CBAL-FM, ICI Musique, Moncton
Canadian Broadcasting Corp.
| Station | Year | Freq. | Power | Owner/Info |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CBAL-FM | 2006 | 98.3 | 67,600 | Society Radio Canada |
| CBAL-FM | 1982 | 98,3 | 77,000 | Society Radio Canada |
1983
CBAF-FM signed on the air on April 15. It provided Radio-Canada’s FM stereo network service.
1989
CBAF-AM (Radio-Canada’s mono service) moved to the FM band in 1988. At first, it was known as CBAF-FM-26 as the FM transmitter had been on the air a number of years, rebroadcasting the AM signal. In 1989, the call sign for the mono FM station was changed from CBAF-FM-26 to CBAF-FM as it was now the originating station. As a restult, CBAF-FM (stereo service) became CBAL-FM.
1997
On July 31, CBAL-FM received approval to add a transmitter at Néguac/ Allardville, operating on frequency 101.9 MHz, with an effective radiated power of 13,300 watts and a transmitter at Lamèque, operating on frequency 95.3 MHz, with an effective radiated power of 941 watts.
The Radio-Canada FM Stereo network was renamed La Chaîne culturelle on September 1.
1998
CBAL-FM-1 Allardville signed on the air on May 15.
CBAL-FM-2 Lameque began broadcasting on June 1. CBAL-FM-2 receives its programming off-the-air from CBAL-FM-1 while that transmitter gets its programming from Moncton, via satellite.
2000
On May 9, CBAL-FM was authorized to add a transmitter at Campbellton, operating on 88.9 MHz, with an effective radiated power of 10,000 watts.
2001
At licence renewal time, CBAL-FM operated the following transmitters: CBAL-FM-1 Neguac/Allardville, CBAL-FM-2 Lameque and CBAL-FM-3 Campbellton. CBAL-FM broadcasts approximately 20 minutes of local arts billboard programming each week from Moncton.
2002
On April 30, CBAL-FM was given approval to add transmitters at Fredericton/ Saint John (88.1 MHz with effectiv radiated power of 78,500 watts) and Edmundston (94.3 MHz with ERP of 100,000 watts).
2003
CBAL-FM-5 Edmunston signed on the air on January 7.
CBAL-FM-4 Fredericton/Saint John began operations on September 22. Programming for both CBAL-FM-4 and CBAL-FM-5 from Moncton is received via common carrier.
2004
La chaîne culturelle was renamed Espace musique in September.
2006
On February 2, the CRTC approved the application by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation to change the authorized contours of CBAL-FM Moncton, by decreasing the effective radiated power from 77,000 watts to 67,600 watts and by increasing the antenna height. The Commission noted that there would be no significant change to the authorized
2009
On May 12 the CRTC renewed CBAL-FM’s licence. The renewal included the following rebroadcast transmitters: CBAL-FM-1 Allardville, CBAL-FM-2 Lameque, CBAL-FM-3 Campbellton, CBAL-FM-4 Fredericton and CBAL-FM-5 Edmundston.
2010
On August 9, the CRTC administratively renewed the licence of CBAL-FM (and its transmitters) to August 31, 2011.
2011
On August 25, the CRTC administratively renewed the licence for CBAL-FM and its transmitters to March 1, 2013.
2013
On February 22, the CRTC administratively renewed the licences for CBAL-FM Moncton and its transmitters to August 31, 2013.
On May 28, the CRTC renewed the licence of CBAL-FM Moncton and its transmitters CBAL-FM-1 Allardville, CBAL-FM-2 Lameque, CBAL-FM-3 Campbellton, CBAL-FM-4 Fredericton and CBAL-FM-5 Edmundston, for a five year term, to August 31, 2018. The Commission considered that it was appropriate to impose conditions of licence on Espace Musique that: permit the broadcast of a maximum of four minutes of national paid advertising, as currently defined by the Commission, in any clock hour; and limit the number of times that programming can be interrupted for advertising to no more than twice per clock hour. The broadcast of advertising by Espace Musique was for a three-year trial period from September 1, 2013 until August 31, 2016.
On December 5, the CRTC gave approval to the CBC to introduce advertising on the Radio 2 and Espace Musique networks. Advertising would be limited to four minutes every hour. The CBC would need to seek permission to continue airing commercials on the two networks after three years.
2015
On August 26, the CRTC approved the CBC’s application to amend the broadcasting licence for CBAL-FM by changing the authorized contours of its transmitter CBAL-FM-2 Lamèque. The licensee proposed to relocate its existing transmitter site in Lamèque to a new site in Grande-Anse, to change the class of its transmitter from A to C, to change its frequency from 95.3 MHz (channel 237) to 88.3 MHz (channel 202), to change the polarization of the antenna from horizontal to circular (directional antenna), to increase the average effective radiated power from 940 to 22,910 watts (maximum ERP from 5,400 to 100,000 watts) and to increase the effective height of antenna above average terrain from 56.5 to 96.6 metres.
2016
On May 2, the CBC received CRTC approval to decrease the power of CBAL-FM-4 Saint John from 78,500 to 76,697 watts (average & maximum ERP). Antenna height would be lowered from 395 to 374.6 metres (EHAAT).
On August 31, the CRTC denied the CBC’s application to continue commercial advertising on Radio 2 and ICI Musique beyond the initial three-year licence amendment. The CRTC found that CBC had failed to maintain satisfactory investment in radio and failed to meet ad revenue projections.
The story continues elsewhere…
Effective September 1st 2019, we will only be adding new material to these station histories in exceptional circumstances. Our intent to chronicle the early days of these radio and television stations has been achieved, and many new sources and technologies, from the CRTC website to Wikipedia, and others, are now regularly providing new information in these areas.