About Virgin Radio 95.9 (CJFM)

Virgin Radio 95.9 (CJFM)

Virgin Radio 95.9 (CJFM-FM) is an English-language contemporary hit radio station broadcasting from Montreal, Quebec, and part of Bell Media's national Virgin Radio network. Operating on 95.9 MHz with 41,200 watts from Mount Royal, the station — which bills itself as "Montreal's #1 Hit Music Station" — plays current Top 40 hits for the city's anglophone audience. Its history stretches back to 1962, when it signed on with separate FM programming rather than simulcasting its AM sister CJAD, an innovation at the time, and it remains the last FM station in Montreal still connected to its original AM sister station.

Overview

CJFM-FM is a commercial FM station licensed to Montreal and owned by Bell Media through its Bell Media Radio division. Its studios are located in the Bell Media Building at 1717 René-Lévesque Boulevard East in downtown Montreal. The station broadcasts with an effective radiated power of 41,200 watts (Class C1) from an omnidirectional antenna atop Mount Royal, at 297.4 metres above average terrain, covering Greater Montreal and surrounding regions.

The Virgin Radio brand is Bell Media's English-language CHR network, with stations in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Halifax, and other markets. The Montreal station adopted the Virgin identity in January 2009 and moved to a full contemporary hit radio format in July 2016. Since October 2021 — when WYUL in Chateaugay, New York, was sold and flipped to contemporary Christian music as K-Love — CJFM has been the only English-language CHR station serving Montreal.

History

The station's roots go back to 1948, when CJAD-AM applied for an FM licence that was approved by the CBC Board of Governors (then the broadcast regulator) for 6,020 watts. CJAD did not put the FM station on the air at that time, and the authorization lapsed.

The station was revived in 1962. Although it initially intended to sign on as CJAD-FM, it ultimately took the CJFM call letters and launched with programming separate from the AM station — an innovation in an era when most FM stations simply simulcast their AM sisters. CJFM's first broadcast took place on October 1, 1962. It was one of four FM stations that came on the air in the first half of the 1960s using common transmitting facilities on the new Mount Royal tower, alongside CFCF-FM on 92.5, CJMS-FM on 94.3, and CKGM-FM on 97.7.

Launch day carried a small piece of Canadian broadcast history: the first ten recordings — 115 selections — of Canadian musicians produced that summer by CJAD and Toronto's CFRB for the Canadian Talent Library premiered on CJFM, a commitment in the stations' applications to hire Canadian musicians and bring Canadian content to Canadian radio. The February 1962 application had come from CJAD Ltd., a Standard Broadcasting subsidiary, proposing 18 hours of separate daily programming in stereo at 41,200 watts.

Through the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, the station cycled through several formats — easy listening, album-oriented rock, and adult contemporary — generally under the "CJFM 96" or "FM 96" branding. In 1992, it changed monikers to "Mix 96" and shifted to a Top 40-leaning hot adult contemporary format, becoming Montreal's only hot AC station.

From 1962 to 2007, CJFM was owned by Standard Broadcasting (Standard Radio Inc.), passing through the hands of owners including Montague and Conrad Black in the late 1970s and Alan Slaight in the 1980s. Standard sold the station to Astral Media in 2007, and Astral was in turn acquired by Bell Media in 2013. Throughout these changes, CJFM remained the sister station of CJAD 800 — a relationship dating to the 1962 launch that makes it the last FM station in Montreal still tied to its original AM sister.

The Virgin era began on December 4, 2008, when Astral announced that CJFM — along with sister stations CKQB-FM in Ottawa and CKZZ-FM in Vancouver — would be rebranded as Virgin Radio outlets effective January 12, 2009, joining the existing Virgin station CKFM-FM in Toronto under a brand licensing arrangement with the Virgin Group. On January 12, 2009, at 4 p.m., "Mix 96" became "Virgin Radio 96." The final song on Mix was Great Big Sea's "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)," and the first song on Virgin was Madonna's "Like a Virgin." The station kept its hot AC format and most of its on-air staff through the transition.

By July 2016, CJFM had completed the move to contemporary hit radio, aligning fully with the Virgin branding Bell Media was expanding across Canada. On March 4, 2018, the station rebranded as "95.9 Virgin Radio," dropping the "96" from its branding for the first time in the station's history and matching its actual dial position.

Programming

Virgin Radio 95.9 airs a contemporary hit radio format — current Top 40 hits, recurrents, and pop music aimed at a young adult audience. The station's schedule includes a personality-driven morning show, midday and afternoon drive programming, and evening and weekend specialty shows. As part of the Virgin Radio network, the station carries network features such as the iHeartRadio Top 20 countdown alongside local Montreal programming.

The station has historically leaned into dance and rhythmic music: at one point it was reported to be the only radio station in Canada playing dance Top 40 music every day, with all-dance hours from midnight to 3 a.m. Sunday through Thursday and 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. The station's branding emphasizes hit music volume — "Montreal's #1 Hit Music Station" — and its contests and promotions are built around the Virgin brand's energetic identity.

Coverage and Audience

CJFM's 41,200-watt Class C1 signal from Mount Royal covers Greater Montreal and reaches into the surrounding regions. The station targets English-speaking young adults, competing for the youth audience with French-language hit stations such as CKOI 96.9 and Énergie 94.3, as well as with streaming services and, until 2021, the American CHR signal WYUL from across the border.

As Montreal's only English-language CHR station since the 2021 WYUL flip, CJFM occupies a distinctive position in the market: the default over-the-air destination for anglophone Top 40 listeners, a role it has held through the Mix 96 and Virgin eras alike. The loss of WYUL removed the station's only direct English-language hit-music competitor on the dial. Specific current ratings figures are not publicly confirmed in this research.

Ownership

CJFM-FM is owned and operated by Bell Media, Canada's largest commercial broadcaster, through its Bell Media Radio division. Bell acquired the station in 2013 as part of its purchase of Astral Media. Earlier owners included Standard Broadcasting, which held the station from its 1962 launch until 2007 — a 45-year run — and Astral Media from 2007 to 2013.

The Virgin Radio brand in Canada operates under licence from the Virgin Group, and Bell Media has expanded the brand to more than ten markets across the country, including Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Ottawa, and Halifax. The Montreal station's 2009 rebrand was part of Astral's original Virgin rollout; Bell has continued and extended the brand since acquiring Astral.

Digital Presence

Virgin Radio 95.9 streams live through Bell Media's iHeartRadio Canada platform, which also offers the station's podcasts and on-demand content. The station maintains active social media accounts promoting its shows, music, and contests. Directory listings associate the station with the virginradio.ca web portal; the official site could not be independently verified in this research environment.

The station's history — from the unbuilt 1948 CJAD-FM authorization through the 1962 launch, the Mix 96 years, and the Virgin rebrand — is documented by the Canadian Communications Foundation's broadcasting-history.ca project and in contemporary trade-press coverage of the 2008–2009 rebrand.