City | Montreal, Quebec |
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Branding | CFMB Radio Montréal 1280 |
Slogan | Montreal's #1 Multilingual Radio Station |
Frequency | 1280 kHz (AM) |
First air date | December 21, 1962 |
Format | multilingual |
Power | 50,000 watts |
Class | B (regional) |
Transmitter coordinates | 45°19′31.08″N 73°32′53.16″W / 45.3253000°N 73.5481000°W |
Callsign meaning | Canada's First, Montreal's Best (Multilingual Broadcaster) |
Owner | Evanov Communications |
Sister stations | CHRF, CHSV-FM |
Website | cfmb.ca |
CFMB is a multilingual Canadian radio station located in Montreal, Quebec, owned by Evanov Communications. It broadcasts on 1280 kHz with a power of 50,000 watts full-time as a class B station, using a directional antenna with different patterns day and night (the nighttime pattern being significantly tighter). Its transmitter is located near Saint-Mathieu, while its studios are located on Avenue Papineau, Montreal.
The station has a multilingual format targeting ethnic minorities and broadcasts programming in 16 different languages.
CFMB was founded by Casimir Stanczykowski in 1962. From its inception on December 21, 1962 until September 29, 1997, the station broadcast on 1410 kHz. Its move to 1280 kHz was somewhat controversial, as that frequency was previously (until 1994) home to the now-defunct CJMS, a French-language station. Some individuals claimed that this move resulted from a conspiracy to prevent new competition to CKAC and CKVL, as 1280 kHz was the best AM frequency available in the Montreal area. Others claimed that the CRTC used the opportunity to promote multiculturalism at the expense of integration of immigrants to the French language. Supporters of the decision note that CFMB was due to lose its transmitter site and had already bought the old CJMS site, and that the only other application to use the 1280 kHz frequency was for a station with only 10,000 watts of power.
As of Stanczykowski's death in 1981, the station was owned by CFMB Ltd., which was majority-owned by his widow Anne-Marie Stanczykowski, and her son Stefan Stanczykowski. Station president Andrew Mielewczyk also held a 19.2% stake in the company. The 1410 kHz transmitter was briefly reactivated in 1998 when the station lent it to CJAD, which lost all four of its towers in the 1998 Ice Storm.