CKUT 90.3 FM
CKUT 90.3 FM is a non-profit, volunteer-driven campus-community radio station in Montreal broadcasting at 90.3 FM since 1987, serving listeners with diverse music, spoken word, and community journalism, funded primarily by donations, advertising, and merchandise sales.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1987
- HeadquartersMontréal, Canada
- Headcount251–500
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What CKUT 90.3 FM does
CKUT 90.3 FM is a non-profit, campus-community radio station headquartered at 3647 Rue University in Montreal, Quebec, broadcasting at 90.3 FM since 1987 in association with McGill University (operating as 'Radio McGill'). The station produces DJ-curated music programming spanning dozens of specialized and open-format genres — jazz, reggae, hip-hop, electronic, blues, world music, and experimental — alongside spoken word programming covering alternative news, public affairs, queer culture, environmental and social justice, and Indigenous-language content. Supporting products include podcast series (Pioneer Grooves, Also Cool Sounds Like), live in-studio video sessions (CKUT Sessions), a programming archive dating to 1987, and a Local Journalism Initiative that produces award-recognized community reporting.
The station's revenue model is diversified across three streams: periodic listener donations and funding drives (the 2026 funding drive is described as having met its goal), local advertising via a published media kit, and merchandise sales (hoodies at $40, slipmats at $10, t-shirts at $20). CKUT also participates in Canada's Local Journalism Initiative, which provides programmatic funding for community journalism. Distribution occurs via FM broadcast in the Montreal metro region, complemented by global online streaming, on-demand podcast archives, and presence on YouTube, SoundCloud, and major social platforms.
Customer segments are horizontal: general public listeners seeking non-commercial programming, the McGill University campus community, and local and independent musicians seeking airplay and promotion. Key partnerships include media collaborations with the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal and Nuits d'Afrique, a podcast production partnership with Also Cool Mag, and institutional affiliation with McGill University. The station has no disclosed headcount, no external parent, no funding rounds, and no AI/ML capabilities; operations are volunteer-driven and supported by donor contributions and small commercial activities.
CKUT 90.3 FM firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- CKUT 90.3 FM
- Legal name
- CKUT 90.3 FM
- Website
- https://ckut.ca
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1987
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 251–500 employees
- Short description
- CKUT 90.3 FM is a non-profit, volunteer-driven campus-community radio station in Montreal broadcasting at 90.3 FM since 1987, serving listeners with diverse music, spoken word, and community journalism, funded primarily by donations, advertising, and merchandise sales.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
CKUT 90.3 FM industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Community Radio Broadcasting
- NAICS
- Radio Broadcasting Stations (51611), Radio and Television Broadcasting Stations (5161)
- SIC
- Radio Broadcasting Stations (4832)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Community/Low-Power Nonprofit Radio (LPFM/Community Radio) (MPABADAE)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Podcast Networks & Studio Platforms (MPAIADAC), Radio Content Production & Studios (On-air Production, Imaging, Jingles) (MPAIAEAL), Talk/News/Sports Radio Networks & Syndication (MPAIAEAG)
Keywords
Where CKUT 90.3 FM is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Montréal
- HQ country
- Canada
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
CKUT 90.3 FM business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Donations and Funding Drives: CKUT operates as a non-profit organization funded primarily through listener donations during periodic funding drives, with the 2026 funding drive mentioned as achieving its goal.
- Advertising: The station offers advertising opportunities to local businesses, mentioned in their advertising/partners section with a media kit available for potential advertisers.
- Merchandise Sales: CKUT sells branded merchandise including hoodies ($40), turntable slipmats ($10), and t-shirts ($20) through their store.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | CKUT Hoodies |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Turntable Slipmats |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | T-shirts |
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
CKUT 90.3 FM product offering
Product offeringCore offering
CKUT 90.3 FM operates a non-profit, campus-community radio station broadcasting at 90.3 FM in Montreal, delivering DJ-curated music programming across dozens of genres (jazz, reggae, hip hop, electronic, blues, world music, experimental) and spoken word programming covering alternative community news, public affairs, and arts and culture. Supporting offerings include podcast content (Pioneer Grooves, Also Cool Sounds Like), live in-studio video sessions, community journalism through the Local Journalism Initiative, and a listener donation system with branded merchandise.
Product overview
CKUT 90.3 FM is a non-profit, campus-community radio station based in Montreal offering a unified broadcasting service centered on its 90.3 FM radio broadcast. The station delivers two primary content streams: music programming featuring DJ-curated selections across dozens of genres (jazz, reggae, hip hop, electronic, blues, world music, experimental, and more) drawn from artist submissions and private collections, and spoken word programming covering alternative community news, public affairs, and arts and culture. Supporting these core offerings, CKUT produces podcast content (Pioneer Grooves, Also Cool Sounds Like), live video sessions (CKUT Sessions), a comprehensive programming archive dating to 1987, a Local Journalism Initiative with award-nominated reporting, and a donation/funding drive system for listener support. The station also maintains a store for merchandise.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- CKUT 90.3 FM Radio Broadcast Non-profit, campus-community FM radio broadcast at 90.3 FM featuring live DJ-curated music selections across specialized and open-format genres, without playlists, for Montreal listeners and online streamers.
- Music Programming Specialized and open-format music programs emphasizing the uncommon, the new, and the daring, spanning jazz, reggae, hip hop, electronic, blues, world music, and experimental genres, curated by DJs from artist submissions and private collections.
- Spoken Word Programming Alternative community news, public affairs, and arts and culture programming covering queer culture, environmental and social justice issues, feminism, theatre, African and Latin American current affairs, and Indigenous languages.
- Podcast Content In-house podcast series including Pioneer Grooves (featuring Montreal-based musicians) and Also Cool Sounds Like (featuring local musician stories), covering music and spoken word content with episode archives.
