CKGM 980 was Montreal's first Top 40 AM pop station, which originally aired bilingually with hosts like Marc Denis and then irrepressible (and physically huge) Ralph Lockwood, pitchman for Dorion Suits ("with sizes up to SIXTY-FOUR!!").
Started in the late 1950s, it was a mix of talk radio and top 40, but later adopted a pure Top 40 format in 1970.
It later spawned an FM sister station, CKGM-FM, which started as an FM simulcast of CKGM-AM, then adopted a 'beautiful music' format in 1963, before undergoing a format change to album-oriented rock in 1969, and a name change in 1971 to become CHOM 97.7 FM, "the Spirit of Rock."
In 1985, CKGM 980 was sold to Toronto-based CHUM Limited (the parent company of CHUM radio as well as MuchMusic) and adopted a 'Less Talk, Lite Rock' format; then in 1990 went back to a Top 40 format with a new call sign, CHTX 980 Hits; then switched frequencies to AM 990 with a power boost to 50,000 watts (as a Class B station, it had to use a directional antenna to avoid long-range nighttime broadcast interference with Class A stations in Winnipeg and Corner Brook, NFLD).
In 1991, the call sign and format changed once again to CKIS, an oldies station.
In 1996, it switched back to CKGM, rebranding as 'Talk Radio with Attitude,' mostly airing syndicated talk shows, but garnering low ratings.
During the Ice Storm of 1998, radio broadcast towers and transmitters in the Montreal region suffered significant damage. CKGM moved temporarily to 1410 AM, leasing facilities from CFMB, then returned to 990, but leased their signal temporarily to longrunning talk radio competitor CJAD (normally on 800 AM).
When all broadcast services were restored in mid-1998, CKGM took the opportunity to rebrand once again as a largely automated station, 'Oldies 990'.
Since then, the station has gone through multiple format changes, including to an all-sports format (The Team 990), and then in 2012, a frequency change to 690 AM, a clear channel ideal for long-distance sports broadcasting. It's currently owned by Bell Media, as part of the TSN (The Sports Network) radio group, and has exclusive rights to broadcast Montreal Canadiens hockey games.
