CHQT (880 AM, 630 CHED) is a commercial radio station licensed to Edmonton, Alberta. Owned by Corus Entertainment, the station currently serves as a rebroadcaster of sister station CHED, the call sign and programming of which will relocate permanently to the 880 AM facility on October 9, 2024.
| Broadcast area | Edmonton Metropolitan Region |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 880 kHz |
| Branding | 630 CHED |
| Programming | |
| Format | News/talk (simulcast of CHED) |
| Affiliations | Global News |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| CHED, CISN-FM, CKNG-FM, CITV-DT | |
| History | |
First air date | August 19, 1965 |
Former frequencies | 1110 kHz (1965–1986) |
Call sign meaning | Canada's Highest Quality Talk |
| Technical information | |
| Class | B |
| Power | 50,000 watts |
Transmitter coordinates | 53°22′7″N 113°19′5″W / 53.36861°N 113.31806°W |
| Links | |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | globalnews.ca/radio/630ched |
CHQT broadcasts with a power of 50,000 watts, using a non-directional antenna in the daytime. But because AM 880 is a clear channel frequency, CHQT must use a directional antenna at night. The station can be heard in AM stereo using the C-QUAM system.
According to the Numeris Winter 2018-2019 Meter Ratings Report, the station ranked 18th (out of 19 stations measured)[1]
As of February 28, 2021, CHQT was the 16th-most-listened-to radio station in the Edmonton market according to a PPM data report released by Numeris.[2]
History
editThe station signed on August 19, 1965 on 1110 kHz, with 10,000 watts power. It originally broadcast a Middle of the road format. In 1979, CHQT started using 50,000 watts power. In 1986, the station changed frequency to 880 kHz as it was sold to Monarch Broadcasting, Ltd.[3]
In July 2000, Shaw Broadcasting sold the station to Corus Entertainment.[4] In June 2001, CHQT flipped to oldies as Cool 880. In October 2003, the station briefly flipped to a variety hits format as 880 Joe AM. The format moved to sister station CKNG-FM as 92.5 Joe FM on January 13, 2004, after which CHQT reverted to oldies; it is likely CHQT flipped to the format merely as a placeholder while CKNG prepared for their flip to avoid a rival company preemptively making any similar move.
On May 20, 2008, CHQT re-launched as an all-news station, branded as iNews 880, complementing sister talk radio station CHED. On May 29, 2018, the station re-branded as Global News Radio 880 Edmonton, as part of an ongoing rebranding of Corus's news/talk radio stations to create synergies with Global News television programming, and its local station CITV-DT. As part of the rebranding, the station added an audio simulcast of Global News Hour at 6.[5][6] An audio simulcast of Global News at Noon from Global Edmonton was added as of March 2019. As of July 2020, an audio-only rebroadcast of Global National aired on CHQT at 7 p.m., following the News Hour simulcast.
On June 26, 2024, CHQT flipped to a simulcast of CHED.[7] At the time, Corus stated that the simulcast was an interim measure and that it would ultimately only operate one news-talk AM station in Edmonton, without elaborating.[8] On August 28, Corus announced that the CHED branding and format would move permanently to the 880 AM facility, effective Monday, October 9, citing what it called the latter's superior coverage: while both stations operate at a power of 50 kilowatts, the 880 AM transmitter is non-directional during the day whereas 630 is directional at all times.[9] The 630 AM facility will subsequently be shut down, with the transmitter site sold.[10]
Footnotes
editReferences
edit- ^ http://assets.numeris.ca/Downloads/2018-19_03_Radio_ME_EdmontonToplineRadio.pdf[permanent dead link] [bare URL PDF]
- ^ "Winter 2021 PPM Data". Retrieved 2021-04-17.
- ^ Decision CRTC 85-55
- ^ Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2008 page D-616
- ^ "CHQT (iNews 880)/Edmonton Rebrands Today As Global News Radio 880 Edmonton". All Access. Retrieved 2018-05-30.
- ^ "Corus rebrands another news-talk station". Cartt.ca. Retrieved 2018-05-30.
- ^ "Vancouver traffic radio station quietly goes off the air | News". dailyhive.com. Retrieved 2024-06-26.
- ^ Thiessen, Connie (June 26, 2024). "Corus pulls plug on AM formats in Vancouver, Edmonton". Broadcast Dialogue. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
- ^ "CHED to Move to 880". RadioInsight. August 28, 2024. Retrieved August 28, 2024.
- ^ Smith, Madeline (August 28, 2024). "Corus Entertainment's 630 CHED moving up the AM dial". CBC News Edmonton. Retrieved August 28, 2024.
External links
edit- Global News Radio 880 Edmonton
- History of CHQT - Canadian Communications Foundation
- CHQT in the REC Canadian station database
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