toronto became adult hits CHBM-FM. After February 1, 2011, it lost that title to Vancouver's CHQM-FM, owned by Bell Media. A similarity also happened from 2002-2007, when CFQR-FM was still ironically the largest adult contemporary station in Canada not locally-owned as Toronto-based Standard Radio owned CJEZ-FM at the time until Slaight Communications sold the Standard Radio division to Astral Media in 2007.
On May 26, 2011 (following his announcement in February 2011), Aaron Rand aired his final show on CFQR, leaving Montreal air waves after 26 years. He has since signed on to host an evening talk show on CJAD 800 AM.
Another rebranding took take place on September 6, 2011 at 4PM after the station began airing promos about "The Beat of Montreal," along with a countdown clock on its website and a message telling listeners that "You're Going To Feel It!"[5]
On September 6, 2011, at 4PM (EDT) after playing Bon Jovi's "Never Say Goodbye", CFQR was relaunched as a Rhythmic Hot AC, adopting the monicker "9-2-5 The Beat" (the 9-2-5 referring to "9 to 5"), with Michael Jackson's "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" as the first song.[6] It is also using the jingles that Clear Channel Communications' Rhythmic ACs uses for their stations. The playlist features upbeat Rhythmic Pop/Dance currents and recurrents mixed in with the Hot AC fare (mostly clean and heavily edited, although uncensored tracks like David Guetta featuring Kid Cudi's "Memories" have shown up in rotation). The softer and older mainstream AC product have been phased out, appearently to become more competitive with CJFM, but at times seems to be inspired by New York City's WKTU, given Montreal's storied history of being a mecca for Disco and Dance music.[7] The station promises "10 in a row," a live on-air airstaff, and less commercials. They also heralded their launch with a 20-car fleet parading around the streets of Montreal, which they will use as part of a contest in conjunction with Tim Hortons.[8] Shortly after the rebrand, the station changed its call letters to CKBE-FM.
CKBE continued to report on Nielsen BDS Canadian adult contemporary panel (under their old calls of CFQR-FM), but was removed from Mediabase's Canadian adult contemporary panel and placed on its Hot AC panel. After the call letter change, CKBE was moved to the Nielsen BDS Canadian Adult Top 40 panel of on September 28, 2011, in part due to the station increasing the amount of Rhythmic Pop currents. As such, even though after panel changes, the station is still officially an AC because of the classic hits from the 1960s & 1970s still on the station (and in part due to the format continued to be listed as such by Cogeco). 1960s & 1970s songs, however, are rare on adult top 40 stations, even though one of them, CKNO-FM in Edmonton, plays them. And while most of the currents are not as heavily spun as the other Rhythmic-leaning Adult Top 40 stations in Canada, that has changed dramatically, and has become more uptempo and less soft in its presentation. Its longtime rival, CJFM-FM (Virgin Radio 96), an Astral-owned hot adult contemporary station, cannot switch formats to CHR even after the playlist tweak in early 2011 because it is still the market-leading English-language radio station on Montreal FM. By default, CKBE also has competition with Francophone Top 40/CHR CKMF, whose playlist is also Rhythmic friendly, and to a lesser extent, english-language rimshot Top 40/CHR WYUL from across the border in New York.
Weekdays
Saturdays
Sundays
Ted Silver was Program Director of CFQR/CKBE since September 1992, relaunching the station as Lite Rock Q92 and establishing it as the leading English Montreal station until his departure in April 2007. Kara Yamich came on board as Assistant Program Director in 2002.
In May 2007, Corus announced that Chris Kennedy had been appointed as Q92's program director. Q92 and Kennedy parted ways prior to Christmas of 2008.[9]
Brian DePoe became Program Director of CFQR and CINW in February 2009. DePoe had been Operations Manager and Program Director at CJEZ-FM in Toronto. He left in late 2010. Since then, Leo Da Estrela has been appointed Program Director.
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