- CKUT Sessions (Live Video Sessions) Live in-studio performances and video interviews with artists, including the Pioneer Grooves video series featuring Montreal music legends such as Oliver Jones, Vernon Maytone, and Jah Cutta.
- Local Journalism Initiative Community news coverage under Canada's Local Journalism Initiative, including investigative pieces such as the Jarry Pool story, McGill campus coverage, and other local affairs topics; recognized with a Canadian Association of Journalists Community Broadcast award nomination.
- Donation & Funding Drive Listener donation system supporting CKUT's non-profit operations, including the option to direct donations to specific shows such as Cha Cha Cha In Blue, with branded merchandise such as hoodies, slipmats, and t-shirts available as donor incentives.
Companies that use CKUT 90.3 FM
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
CKUT 90.3 FM technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
CKUT 90.3 FM partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- Festival International de Jazz de MontréalminorCKUT serves as a media partner for the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal, promoting festival events through banners and coverage on their website, supporting Montreal's major music festivals.
- Radio McGillcoreCKUT is Radio McGill, the campus-community radio station operating in association with McGill University in Montreal. The station has been broadcasting since 1987 as a non-profit organization.
- Also Cool MagminorAlso Cool Sounds Like podcast is produced in partnership with Also Cool Mag, a Montreal and Ottawa-based online music and arts publication, event series, and radio show founded in 2019.
- Local Journalism InitiativecoreCKUT participates in Canada's Local Journalism Initiative, providing local news coverage including stories on McGill campus issues, community affairs, and municipal topics.
Scale indicators1 record
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
CKUT 90.3 FM competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- NPR: NPR is the dominant US non-commercial public radio network with member stations, podcasting scale, and underwriting-driven revenue — a broad incumbent that anchors the same alternative/educational radio space as CKUT but at a vastly larger scale.
- KEXP 90.3 FM: KEXP is a much larger Seattle-based non-commercial music radio station with a globally recognized brand, strong podcast/video distribution, and listener-supported revenue — a scaled incumbent in the same non-commercial music/community radio space as CKUT.
- CBC Radio One: CBC Radio One is Canada's national public broadcaster, operating as a broad incumbent in the same radio broadcasting space as CKUT, with overlapping spoken-word/news programming but operating at national scale with public funding.
Direct peers
- WFMU 91.1 FM: WFMU is a long-running independent, listener-supported freeform radio station in New Jersey, comparable to CKUT in its volunteer-curated, genre-spanning, non-commercial programming philosophy and donor-driven revenue model.
- CITR 101.9 FM: CITR is the University of British Columbia's campus-community radio station in Vancouver, broadcasting non-commercial music and spoken word programming funded by listener support and student fees — directly comparable in model to CKUT.
- CJLO 1690 AM: CJLO is Concordia University's campus-community radio station based in Montreal, operating in the same city as CKUT with a similar non-profit, volunteer-driven, multi-genre programming model and reliance on listener donations.
- CHRY 105.5 FM: CHRY is York University's campus-community radio station in Toronto, offering non-commercial programming across music, spoken word, and multilingual content with a volunteer-based operational model.
- CJSF 90.1 FM: CJSF is Simon Fraser University's campus-community radio station in Burnaby, BC, with a volunteer-driven, listener-supported model and diverse alternative programming closely paralleling CKUT's structure.
- CKDU 88.1 FM: CKDU is Dalhousie University's campus-community radio station in Halifax, operating as a non-profit volunteer-run broadcaster with eclectic music and spoken word programming and a donation-driven revenue model.
- CJAM 91.5 FM: CJAM is the University of Windsor's campus-community radio station in Windsor, Ontario, with a comparable non-commercial, volunteer-curated, multi-genre programming philosophy and fundraising-driven operations.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
CKUT 90.3 FM social profiles
Digital presenceCKUT 90.3 FM financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
CKUT 90.3 FM leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
CKUT 90.3 FM funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
CKUT 90.3 FM M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about CKUT 90.3 FM
What does CKUT 90.3 FM do?
CKUT 90.3 FM operates a non-profit, campus-community radio station broadcasting at 90.3 FM in Montreal, delivering DJ-curated music programming across dozens of genres (jazz, reggae, hip hop, electronic, blues, world music, experimental) and spoken word programming covering alternative community news, public affairs, and arts and culture. Supporting offerings include podcast content (Pioneer Grooves, Also Cool Sounds Like), live in-studio video sessions, community journalism through the Local Journalism Initiative, and a listener donation system with branded merchandise.
Is CKUT 90.3 FM a public or private company?
CKUT 90.3 FM is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was CKUT 90.3 FM founded?
CKUT 90.3 FM was founded in 1987. It employs 251 to 500 people.
Where is CKUT 90.3 FM based?
CKUT 90.3 FM is headquartered in Montréal, Canada, in the North America region.
How does CKUT 90.3 FM make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Donations and Funding Drives are the primary driver. The others are advertising and merchandise Sales.
Who are CKUT 90.3 FM's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are NPR, KEXP 90.3 FM and CBC Radio One. Direct peers are WFMU 91.1 FM, CITR 101.9 FM, CJLO 1690 AM, CHRY 105.5 FM, CJSF 90.1 FM, CKDU 88.1 FM and CJAM 91.5 FM.
Does CKUT 90.3 FM have an API?
No public API is recorded for CKUT 90.3 FM.
What industry is CKUT 90.3 FM in?
CKUT 90.3 FM's product category is Community Radio Broadcasting. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPABADAE, Community/Low-Power Nonprofit Radio (LPFM/Community Radio), with a secondary code of MPAIADAC, Podcast Networks & Studio Platforms. Its NAICS code is 51611 and its SIC code is 4832.