About Rythme 105.7 (CFGL)

Rythme 105.7 (CFGL)

Rythme 105.7 (CFGL-FM) is a French-language adult contemporary radio station licensed to Laval, Quebec, serving the Greater Montreal market as the flagship of Cogeco Media's Rythme FM network. Broadcasting on 105.7 MHz with 41,000 watts from Mount Royal, the station plays a blend of French and international pop hits from the 1980s to the present. Founded in 1968 as Canada's first independent commercial FM station, it became the top-rated French-language radio station in North America after adopting the Rythme FM brand in 1999 — a position it held for more than a decade.

Overview

CFGL-FM is a commercial FM station licensed to Laval and owned by Cogeco through its Cogeco Media division. Although its city of licence is Laval and its studios and offices are located on Boulevard Saint-Martin Est in that city, it operates as a de facto Montreal station. It broadcasts with an effective radiated power of 41,000 watts as a Class C1 station from an omnidirectional antenna atop Mount Royal, at 297 metres above average terrain, covering Greater Montreal and surrounding regions.

The station is the flagship of the Rythme FM network, Cogeco's French-language adult contemporary brand, which operates across much of Quebec. Its format centres on feel-good pop hits in French and English — a "suivez le rythme" ("follow the rhythm") positioning aimed at adult listeners seeking familiar, upbeat music. Its direct competitor is Bell Media's Rouge FM network, which offers a similar product with a marginally hotter, more current-leaning sound, while Rythme leans somewhat more toward oldies and classic hits.

History

CFGL was founded in September 1968 by Jean-Pierre Coallier — a radio and television performer and cartoonist — and Roland Saucier, president of National Sports Productions. Saucier had received the licence in 1967 to operate a new FM station at Laval on 105.7 MHz. The station went on the air on September 10, 1968, licensed to Stereo Laval Inc., as the first independent commercial FM station in Canada — a notable distinction in an era when nearly every FM station was the junior simulcast partner of an AM outlet.

CFGL began as a French-language beautiful music station serving Laval and the suburbs north of Montreal, transmitting 100,000 watts from a Laval tower only 400 feet high. Its early positioning was confident: a 1970 slogan proclaimed "Now… The FM 'that talks and sings' — CFGL-FM, the #1 French FM in Greater Montreal." In 1975, with a new FM policy on the way from the CRTC, CFGL was classed as an "independent" station — one of only two commercial FM stations in the entire country operating without an AM counterpart (the other being CFMC-FM in Saskatoon).

In 1978, Stereo Laval Inc. acquired effective control of Radio MF CIEL (1976) Inc., the licensee of CIEL-FM in Longueuil on Montreal's south shore. The CRTC expressed concern about one owner holding two FM licences in the same market but allowed the deal, noting that CFGL served the northern part of metropolitan Montreal while CIEL served the south shore.

Cogeco acquired the station in 1986, beginning a long period of stability. Through the 1980s, as the easy-listening audience aged, CFGL gradually added more vocals to attract younger listeners, completing the transition to French soft adult contemporary in 1992.

The station's modern identity was born in January 1999, when Cogeco introduced the "Rythme FM" brand at CFGL with a French mainstream adult contemporary sound. The move proved remarkably successful: CFGL became the top-rated French-language radio station in North America, a distinction it held until its Cogeco sister station, talk outlet CHMP-FM, overtook it in Fall 2011. Cogeco expanded the brand into a network after receiving new licences in other Quebec markets in 2002 and 2003.

On May 17, 2017, CFGL-FM began broadcasting in HD Radio, offering a digital simulcast of its FM feed with room for future subchannel expansion. By 2019, the station had returned to a soft adult contemporary presentation. The Rythme FM network's Quebec City outlet, CJEC-FM, was sold to Leclerc Communication in 2011–2012 under CRTC divestiture conditions attached to Cogeco's purchase of Corus Québec, and dropped the Rythme branding in 2012 — but the Montreal flagship has carried the brand continuously since 1999.

Programming

Rythme 105.7's programming is built around adult contemporary music — French-language pop hits alongside international soft rock and pop from the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, and current releases. The station's presentation is warm and personality-driven, with Quebec hosts anchoring morning, midday, and afternoon dayparts. Its morning programming blends humour, positivity, and listener interaction with the music flow.

As the Rythme FM flagship, CFGL originates network programming heard on the brand's stations across Quebec, including shared shows and promotions. Notable personalities associated with the station include singer and television host Mitsou Gélinas, who hosted on the station from 2012 to 2021, and journalist Pierre Nadeau, who worked as an announcer around 1979. The station actively supports Quebec cultural events and runs listener promotions tied to its feel-good brand.

Coverage and Audience

CFGL's 41,000-watt Class C1 signal from Mount Royal covers Greater Montreal and extends into the surrounding regions. The station targets francophone adults, with particular strength among at-work listeners. Its 1999–2011 run as the top-rated French-language station in North America remains the high-water mark of its audience history; the station continues to compete closely with Rouge FM's Montreal flagship CITE-FM for the francophone adult contemporary audience.

The station's ratings story is inseparable from its 1999 reinvention. Before the Rythme FM launch, CFGL was a soft-AC outlet with an aging audience; the rebranding to a mainstream adult contemporary sound with the tri-oval Rythme logo gave it a contemporary identity that resonated with younger francophone adults. The brand's success prompted Cogeco to build a province-wide network after winning new licences in 2002 and 2003, turning the Laval station's formula into a Quebec-wide franchise. Even as the network's Quebec City affiliate was lost to Leclerc Communication in 2012, the Montreal flagship retained its ratings strength.

On May 17, 2017, CFGL-FM began broadcasting in HD Radio, offering a digital simulcast of its FM feed on its digital sideband with capacity for future subchannels — one of the early HD Radio adopters among Montreal's French-language stations. The station's phone lines (450-664-4647, 514-790-1057) and text line remain active channels for listener interaction during its personality-driven dayparts.

Ownership

CFGL-FM is owned and operated by Cogeco Media, the radio division of Montreal-based Cogeco Inc. Cogeco has owned the station since 1986, making it one of the company's longest-held radio properties and the foundation on which the entire Rythme FM network was built across Quebec. The Rythme FM network was created and is owned by Cogeco.

Digital Presence

Rythme 105.7 streams live through Cogeco Media's digital platforms and maintains active social media channels promoting its hosts, music, and contests. Directory listings associate the station with the rythmefm.com web portal; the official site could not be independently verified in this research environment. The station began HD Radio digital broadcasting in May 2017.

The station's history — from its 1968 launch as Canada's first independent commercial FM station through the Cogeco acquisition and the Rythme FM era — is documented by the Canadian Communications Foundation's broadcasting-history.ca project.

Call Sign & Identity

The CFGL call letters stand for "Grand Laval," reflecting the station's city of licence on Montreal's north shore. Though licensed to Laval, the station has long operated as a de facto Montreal station, serving Greater Montreal from Laval studios with a Mount Royal signal that reaches across the metropolitan market.