About Radio Circulation 730 (CKAC)

Radio Circulation 730 (CKAC)

Radio Circulation 730, broadcasting on 730 kHz as CKAC, is Montreal's French-language traffic information station, owned by Cogeco. Operating around the clock with continuous traffic and weather updates for the Montreal area, it was Canada's first radio station devoted entirely to traffic when it launched in September 2011. But the 730 frequency carries a far longer history: CKAC signed on in 1922 as the first francophone radio station in North America, and for much of the 20th century it was the dominant French-language voice in Quebec — home to the Montreal Expos, million-plus audiences, and one of the finest AM signals in eastern Canada. Its studios are at Place Bonaventure in downtown Montreal, and its transmitter is in Saint-Joseph-du-Lac. Wikipedia lists radiocirculation.net as the station's website.

Overview

CKAC broadcasts on 730 kHz as a Class A clear-channel station with 50,000 watts of power, day and night, using a two-tower slightly directional antenna pointed east toward Montreal with the same pattern around the clock. The 730 frequency is a Canadian and Mexican clear-channel allocation, shared at Class A status with XEX in Mexico City. The call letters are understood to stand for "Canadien-Kilocycle-Amérique-Canada."

The current format is all traffic information, in French: round-the-clock traffic updates for the Montreal area, subsidized by the Quebec government, with live announcers on air through the day and pre-recorded overnight road-closure and detour announcements when live hosts are off. The slogan is "La circulation, en tout temps" — traffic, all the time.

History

The first French station in North America

La Presse announced the station's construction on May 3, 1922. On-air testing began by mid-September, regular programming started on September 27, and the station was officially inaugurated on October 2, 1922 — the first francophone radio station in North America. It broadcast on 730 kHz from the start, initially sharing the frequency with CFCF and CHYC until 1929, when CKAC became its sole occupant. Power rose to 5,000 watts full-time in October 1929 from a new Saint-Hyacinthe transmitter site; a 1930 application for 50,000 watts was denied. The station affiliated with the CBS network in 1929 to carry concerts by renowned American orchestras, and created its own orchestra the same year, whose concerts aired on American stations twice weekly until 1933. Radio dramas arrived in 1931 and remained a staple until television's rise.

The golden age

In 1950 the station raised daytime power to 10,000 watts and began 24-hour broadcasting. That October it began airing "Le Chapelet en famille" — the Family Rosary Hour recited by Archbishop Paul-Émile Léger from Marie-Reine-du-Monde Cathedral — which proved so popular that competitors lobbied unsuccessfully for permission to simulcast it; the program ended in 1970 as religious practice declined. On March 13, 1958, CKAC went to 50,000 watts full-time from its current Saint-Joseph-du-Lac site, with a two-tower directional antenna pointed east — giving a privately owned station one of the best signals in eastern Canada, an exceptional situation given the CBC's dual role as regulator and broadcaster, which had reserved most clear-channel allocations for CBC stations.

The station faced growing French-language competition in the 1960s from CKVL, CJMS, and CKLM, but regained the top ratings spot in 1970 on the strength of its news coverage of the October Crisis. In 1968 Power Corporation of Canada acquired La Presse and CKAC; in 1969 CKAC was sold to Telemedia, becoming the flagship of the new Télémédia network. From 1970 through the late 1980s, CKAC was regularly one of the only stations in Canada drawing more than a million listeners, with star hosts including morning man Jacques Proulx, Suzanne Lévesque, and Pierre Pascau. In 1972 it became the French radio flagship of the Montreal Expos, broadcasting the team's games until 2003, with Jacques Doucet calling more than 5,500 of them. A 1977 FM sister, CITE-FM on 107.3, would later become a competitor.

Mergers, decline, and sale

Ratings troubles in the early 1990s — driven by CJMS's resurgence, a harsh Quebec recession, and an advertising price war touched off by the new TQS television network — led Telemedia to merge its Quebec AM operations with Radiomutuel on September 30, 1994, forming the Radiomédia network. Six AM stations closed that evening at 6 p.m., including CJMS 1280; its hosts and journalists largely moved to CKAC. In 2001 Astral Media, Radiomutuel's successor, sought to buy Telemedia's Quebec radio properties, but the Competition Bureau blocked the deal over ownership concentration. After failed sale attempts — including a 2003 bid by TVA and RNC Media refused by the CRTC, and a deal with businessmen Gaétan Morin and Sylvain Chamberland that collapsed when star morning host Paul Arcand defected to CHMP-FM — Astral concluded an asset exchange with Corus Entertainment in March 2004, approved by the CRTC in January 2005. On May 30, 2005, Corus closed CKAC's storied newsroom in favour of the CINF (Info 690) newsroom, and CKAC became the flagship of the Corus Québec talk network even as ratings slid below 500,000.

The sports era and the traffic relaunch

On April 2, 2007, CKAC flipped to all-sports, ending the tradition of news bulletins at 45 minutes past the hour that dated to 1972. It became the radio flagship of the Canadiens, the Alouettes, the Impact, and (for select games) the Toronto Blue Jays. On April 30, 2010, Corus agreed to sell its Quebec stations to Cogeco for $80 million; the CRTC approved that December. Then, on September 2, 2011, at exactly 10 a.m., CKAC dropped sports: a recorded announcement from Cogeco vice president Richard Lachance unveiled a new traffic information format launching at 4:30 a.m. on September 6. Branded Radio Circulation 730, subsidized by the Quebec government, it became Canada's first all-traffic station — 24 hours a day, with live announcers from early morning to 1 a.m. and recorded overnight updates. Sports programming and staff moved to CHMP, along with Canadiens and Alouettes broadcasts. After a Labour Day weekend of continuous music, the new format debuted on schedule, with Michel Millard as the first announcer heard.

Programming

Radio Circulation 730's programming is continuous traffic and weather information for the Montreal metropolitan area, in French. Live announcers carry the service through the day — on non-holiday weekdays starting 90 minutes earlier than the standard 6 a.m. — with pre-recorded announcements covering overnight road closures and detours. The format serves commuters across one of Canada's most congested metropolitan road networks, and its government subsidy reflects its public-service character. The station's previous incarnations — from the full-service talk giant of the 20th century to the all-sports era of 2007–2011 — are part of its heritage but no longer part of its schedule.

Coverage and audience

Few AM stations in Canada match CKAC's physical plant: 50,000 watts day and night from Saint-Joseph-du-Lac, on a clear-channel frequency, with a directional pattern aimed at Montreal. The signal covers Greater Montreal comprehensively and reaches far beyond at night. The station's broadcast area is Greater Montreal, and its traffic format targets the region's drivers across the island and the surrounding suburbs. Current audience figures are not publicly confirmed.

Ownership

CKAC is owned by Cogeco (591991 B.C. Ltd.), which acquired it as part of its $80-million purchase of Corus Entertainment's Quebec radio stations, approved by the CRTC in December 2010. Its Montreal sister stations include CHMP-FM, CKOI-FM, CFGL-FM, and CKBE-FM. The station's ownership lineage runs from La Presse (1922) through Power Corporation (1968) and Telemedia (1969), the Radiomédia joint venture (1994), and Corus Entertainment (2005) to Cogeco (2010–present). The station operates under CRTC commercial radio licence conditions.

Digital presence

Radio Circulation 730 streams live through its website, radiocirculation.net, listed by Wikipedia as its official site. The station maintains social media profiles under the Radio Circulation branding, where it posts traffic alerts and service updates. Its stream is also carried by third-party radio aggregators. A dedicated standalone mobile app for the station is not publicly confirmed.