CBC Music

CBC Music (formerly known as CBC FM, CBC Stereo and CBC Radio 2) is a Canadian FM radio network operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It used to concentrate on classical and jazz. In 2007 and 2008, the network transitioned towards a new "adult music" format with a variety of genres, with the classical genre generally restricted to midday hours. In 2009, Radio 2 averaged 2.1 million listeners weekly, and it was the second-largest radio network in Canada. The CBC's FM network was launched in 1946, but was strictly a simulcast of the AM radio network until 1960. In that year, distinct programming on the FM network began. It was briefly discontinued in 1962, but resumed again in 1964. In November 1971, the CBC filed license applications for new FM stations in English in St. John's, Halifax, and Calgary, and in French in Quebec City, Ottawa, and Chicoutimi, telling the CRTC that it intended to start a second "more extended and more leisurely" program service on its FM stations, tentatively to be called "Radio Two". On November 3, 1975, the FM network was renamed CBC Stereo, to distinguish it from the AM network, known as CBC Radio. In the early 1990s, the CBC began offering selected programs on the Internet, most notably CBC Stereo's RealTime. In September 1996, the corporation formally launched live audio streaming of both CBC Radio and CBC Stereo. Since the 1980s, many of the AM CBC Radio stations moved to FM due to the limitations of AM broadcasting; as such, in 1997 the CBC renamed the networks CBC Radio One and CBC Radio Two. As of 2018, there are a number of CBC Radio One low-power transmitters with only a few high-powered ones left still operating on the AM band in some areas across Canada. For much of its history, its programming focused on arts and culture, and primarily consisted of programs devoted to opera, classical music, jazz and theatre. Some programming devoted to Canadian pop and indie rock music was also aired, via the Saturday night CBC Radio 3 simulcast and predecessors such as RadioSonic, Night Lines, and the late-night programme Brave New Waves.