CHRC was a French language radio station located in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. Known as Québec 800, the station had a news/talk/sports format. Founded in April 1, 1926, it was the oldest station in Quebec City at the time of its shutdown.
Owned and operated by the Quebec Remparts QMJHL franchise, it broadcast on 800 kHz with a power of 50,000 watts as a class B station from a site near the Chaudière River near Saint-Étienne-de-Lauzon in Lévis, using a very directional antenna (six towers) with the same directional pattern day and night to protect various other stations on the same frequency, including CJAD in Montreal (which is approximately away). The station's studios were located at Colisée Pepsi in Quebec City.
It was previously part of the Radiomédia/Corus Québec network, which operated across Quebec.
On August 9, 2007, Corus announced a deal to sell the station to a group of local businessmen, namely Michel Cadrin, Jacques Tanguay and Patrick Roy, owners of the Remparts. The new owners plan on converting the station to a primarily sports-based format. This application was approved by the CRTC on June 26, 2008.Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2008-128
CHRC's alumni include former Premier of Quebec René Lévesque, who was a substitute announcer for CHRC during 1941 and 1942.
CHRC announced it would cease operations at the end of the month of September 2012, at the same time discontinuing the last AM radio service from Quebec City. Sports broadcast rights would soon be transferred to CJMF-FM.La station Québec 800 ferme ses portes. Radio-Canada. Retrieved September 17, 2012. Fagstein: "Last AM radio station in Quebec City to shut down", September 14, 2012. CHRC fell silent late in the evening of September 30, 2012. Before leaving the air at 6:06 p.m., the station's final words broadcast were farewell messages from their staff.Quebec 800 website - October 19, 2012 - archive.orgFin des émissions pour Québec 800, Radio-Canada, September 30, 2012 Parties interested in acquiring 800 included the Tietolman-Tétrault-Pancholy Media groupFagstein: "TTP Media applying for 850AM, wants to buy CKGM and CHRC", September 21, 2012 and Bell Media Radio,Journal de Quebec: "Bell Media serait intéressée par un rachat de la station radio", September 18, 2012. though no deals were made since the station's closure.
CHRC's programming and document archives were since donated to the Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec.Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec - Fonds CHRC (P723)
The CHRC callsign would later be reassigned to a new FM station in Clarence-Rockland, Ontario, as CHRC-FM. (Rockland, Ontario)
References
External links CHRC-AM at The History of Canadian Broadcasting by the Canadian Communications Foundation