CBAF-FM

CBAF-FM
City Moncton, New Brunswick
Broadcast area New Brunswick
Branding Ici Radio-Canada Première
Frequency 88.5 MHz (FM)
First air date February 20, 1954
Format Public News/Talk
ERP 50,000 watts horizontal polarization
21,000 watts vertical polarization
HAAT 211 meters (692 ft)
Class C1
Callsign meaning Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Atlantique Francais
Former frequencies 1300 kHz (AM) (1954-1988)
Owner Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
Website Ici Radio-Canada Première

CBAF-FM (88.5 MHz) is a French-language public Canadian radio station located in Moncton, New Brunswick. The station has a commercial-free news/talk radio format and is the flagship station of the Ici Radio-Canada Première network for Atlantic Canada. CBAF is owned and operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

CBAF was launched in 1954, the first French-language radio station for the Moncton area at 1300 kHz. In 1980, the station was granted a rebroadcaster on FM at 88.5 MHz, to offset AM radio reception problems in the Moncton area. The CBC operated both transmitters until 1988, when the AM transmitter signed off and the FM transmitter became the station's primary frequency.[1]

History

The construction of a new CBC station in Moncton was started in 1953 at an expected cost of $450,000.

CBAF went on the air on February 20, 1954. Studios and offices were then located at St. George Street in the former Assomption Building, a four-storey structure built in 1955 by the Société l'Assomption (It is to be noted not to confuse the former Assomption Building with the current Place Assomption on Main Street in Moncton). Today known as the Maison Commerce House, it overlooks St. George and Archibald Streets. The premiere French-language radio station for the Atlantic region, CBAF offered programming from the CBC's French-language network headquarters in Montreal, Quebec.

In 1957, CBAF had a radiated power of 5,000 watts and used a single directional antenna pattern. The transmitter was located in the nearby village of Saint Anselme. In 1968, a regional French-language production centre was set up at the Moncton studios.

In 1970, CBAF with its Radio-Canada television station CBAFT, and the CBC English-language counterpart CBA relocated to their new studios and offices on Archibald Street (today known as University Avenue) beside the Hôtel-Dieu de l'Assomption Hospital, which was renamed the Dr. Georges-L. Dumont Regional Hospital by the Government of New Brunswick in 1967.

April 10, 1980 saw an FM rebroadcaster at Moncton (CBAF-26-FM) on 88.5 MHz to duplicate the programming of CBAF. The duplicate channel was needed in order to offset severe night-time coverage deficiencies of the AM signal and to improve the reception of the station in outlying areas. CBAF was to have gone silent by November 1, 1985 but the CBC kept it going until the plug was finally pulled in 1988. In the end, CBAF operated on 1300 kHz with a power of 5,000 watts (single directional pattern). CBAF-26-FM operated on 88.5 MHz with an effective radiated power of 50,000 watts. The FM repeater became CBAF-FM, following the closure of the AM signal.

The Radio-Canada network was renamed "Première Chaîne" on September 1, 1997, later becoming "Ici Radio-Canada Première" in August 2013.

Programming

The station produces a morning show (Le Réveil, Monday to Friday from 6 to 9 a.m.), an afternoon program, L'heure de pointe Acadie, from 4 to 6 p.m and a Saturday morning show (Tout un samedi from 7 to 11 a.m.); the latter are also heard on stations in other Maritimes provinces. Other programs exclusive to the Maritimes region are Format Libre, weekdays 9 to 10 a.m and again from 10 to 11 p.m., L'heure juste, from 12 to 12:30 p.m. (preempting the last half-and-hour of national show Médium Large) and the CBAF-FM-5 Halifax Saturday morning fill-in show Ça se passe ICI from 11 a.m. to 12 noon. All other programs on the national schedule are aired live, with separate times given for Atlantic Time; promotional trailers for national programs give the broadcast time as one hour later (for example- "neuf heures, Maritimes dix heures"). Two national programs that it are normally heard at 7 p.m. local time in other time zones - Les éclaireurs (Monday-Thursday) and La route des 20 (Friday), are heard at 6 p.m. instead, to enable its nightly news program, L'heure du monde to be heard live at 7 p.m. AT., the rest of the evening programming is heard in pre-release until the rerun of Format libre at 10 p.m. filling the gap caused by the 6 p.m. pre-release.

Rebroadcasters

Rebroadcasters of CBAF-FM
City of licenseIdentifierFrequencyPowerClassRECNet
AllardvilleCBAF-FM-2105.7 FM60,400 wattsC1Query
Bon AccordCBAF-FM-2191.7 FM20,900 wattsCQuery
CampbelltonCBAF-FM-391.5 FM2,400 wattsBQuery
EdmundstonCBAF-FM-4100.3 FM20,935 wattsBQuery
KedgwickCBAF-FM-2398.1 FM150 wattsLPQuery
LamèqueCBAF-FM-1890.3 FM930 wattsAQuery
Saint JohnCBAF-FM-1102.3 FM84,000 wattsCQuery
Saint-QuentinCBAF-FM-2291.1 FM250 wattsLPQuery

1 On July 25, 2013, the CBC filed and application to the CRTC to convert CBAF-21 1230 to 91.1 FM;[2] this was approved January 10, 2014.[3]

On August 15, 2013, the CBC filed and application to the CRTC to convert CBAF-20 990 to 98.1 FM.[4] this was approved January 10, 2014.[3]

Former rebroadcasters

CBAF-FM-5 in Halifax and CBAF-FM-15 in Charlottetown were once satellites of CBAF, but are now stations in their own right despite retaining rebroadcaster-like callsigns. CBAF-FM-5 and CBAF-FM-15 officially became separately licensed in 1987 and 1994 respectively.

References

  1. ↑ Decision CRTC 87-569
  2. ↑ 2013-1065-6
  3. 1 2 Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2014-9, CBAF-FM Moncton – New transmitters in Saint-Quentin and Kedgwick , ""CRTC"", January 10, 2014
  4. ↑ 2013-1151-3

Coordinates: 45°25′17″N 75°42′00″W / 45.42139°N 75.70000°W / 45.42139; -75.70000

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