CIQM-FM is a

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...

broadcasting at 97.5 FM in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada, branded as ''97.5

Virgin Radio Virgin Radio launched in the United Kingdom in 1993. In 2008, Virgin Radio UK was sold to TIML, a subsidiary of The Times of India group, and the name was changed to Absolute Radio; the Virgin Radio name was not included in the sale. In 2001, ...

''. The station airs a CHR/Top 40

format Format may refer to: Printing and visual media * Text formatting, the typesetting of text elements * Paper formats, or paper size standards * Newspaper format, the size of the paper page Computing * File format, particular way that informatio ...

. CIQM is owned by

Bell Media Bell Media Inc. (French: ) is a Canadian company formed by the amalgamation of several companies. Establishment (2011–13) On December 9, 2011, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan announced the sale of its majority stake in Maple Leaf Sports ...

. CIQM's studios are located at 1 Communications Road along with

CJBX-FM CJBX-FM is a radio station in London, Ontario. Owned by Bell Media, it broadcasts a country format. Its studios are located at 1 Communications Road, along with CIQM-FM, CJBK and CFPL-DT while its transmitter is located on Cromarty Dr near Hwy ...

CJBK CJBK is a Canadian radio station, broadcasting in London, Ontario, Canada, on the assigned frequency of 1290 kHz. The station, owned by Bell Media, has an antenna system input power of 10,000 watts, as a Class B station. CJBK's studios are loca ...

, and

CFPL-DT CFPL-DT (channel 10) is a television station in London, Ontario, Canada, part of the CTV 2 system. It is owned and operated by Bell Media alongside Kitchener-based CTV station CKCO-DT, channel 13 (although the two stations maintain separate op ...

while its

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to the ...

is located near Byron in West London. CIQM operates on a frequency once occupied by CKO from 1977 to 1989.

History

CIQM originally operated as ''Q103'' at 103.1 FM (now the home of

CFHK-FM CFHK-FM is a Canadian radio station licensed to St. Thomas, Ontario, serving London and Southwestern Ontario. The station transmits at an effective radiated power of 22,000 watts (60,000 watts peak) at 103.1 MHz. Owned by Corus Entertainment, t ...

in St. Thomas) from its sign-on in 1986 until moving to the 97.5 frequency vacated by CKO in 1993. For many years, the station was known as ''Q97.5'', even after taking on the "

EZ Rock EZ Rock was a brand of adult contemporary radio stations heard primarily in Canada. The branding was originally created by Telemedia in the mid-1990s for its AC stations, and based on the call sign of its former Toronto flagship CJEZ-FM (now ...

" trademark; in 2006, the "Q" was dropped and the station became known as simply ''97.5, London's EZ Rock''. On September 6,

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, CIQM underwent several changes, including a tweak in branding (as ''The New Sound of EZ Rock''), a new logo and new on-air staff. The station moved from its 24-year-old

adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

format to

hot adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet ...

. The switch was due to rival

CKOT-FM CKOT-FM is a Canadian radio station licensed to Tillsonburg, Ontario, broadcasting at 101.3 FM and serving the London area. Owned by Rogers Sports & Media, the station broadcasts an adult contemporary format. Its transmitter is located near the ...

switching from

easy listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, ...

to a gold-based

soft AC Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet sto ...

mix, and also because of rimshot rivals

CIHR-FM CIHR-FM is a Canadian radio station broadcasting at 104.7 FM in Woodstock, Ontario. The station plays an adult contemporary format branded as ''104.7 Heart FM'' and is owned by Byrnes Communications Inc. CIHR also broadcasts HD Radio, with the se ...

and

CHGK-FM CHGK-FM is a Canadian radio station in Stratford, Ontario with a Hot AC format at 107.7 FM, branded as ''107.7 2day FM''. CHGK's studios are located at 376 Romeo Street South in Stratford while its transmitter is located on Line 29 just south of ...

, both mainstream AC stations, also being heard in London. The station also dropped the decimal point from the station ID after flipping to

Hot AC Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet sto ...

. Just after the format tweak,

Astral Media Astral Media Inc. was a Canadian media conglomerate. It was Canada's largest radio broadcaster, with 84 radio stations in eight provinces. Astral was also a major player in premium and specialty television in Canada, with 23 specialty channels ...

switched CIQM's jingles to the Hot AC jingles. Despite all of the changes, CIQM, which once dominated the market, suffered from ratings erosion, and had the lowest share in the London CMA, and was a distant second place behind CKOT. On August 13,

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

, CIQM began stunting with jockless music, as well as their website being replaced by a countdown clock, with a voiceover informing listeners to tune at 8 a.m. on August 17, when an impending "update" of the station would be completed. At that time, the station flipped to CHR/Top 40, becoming the 5th station in Canada (12th overall, including

CKQB-FM CKQB-FM (106.9 FM, ''Jump! 106.9'') is a radio station licensed to Ottawa, Ontario. Owned by Corus Entertainment, it broadcasts a Top 40/CHR format. CKQB's studios are located at 1504 Merivale Road in Nepean along with sister station CJOT-FM, ...

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the c ...

, although that station reverted to its previous "Bear" branding (and has since flipped to CHR),

CKZZ-FM CKZZ-FM (''Z95.3'') is a Canadian radio station in Vancouver, British Columbia. It broadcasts at 95.3 FM with an effective radiated power of 71,300 watts from a transmitter on Mount Seymour, and its studios are located in Richmond. The station h ...

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. ...

(though they are considered

, and has since reverted to its former "Z" branding), and CFBT-FM in Vancouver) using the "

" branding. The final song on "EZ Rock" was " Rehab" by

Amy Winehouse Amy Jade Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011) was an English singer and songwriter. She was known for her deep, expressive contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres, including soul, rhythm and blues and jazz. A membe ...

, while the first song on "Virgin" was "

Pound the Alarm "Pound the Alarm" is a song by rapper Nicki Minaj, serving as the fourth single from her second studio album, '' Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded'' (2012). The song was written by RedOne, Carl Falk, Rami Yacoub, Bilal Hajji, and Achraf Jannusi, with ...

" by

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (; born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian-born rapper based in the United States. She is known for her musical versatility, animated flow in her rapping, alter egos and accents ...

. Longtime rival

became once again the market's only Hot AC station. CIQM-FM's flip to CHR filled the

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "cont ...

void in London for the first time since

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight ...

, when CFHK dropped it in favour of its current Hot AC format. The station has a full-time air staff and some shows are syndicated from

iHeartRadio iHeartRadio (often shortened to just "iHeart") is an American freemium broadcast, podcast and radio streaming platform owned by iHeartMedia. It was founded in August 2008. , iHeartRadio was functioning as the national umbrella brand for iHe ...

References

External links

97.5 Virgin Radio
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ciqm-Fm Iqm Iqm Virgin Radio Radio stations established in 1986 1986 establishments in Ontario