CBEW-FM (97.5

MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in terms of SI base u ...

) is the

call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally as ...

of the

CBC Radio One CBC Radio One is the English-language news and information radio network of the publicly owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial-free and offers local and national programming. It is available on AM and FM to 98 percent o ...

station based in and serving

Windsor, Ontario Windsor ( ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is situated on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from the U.S city of Detroit, Detroit, Michigan. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Esse ...

, Canada. CBEW broadcasts from transmission facilities at McGregor and also reaches the nearby

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

area and parts of Southwestern Ontario through relay transmitters in

Chatham–Kent Chatham-Kent ( 2021 population: 103,988) is a single-tier municipality in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is mostly rural, and its population centres are Chatham, Wallaceburg, Tilbury, Blenheim, Ridgetown, Wheatley and Dresden. The current ...

, Leamington, and

Sarnia Sarnia is a city in Lambton County, Ontario, Canada. It had a Canada 2021 Census, 2021 population of 72,047, and is the largest city on Lake Huron. Sarnia is located on the eastern bank of the junction between the Upper and Lower Great Lakes, ...

History

The station first broadcast on February 14, 1935 as a CRBC station CRCW 600 AM, which broadcast until 1938 (changing its call sign to CBW in 1937 after the CRBC became the CBC). Between 1938 and 1950, CBC Radio programming was aired on private affiliate

CKLW CKLW (800 AM) is a commercial radio station in Windsor, Ontario, serving Southwestern Ontario and Metro Detroit. CKLW is owned by Bell Media and has a news/talk radio format. It features local hosts in morning and afternoon drive times, with ...

. A CBC-owned station was subsequently relaunched in 1950 using the CBE

and 1550 frequency. Regional FM rebroadcasters were added in 1977. On May 9, 2008, the CRTC approved the station's application to launch a low-power nested FM

rebroadcaster A broadcast relay station, also known as a satellite station, relay transmitter, broadcast translator (U.S.), re-broadcaster (Canada), repeater ( two-way radio) or complementary station (Mexico), is a broadcast transmitter which repeats (or tr ...

(CBE-1-FM) in Windsor, at 102.3 FM. Six months later, on November 13, 2008, the CBC applied to the

CRTC The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC; ) is a public organization in Canada tasked with the mandate as a regulatory agency tribunal for various electronic communications, covering broadcasting and telecommunic ...

to convert CBE from the AM band to the FM band at 97.5 FM, to revoke its previous request for CBE-1, and to include a new FM rebroadcaster in Leamington on 91.9 FM (which was originally planned for 91.5 FM but was moved due to conflict with Windsor station

CJAM-FM CJAM-FM (99.1 MHz) is a Canadian campus radio station broadcasting at 99.1 FM from the University of Windsor campus in Windsor, Ontario. CJAM is an active member of the National Campus and Community Radio Association, and hosted the 2008 Nati ...

which, until October 2009, was also on 91.5). The new 97.5 FM main signal would broadcast with a directional antenna to the southeast, to avoid interference with two other stations at 97.5,

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

CIQM-FM CIQM-FM is a radio station broadcasting at 97.5 FM in London, Ontario, Canada, branded as ''97.5 Virgin Radio''. The station airs a CHR/Top 40 format. CIQM is owned by Bell Media. CIQM's studios are located at 1 Communications Road along with ...

and

Lansing, Michigan Lansing () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Michigan. The most populous city in Ingham County, Michigan, Ingham County, parts of the city extend into Eaton County, Michigan, Eaton County and nort ...

WJIM-FM WJIM-FM (97.5 MHz, "975 Now FM") is a radio station in Lansing, Michigan, broadcasting a top 40 (CHR) format. It is owned by Townsquare Media and has an ERP of 45,000 watts, making it a class B radio station History The station has had the ...

. On June 16, 2009, CBE received approval for its conversion to 97.5 FM and for its Leamington repeater.Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2009-349
/ref> Originally, no time frame was given for the AM to FM transition, though after the new FM signal would sign on, the AM signal was to go silent after three months of simulcasting, with the repeater signal at 102.3 to close within thirty days of the start-up of the 97.5 signal. That decision came following the CRTC approval for CJAM to relocate to 99.1 in March 2009. The 97.5 facilities began testing on December 1, 2010, the start of a 7-month testing stage that also included resolving issues between the new signal and second-adjacent stations in

(

WXYT-FM WXYT-FM (97.1 MHz "97.1 The Ticket") is a commercial radio station in Detroit, Michigan, serving Metro Detroit and much of Southeast Michigan. It airs a sports radio format and is owned by Audacy, Inc. Its studios and offices are located in ...

