Type Radio network Availability Quebec | Country Canada Launch date 1990 | |
Slogan Le radio une couleur (The radio in colour) Owner Bell Media Radio
(Bell Media) | ||
Rouge FM is a network of French-language adult contemporary radio stations broadcasting throughout Quebec, Canada. Established in 1990 as RockDétente, they are owned by Bell Media.
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All Rouge FM stations broadcast in the same markets as Bell's contemporary hit radio network, Énergie, although that network also has a few stations in markets not served by Rouge FM.
Although the stations usually play mostly French adult contemporary music, it would mix in English music as well, much like Cogeco's Rythme FM network, which has got fewer stations than Rouge FM. The flagship radio station is Montreal's CITE-FM. For the Astral jingles on this network, they are different from the adult hits jingles used by Astral's English-language adult contemporary stations, although the network uses an acoustic tune that is very relaxing.
On August 18, 2011, at 4:00 p.m. EDT, all RockDétente stations were rebranded as Rouge FM, when the longtime RockDétente branding was retired, ending its 21-year run. On most stations, the last song as RockDétente was Pour que tu m'aimes encore by Celine Dion, followed by a tribute of the branding. The first song under Rouge FM was I Gotta Feeling by Black Eyed Peas. Following rebranding, most of the soft rock songs were dropped, leaving the Rythme FM network to continue broadcasting them and moving Rouge FM towards a hot adult contemporary direction. By 2012, most of the classic hits & ballads returned due to the 35th anniversary of flagship CITE-FM Montreal, going towards its old RockDétente direction. From May 2011-March 2012, the stations started identifying their call letters during station identification, and from April 27 to 29, 2012, the network was briefly rebranded Rose FM as a charitable promotion for breast cancer research.
All stations carry most Rouge FM programming simultaneously, except for CITF-FM in Quebec City, which is entirely programmed locally, aside from some networked programs.
RockVelours
From 2006 to 2010, Astral also programmed a satellite radio channel for broadcast on Sirius Canada and the American Sirius Satellite Radio, using the same format as the RockDétente stations but branded as RockVelours ("Velvet Rock"). The channel was originally located on channel 192, but moved to its current channel 88 in June of 2008. Its logo was also updated to include its current channel number.
This channel was programmed separately from the terrestrial stations, and was hosted by Mélanie Gagné and Jean-François Fillion. However, Astral Media sold the channel to Sirius Canada in September 2010, dropped the English artists and renamed it L'Oasis francophone, having a similar fate made with Énergie2 that time.