CHOM-FM

Infobox Radio Station

| name = CHOM
airdate = 1963
frequency = 97.7 MHz
city = Montreal, Quebec
area = Greater Montreal area | format = classic rock
owner = Astral Media
erp = 41,200 watts
branding = "CHOM 97.7"
slogan = "The Spirit of Rock"
class = C1
sister_stations = CFEI, CFZZ, CHOM, CITE, CJAD, CJFM, CKMF
website = [http://www.chom.com/ CHOM 97.7 (official website)]
callsign_meaning = Arbitrary coinage | The "CHOM" tune was part of a tune by Italien composer Ennio Morricone. A story was played on NPR (National Public Radio, Weekend Edition Sunday) February 4, 2007. Listen to it here... http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7150495. Morricone is mostly know for his "flutey-whistling" tune in "A Fistful Of Dollars". He will be awarded, for only the second time in its history, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences lifetime achievement Oscar (to a film music composer).

CHOM-FM is an English language Canadian radio station located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Owned and operated by Astral Media, it broadcasts on 97.7 MHz from the Mount Royal candelabra tower, with an effective radiated power of 41,200 watts (class C1) using an omnidirectional antenna.

The station has a classic rock format since 2002 and has had some type of rock format since 1969. It uses the brand name CHOM, pronounced as if it were a French word (that is, "shoam", IPAEng|ˈʃoʊm, rather than "tchahm" IPA|/ˈtʃɒm/).

History

CKGM-FM, as the station was originally known, was founded by Geoff Sterling as a sister station to AM station CKGM and opened on July 16, 1963. After a few weeks as a simulcast of CKGM, CKGM-FM launched a beautiful music format on September 1, 1963.

On October 28, 1969, CKGM-FM changed its format to album-oriented rock. The first song played after the format switch was Richard Strauss' Also Sprach Zarathustra followed by The Beatles' Here Comes the Sun. The station would change its call sign to CHOM-FM only two years later on October 19, 1971.

In 1974, CHOM-FM proposed to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) a plan in which the station would become bilingual (English/French). The CRTC accepted this plan but only on an experimental basis that would last three years; it also blocked a plan to implement quadraphonic broadcasting. In 1977, the station was forced by the CRTC to opt between the two languages, and after considering becoming a French-language station, it finally reverted back to English fulltime.

CHOM-FM became increasingly popular, and in 1979 surpassed sister station CKGM in Bureau of Broadcast Measurement ratings. Both stations were sold to CHUM Limited on August 20, 1985.

The 1993 loss of popular morning man Terry DiMonte to CJFM-FM (Mix 96), combined with new competition from American modern rock station WBTZ (better known as 99.9 The Buzz) starting in 1996, resulted in a decline in ratings which the station tried to stop by acquiring rights to the syndicated show of shock jock Howard Stern. Stern made his debut on CHOM-FM on September 2, 1997 amid much controversy as he launched himself on his very first show heard in Montreal in an anti-Francophone/anti-French tirade. His show was dumped a year later, on August 27, 1998, after numerous complaints to the CRTC about politically incorrect remarks interpreted by complainants as "sexist" and "homophobic", despite the fact that the show ran on a delay with more controversial comments being censored, which sometimes resulted in minutes of dead air. While the CRTC did not take any actions against CHOM-FM, it is generally believed that owner CHUM Limited feared other projects could be hampered by them having such a controversial host on one of their stations.

The station was sold to Standard Broadcasting, which already owned CJAD and CJFM-FM in Montreal, effective in January 2002 in exchange for Standard's CFWM-FM in Winnipeg, now Bob FM and now owned by CTVglobemedia. This ownership change was promptly followed in February by a format change to classic rock and the return of DiMonte as morning man, which resulted in ratings improvements.

Ownership changed hands again when on October 29, 2007, Astral Media took control of Standard Broadcasting and its assets.

On November 26, 2007, Rob Kemp (former Mid-day announcer at Mix96) joined Ted Bird and Kim Rossi on the CHOM morning show..."Ted, Kim & Kemp".

CHOM hosts

*Rob Kemp
*Ted Bird
*Kim Rossi
*Sharon Hyland
*Chantal Desjardins (Chom Traffic)
*Pete Marier
*Bilal
*Randy Renaud
*Allison Van Rassel
*Nick Michaels
*Tootall
*Brandon Craddock
*Steven Van Zandt
*Mike Metal

External links

* [http://www.chom.com/ CHOM 97.7 (Official Site)]
* [http://www.chom.com/player/player CHOM 97.7 (Listen Live)]
*