CHQT

CHQT (880 AM, 630 CHED) is a commercial radio station licensed to Edmonton, Alberta. Owned by Corus Entertainment, the station broadcast a news/talk format.

CHQT
Broadcast areaEdmonton Metropolitan Region
Frequency880 kHz
Branding630 CHED
Programming
FormatNews/talk (simulcast of CHED)
AffiliationsGlobal 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
ClassB
Power50,000 watts
Transmitter coordinates
53°22′7″N 113°19′5″W
Links
WebcastListen Live
Websiteglobalnews.ca/radio/630ched

CHQT broadcast with a power of 50,000 watts, using a non-directional antenna in the daytime. But because AM 880 was a clear channel frequency, CHQT must use a directional antenna at night. Global News Radio 880 Edmonton could 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

The 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] Corus has stated that the simulcast is an interim measure and will ultimately only operate one news-talk AM station in Edmonton, but has not announced whether it intends to return the station's license to the CRTC or sell the station.[8]

References
  1. http://assets.numeris.ca/Downloads/2018-19_03_Radio_ME_EdmontonToplineRadio.pdf%5B%5D
  2. "Winter 2021 PPM Data". Retrieved 2021-04-17.
  3. Decision CRTC 85-55
  4. Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2008 page D-616
  5. "CHQT (iNews 880)/Edmonton Rebrands Today As Global News Radio 880 Edmonton". All Access. Retrieved 2018-05-30.
  6. "Corus rebrands another news-talk station". Cartt.ca. Retrieved 2018-05-30.
  7. "Vancouver traffic radio station quietly goes off the air | News". dailyhive.com. Retrieved 2024-06-26.
  8. Thiessen, Connie (June 26, 2024). "Corus pulls plug on AM formats in Vancouver, Edmonton". Broadcast Dialogue. Retrieved June 26, 2024.


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