City Sudbury, Ontario Frequency 98.1 MHz (FM) Format public broadcasting | Broadcast area Northern Ontario First air date July 21, 1978 | |
Branding Ici Radio-Canada Première | ||
CBON-FM is a Canadian radio station. It broadcasts the Société Radio-Canada's Ici Radio-Canada Première network at 98.1 FM in Sudbury, Ontario. The station also serves much of Northern Ontario through a network of relay transmitters.
Contents
History
Prior to the station's launch in 1978, Radio-Canada programming was carried on private affiliate CFBR. The CRTC decision authorizing the launch of CBON-FM in fact encouraged, but did not direct, Radio-Canada to retain an AM frequency for its talk radio network, and to reserve CBON-FM for its music network. However, the station launched in 1978 as an affiliate of the talk network after the CBC was unable to negotiate an agreement with F. Baxter Ricard to directly acquire CFBR.
Radio-Canada's music network was not available in the city until the launch of CBBX-FM in 2001, although from 1984 to 1991 the CBC held an unused license to launch that station.
Programming
The station's regional morning program is Le matin du Nord, weekdays from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m., and its regional afternoon program is Ça parle au Nord, weekdays from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. The station also produces the provincewide program 15-30 Ontario weekdays from 3:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. On Saturday mornings, the station produces the provincewide morning program Grands Lacs Café. Hosted and produced in Sudbury, with additional contributions from staff in Toronto. The provincewide programs airs on CBON and CJBC, as well as CBEF in Windsor. On all public holidays, L'heure de pointe Toronto from CJBC in Toronto or Ça parle au Nord is heard provincewide (except Ottawa) from 3:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. On some holidays, Y'a pas deux matins pareils from CJBC or Le matin du Nord from CBON airs on both stations, but on some others holidays, both stations air their local shows as usual.
AM to FM and technical information
On February 28, 2017, the CBC submitted an application to convert CBON-6 Blind River from the AM band (1010 kHz) to the FM band at 98.5 MHz. Blind River's proposed callsign for its new transmitter will be CBON-FM-6.