CKBE-FM (92.5 MHz, The Beat 92.5) is an English language Canadian radio station located in Montreal, Quebec. It is owned and operated by Cogeco and airs a Rhythmic adult contemporary format.
CKBE-FM has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 100,000 watts as a Class C1 station, using an omnidirectional antenna from a transmitter atop Mount Royal, at 289.9 meters in height above average terrain (HAAT). Its studios and offices are located at Place Bonaventure in downtown Montreal.
History
Early years (1945-1992)
The station first signed on in 1945 as VE9CM, a 25-watt experimental FM station owned by the Canadian Marconi Company. It was the sister station to AM 600 CFCF (later CIQC and subsequently CINW on AM 940, before its 2010 closure). VE9CM simulcast nearly all of CFCF's programming. In 1947, Marconi gained a full licence on 106.5 FM with the call sign CFCF-FM. Its 3,000 watts transmitter was on the roof of the Sun Life Building. Its power was increased to 7,700 watts in 1957.
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 106.5 frequency is now used by CFEI-FM in suburban Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec.) The other stations on Mount Royal were CJMS-FM, CJFM-FM and CKGM-FM. In October 1966, the station changed call letters to CFQR-FM and adopted a beautiful music format. It kept this format for several decades, running advertisements on its co-owned television station CFCF-TV promoting itself as "CFQR 92.5, the sound you can almost see".
Q92 (1992-2009) The 92.5 FM/600 AM pair underwent an ownership change in 1991. The station adopted the branding Q92.
Gordon Courtenay died suddenly on October 29, 2005, only an hour before he was supposed to host his Saturday night show live from D'Aversa restaurant. The show had been running on Q92 for almost 30 years, since its start at the Montreal Airport Hilton in 1981.
Marc Denis joined on September 10, 2005 to host "Winning Weekends" on the station. Denis became the host, programmer and producer of "Saturday Night Oldies" on July 27, 2007. The program aired from 6 to 8pm prior to the Saturday Night Show Live From D'Aversa with Gordon Courtenay, a show also hosted briefly by Larry Day. Saturday Night Oldies aired its final show on January 1, 2009. By then, Denis was also the morning host at sister station CINW during its Oldies incarnation.
In July 2006, Q92 launched its Summer Concert Series, drawing more than 300,000 for several outdoor concerts at the corner of Ste-Catherine and Peel.
On August 27, 2007, the station launched the Live Drive Show with hosts Ken Connors, Sonia Benezra, and Judy Croon.
In September 2008, Q92 stopped playing classic hits with sister station CINW changing to oldies in July 2008. The on air lineup was also changed, Q92 midday presenter David Tyler was replaced by Donna Saker. Terry DiMonte started a noon-hour show which originated from co-owned classic rock station Q107 in Calgary, Alberta. It was cancelled during the station rebranding as "92-5 The Q".
Morning host Aaron Rand played a featured role in YTV's Prank Patrol (a nationally viewed kids show on cable) debuting that show's 3rd season.
The annual one-day Corus Montreal Radiothon for Centre hospitalier universitaire Sainte-Justine, hosted by CFQR and its sister stations, raised more than $560,000 on November 16, 2007.
The Q (2009-2011) On April 14, 2009, the station changed its identity to The Q 92.5 (pronounced ninety-two five), with a new logo and website.
On August 19, 2009, Tasso Patsikakis and Suzanne Desautels left the morning show and Aaron Rand remained as the presenter. Rand and Patsikakis had worked together for 23 years.
In November 2009, Murray Sheriffs was added as news announcer (replacing Barry Morgan) and Sarah Bartok was hired from Vancouver as traffic reporter. At the end of November, Chris Reiser, who had been the morning host of Krater 96 in Honolulu, Hawaii, was added to the mid-day line-up, replacing Tammy Moyer as she took a temporary personal leave. She was expected to return to work in the new year but Reiser later became the permanent host of the show. Tammy Moyer has since moved to CKWX in Vancouver, British Columbia.
In December 2009, a new two-hour weekend tabloid show was introduced, All Access Weekend with Anne-Marie Withenshaw, airing entertainment headlines and music news, on Saturday mornings, repeated on Sunday afternoons.