CBC Radio Two (PatrZDZ's vision)

**CBC Radio Two** (formerly known as **CBC FM** and **CBC Stereo**) is a Canadian FM radio network operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Its programming focus is on arts and culture, primarily consisting of programs devoted to opera, classical music, jazz and theatre.

## History

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.

In 1997, the CBC renamed the networks CBC Radio One and CBC Radio Two.

## Distribution

The network is not as widely available across Canada as Radio One. While Radio One is available in most communities across Canada regardless of size, CBC Radio Two for the most part is available only in larger cities. Only 14 transmitters across Canada are licensed as originating stations within the network, compared to over 30 for Radio One, although some additional cities are also served by rebroadcasters of one of the originating stations. The service is provided in some form to virtually all of Canada's major cities and all provincial capitals. CBC Radio Two also has a more consistent national schedule than Radio One, with only one and a half hours each week devoted to distinct regional programming. Regional programming primarily consists of a weekly arts magazine which airs on Sunday afternoons at noon, local news summaries, weather updates, and a daily calendar of local arts and culture event listings. CBH-FM in Halifax produces an additional regional music program for the Atlantic Canada region, due to a scheduling hole caused by the time zone difference.

In some smaller communities, especially in rural northern British Columbia, community groups have been licensed to rebroadcast a CBC Radio Two station on a local low-power radio transmitter. These transmitters are owned by the community group rather than the network, and do not originate any programming at all.

## Programming

Although most programming on CBC Radio Two is exclusive to the network, some programming is shared with other CBC networks. Radio Two also simulcasts the majority of Radio One's newscasts, including The World at Six and World Report, resulting in several lengthy breaks from music throughout the day. Some specialty programs, including Sound Advice, Global Village and Northern Lights, also air on CBC Radio One in different time slots.

On satellite, the network's programming can also be heard on Bell Satellite TV and Shaw Direct. Unlike Radio One and Radio Three, CBC Radio Two is not carried by SiriusXM Satellite Radio; the CRTC requires that a "Canadian" channel (for the purposes of Sirius Canada, which carried CBC programming prior to its merger with XM Radio Canada) must carry 85% Canadian musical content, a requirement that has not been imposed on (or met by) the terrestrial network. Even so, a handful of programs that do meet this criterion, air on Radio One's Sirius XM feed (channel 169).

## Stations

Only stations which are licensed as "originating stations" within the network are listed here. Some stations also have rebroadcasters in smaller outlying markets; these are listed in each station's separate article.

* Calgary, Alberta – CBR-FM
* Edmonton, Alberta – CBX-FM
* Halifax, Nova Scotia – CBH-FM
* Montreal, Quebec – CBM-FM
* Ottawa, Ontario – CBOQ-FM
* Regina, Saskatchewan – CBK-FM
* St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador – CBN-FM
* Sudbury, Ontario – CBBS-FM
* Sydney, Nova Scotia – CBI-FM
* Thunder Bay, Ontario – CBQ-FM
* Toronto, Ontario – CBL-FM
* Vancouver, British Columbia – CBU-FM
* Windsor, Ontario – CBE-FM
* Winnipeg, Manitoba – CBW-FM