| CHLX-FM | |
| City: | Gatineau, Quebec |
| Area: | National Capital Region |
| Branding: | Wow 97.1 |
| Airdate: | September 23, 2002 |
| Frequency: | 97.1 MHz (FM) |
| Erp: | 11,200 watts |
| Haat: | 71.5m (234.6feet) |
| Class: | B1 |
| Format: | Adult contemporary (French) |
| Owner: | RNC Media |
| Sister Stations: | CFTX-FM, CHOT-DT, CFGS-DT |
| Website: | wowfm.ca |
CHLX-FM (97.1 MHz) is a commercial radio station in Gatineau, Quebec, serving the National Capital Region including Ottawa. A francophone station owned by RNC Media, CHLX airs a format of French-language adult contemporary with some jazz.
It is owned by RNC Media and is branded as Wow 97.1. CHLX's radio studios are on Jean-Proulx Avenue in Gatineau, while its transmitter is located in Camp Fortune, within Gatineau Park.
CHLX was licensed by the CRTC in 2001, and launched on September 23, 2002.[1]
It was briefly branded as Classique 97,1[2] before becoming Couleur FM, airing classical music. In 2008, after a licence amendment was accepted by the CRTC, it became Planète 97,1, an adult contemporary-formatted station, with 20% of its airtime devoted to jazz.[3]
On July 11, 2014, it was announced that CHLX would flip to Hot AC as 97.1 Rythme FM on August 25, as part of a licensing deal between Cogeco and RNC.[3] [4] CHLX became the first non-Cogeco station to carry the Rythme FM format (other than CJEC-FM Quebec City, which was briefly affiliated with Rythme FM after being sold by Cogeco to another broadcaster). As of October 2014, it was still broadcasting two hours a day of jazz music,[5] but since June 2017 the CRTC amended the licence removing the requirement to broadcast such genres.[6]
In January 2017, the station dropped Rhythme FM and re-branded as Wow 97.1.