97.1 and

WJLB WJLB (97.9 FM broadcasting, FM) is a commercial radio station in Detroit, Michigan. Owned by iHeartMedia, it broadcasts an urban contemporary radio format. Its studios are on Halsted Road in Farmington Hills. In morning drive time, WJLB carries ...

97.9). The station officially launched on July 1, 2011"Nassau Exits New England"
''NorthEast Radio Watch'', July 4, 2011.
(CBC Windsor Community Blog) under the

of CBEW-FM (which was the call sign for a defunct CBC radio transmitter in

Fraserdale The ''Polar Bear Express'' is a Canadian passenger train operated by the Ontario Northland Railway in Northern Ontario. Service was introduced in 1964. While designated as a passenger train, the Polar Bear Express also carries freight and is eq ...

). In accordance with the original transition plans, the CBC announced that CBE would close down on September 30, 2011. Sometime after midnight on October 1, 2011, without fanfare, CBE's 10,000-watt Class-A 1550 AM signal was either powered down or shutdown. According to Scott Fybush's Northeast Radio Watch, CBE 1550 AM's sign-off happened without fanfare; indeed, the scheduled midnight end to CBE was extended out for a bit as the station came back on and off the air several times before finally dropping audio at 12:25 a.m. October 1, leaving just a dead carrier on 1550 AM. In May 2012, the CBC filed a request with the CRTC to move Windsor's

Première Chaîne A premiere, also spelled première, (from , ) is the debut (first public presentation) of a work, i.e. play, film, dance, musical composition, or even a performer in that work. History Raymond F. Betts attributes the introduction of the film ...

station

CBEF CBEF (1550 kHz) is a non-commercial AM radio station in Windsor, Ontario. It airs the programming of Radio-Canada's Première network. CBEF is a Class A station broadcasting on the clear-channel frequency of 1550 AM, the only full power s ...

to CBE's former frequency and transmitter, owing to potential issues with the age of the facilities and

rust Rust is an iron oxide, a usually reddish-brown oxide formed by the reaction of iron and oxygen in the catalytic presence of water or air moisture. Rust consists of hydrous iron(III) oxides (Fe2O3·nH2O) and iron(III) oxide-hydroxide (FeO(OH) ...

found on its tower in August 2011. The move was approved by the CRTC on October 16, 2012. The move would bring programming back to 1550 for the first time since CBE's sign-off.

Local programming

CBEW produces the local morning program ''Windsor Morning'', hosted by Amy Dodge."Revolving Door"
''Broadcast Dialogue'', May 5, 2022. Prior to 2015, the station produced the local afternoon program ''The Bridge'', hosted by Bob Steele. In 2015 that program was renamed ''Afternoon Drive'', expanded its focus to cover much of the

Southwestern Ontario Southwestern Ontario (census population 2,796,367 in 2021) is a secondary region of Southern Ontario in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. It occupies most of the Ontario Peninsula, bounded by Lake Huron (includ ...

region, and was added to the schedule of the network's

station

CBCL-FM CBCL-FM is a Canadian radio station in London, Ontario, broadcasting at 93.5 FM. It is the city's CBC Radio One station. Their studio is located in downtown London in the Central branch of the London Public Library while its transmitter is loc ...

; in 2017, the program's production was moved to London, concurrently with the launch of a new local morning program on that station."Changes afoot at CBC Radio's Afternoon Drive"
CBC News, June 6, 2017. The program is now hosted by Matt Allen.

Rebroadcasters

Former repeater, now shut down: The 102.3 frequency is now used by

CINA-FM CINA-FM (102.3 MHz) is a radio station broadcasting a mixture of English-language and ethnic/multilingual music and programming in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. The station broadcasts with an antenna aimed toward the northwest and southeast, to pr ...

, which signed on in September 2012.

References

External links

CBC Windsor

CBEW-FM
at The History of Canadian Broadcasting by the

Canadian Communications Foundation The Canadian Communications Foundation (CCF) was a Canadian nonprofit organization which documented the history of broadcasting in Canada, particularly radio and television networks, programs and broadcasters. The organization was established in ...

* {{CBC radio stations BEW BEW Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission Radio stations established in 1935 1935 establishments in Ontario