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CHQT

CHQT (880 AM, 630 CHED) is a commercial radio station licensedtoEdmonton, Alberta. Owned by Corus Entertainment, the station currently serves as a rebroadcaster of sister station CHED.

CHQT broadcasts with a power of 50,000 watts, using a non-directional antenna in the daytime. But because AM 880 is a clear channel frequency, CHQT must use a directional antenna at night. The station can be heard in AM stereo using the C-QUAM system.

According to the Numeris Winter 2018-2019 Meter Ratings Report, the station ranked 18th (out of 19 stations measured)^[1]

As of February 28, 2021, CHQT was the 16th-most-listened-to radio station in the Edmonton market according to a PPM data report released by Numeris.^[2]

History[edit]

The station signed on August 19, 1965 on 1110 kHz, with 10,000 watts power. It originally broadcast a Middle of the road format. In 1979, CHQT started using 50,000 watts power. In 1986, the station changed frequency to 880 kHz as it was sold to Monarch Broadcasting, Ltd.^[3]

In July 2000, Shaw Broadcasting sold the station to Corus Entertainment.^[4] In June 2001, CHQT flipped to oldiesasCool 880. In October 2003, the station briefly flipped to a variety hits format as 880 Joe AM. The format moved to sister station CKNG-FMas92.5 Joe FM on January 13, 2004, after which CHQT reverted to oldies; it is likely CHQT flipped to the format merely as a placeholder while CKNG prepared for their flip to avoid a rival company preemptively making any similar move.

On May 20, 2008, CHQT re-launched as an all-news station, branded as iNews 880, complementing sister talk radio station CHED. On May 29, 2018, the station re-branded as Global News Radio 880 Edmonton, as part of an ongoing rebranding of Corus's news/talk radio stations to create synergies with Global News television programming, and its local station CITV-DT. As part of the rebranding, the station added an audio simulcast of Global News Hour at 6.^[5][6] An audio simulcast of Global News at Noon from Global Edmonton was added as of March 2019. As of July 2020, an audio-only rebroadcast of Global National aired on CHQT at 7 p.m., following the News Hour simulcast.

On June 26, 2024, CHQT flipped to a simulcast of CHED.^[7] Corus has stated that the simulcast is an interim measure and will ultimately only operate one news-talk AM station in Edmonton, but has not announced whether it intends to return the station's license to the CRTC or sell the station.^[8]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Global News Radio 880 Edmonton
• History of CHQT - Canadian Communications Foundation
• CHQT in the REC Canadian station database

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