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Radio station Ownership?

5K views 22 replies 12 participants last post by  pinto 
#1 ·
From my understanding the CRTC only allows you to own 2 FM & 2 AM stations in one city/market.

Now that Bell has bought astral and it Radio stations is it possible for them to spin some of the radio station(Astral) into a "New" division not run by Bell Media like Shaw Broadcasting & Coruus is with Shaw hence they could own more the 4 radio stations in one city?
 
#3 ·
the stations have to be sold as per the conditions, so in the time being the assets of the music stations are transferred into a "blind trust" untill the stations are sold. the "blind trust" is a seperate holding company with no ties to bce or bell media
 
#4 ·
There's a company in the U.S. who plays a shell game like this with TV stations that is even worse, called Sinclair Broadcast Group. They just bought KOMO (ABC Seattle), and if they can't legally buy a station, they just have another company (like Deerfield Media) buy the station, then set up an agreement to have Sinclair run it on their behalf.

Thankfully, I think the CRTC is a bit smarter than that and wouldn't allow such a scheme here.
 
#5 ·
I've noticed a couple of things on CKOC since Bell Media took over. One is they're changing the format a bit to bring in some songs that really don't fit in with the format and many of them are just so much noise. Also, they now carry a lot of ads for some of the idiotic TV shows that Bell has on the various channels.
 
#6 ·
They can play location games too. In London, Corus has 3 FM and one AM, although one of the FM's is supposedly Woodstock (K104 was a Woodstock station until the late 90's when it was bought by Corus). It still has an office in Woodstock, but everything happens from London, and the sign outside in London has all 4 stations on it.

What I find funny now is that the CFPL TV, previously A Channel under CHUM, and BOB FM (STAR FM under CHUM) are in the same building. TV is now CTV (Bell), and BOB is now Rogers, and they are still in the same building, while the 4 local Bell radio stations are in their own building. Wonder if they ever intend to consolidate the 4 stations into the TV building, which I don't imagine is as full as it used to be.
 
#7 ·
i thik the 2AM/2FM station ownership rules may only apply for majour markets, ie Big citties like montreal, toronto, vancouver, etc. i dont think they were worried about london, wood stock, sarnia, etc. i can pick up other bell media stations from outside toronto , so i can technically pick up 5-6 in toronto but 4 are from toronto, the others are niagara, sw ont, etc.
 
#8 ·
The rules apply in all markets. In fact, in smaller markets, they're even more strict 2FM+1AM or 2AM+1FM.

There aren't many markets where broadcasters are using the adjacent small-market loophole. London/Woodstock and Ottawa/Smiths Falls are the biggest examples. (Rogers is doing it in Vancouver/Chilliwack to some degree too.)

In the Toronto examples above, while Hamilton/Niagara stations can be picked up in Toronto, they don't appear in ratings or sell advertising in Toronto.
 
#9 ·
DanJ. Seeing as the Astral Radio acquistion is only months old, it will take time for any relocations. Not sure how long the lease is for BobFM but it is something that probably can be bought out to expidite their departure. What is strange is the way the old Blackburm properties have been sold and resold, CFPL-TV is now with Bell Media and CFPL AM/FM are with Corus. It is odd to see call letters split between different ownership groups and Blackburn Radio is back in town with a new(er) radio station. In the longer term I wonder how long Blackburn/Rogers would want to be a single station owner in London when Bell and Corus have 4 each.
 
#12 ·
I'm not exactly sure how the CRTC allows Radio ownership in each market other than(and I could be mistaken) 2 AM & 2 FM stations.

What I can't understand is how they allow a station to be licensed in one city/town, yet be broadcast out of another?

IE Y101 here in Ottawa is suppose to be out of Smith Falls where the licence is, yet the studios and its broadcast out of Ottawa along with CHEZ 106,Kiss FM, News 1310 in the same building?

That doesn't make sense? :confused: I'm not exactly sure how the signal(broadcasting out of studio to the Radio Antenna thing actually works)(could be mistaken on this) but would it be possible to broadcast out of one location for all your radio stations in one province, So could Bell,Corus or Rogers broadcast all of their radio stations(studios) out of TO as an example?

Like I said I'm not sure on how exactly this whole Radio studio/location/license actually works?
 
#14 ·
So then it could be possible then what I said inb my previous post #12? As long as they have some small room with a studio and a office space(IE a space rented inb some office building) its allowed then? :confused:

In all honesty I would find it kind hard to think the CRTC would allow a station owner to broadcast out of one locations for all it radio stations they own? But then again the CRTC been known to allow some crazy things?
 
#16 ·
^^^ Yes, what I think the CRTC really looks at is the transmitting antenna location and pattern and where the content (advertising and news / information) is geared for. Contributions to various talent and music organizations and targeted sponsorship to local bands / events also are considered.

It does happen from time to time that a another station will file a complaint when they deem their market is being targeted from a station not licensed for their area.

Cameron
 
#17 ·
Evanov Group's Z103.5's antenna transmitter is located in Orangeville ontario, up by highway 9 area, yet, they broadcast to the local GTA, they even have an office on dundas (highway 5) in etobicoke city, but they technically are a "orangeville" station due to their transmitter and their licence.

Same goes for Bell Media's NewsTalk 1010 (CFRB-am). Their studio is located in Downtown Toronto, yet their transmitter is located in the town of Clarkson Ontario on the land south of Provincial Highway 2 just west of the Metro Plaza.

To me it makes sense because networks can own several stations yet the station transmitters are not always in the same location, for example, Bell Media's Chum FM's transmitter is located on the top of the CN Tower.
 
#18 ·
Evanov is basically a glitch that the commission turned a blind eye to.. for some reason. AM sites need a lot of land, so they are rarely inside city limits. 680's site is down in the Grimsby area.. FM is line of site, so the CN tower is king, Canadian Place in Toronto is another location used.
Normally, the studio is located within a specific contour of the stations coverage map (FM) Thus, Smith Falls can be in Ottawa.. especially if they carry some news stories/information about the "home" town... Evanov should NOT be in Etobicoke with an Orangeville stick.
 
#20 ·
Normally, the studio is located within a specific contour of the stations coverage map (FM) Thus, Smith Falls can be in Ottawa.. especially if they carry some news stories/information about the "home" town.
Not exactly. Smiths Falls is its own market, and Country 101.1 has to maintain and broadcast a certain number of hours from a studio within the market itself, not just the FM contours. They do this with their evening show.
 
#21 ·
CFRB has always been known as a Toronto station and used to have it's transmitter in Toronto. Another example is 680 CFTR. It's a Toronto station but it's transmitter is in Grimsby, but it's radiation pattern is directed across the lake towards Toronto. Then up in Hornby (401 & Trafalgar Rd.) Is a transmitter that used to be CBL Toronto, but I think it's now CHWO, Oakville. However, you have to remember that at AM frequencies, those distance are not significant, so all those transmitters are Toronto area.

BTW, the "RB" in CFRB stands for Rogers Batteryless. The station was created by Ted Rogers Senior, who invented a vacuum tube that didn't require a battery to power the filament. He used CFRB to promote his tubes and also the radios built with them. The radio brand became know as Rogers Majestic.
 
#22 ·
haha so ironic that CFRB (RB standing for Rogers Batteryless) is now under ownership by BCE's Bell Media. I remember when ted was still alive he said he would do anything to regain ownership of that station but couldnt at the time either because they didnt wanna sell or due to owership rules.
 
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