CRTC Kicks Butt

[skyvalleyradio]

The reason KRPA 1110 is silent much of the time is that they are using a cheap computer with no sound card & probably a dial-up connection to receive KWLE's webstream & it "buffers out" frequently. It sounds like BAD 8K over-compressed mp3 audio. I can't imagine that there are actually any listeners to 1110 at this point. It merely seems to be a 'placeholder'. Now that the CRTC has mandated divestiture of US broadcasting interests by the 3 South Asian broadcasters in question, I would imagine New Age Media will have these stations for sale. TS - you won't hear KRPA at 10:30pm as it's licensed as a 'daytimer' and signs off at sunset. Hey at least the current owner - unlike the last - actually turns off the transmitter at sunset in accordance with the license. As for lack of hourly TOH legal ID during silent "buffer outs" on KRPA, the FCC will act swiftly if it finds out. Pretty pathetic...

[Tape Splicer]

in light of this CRTC ruling, and others like it; What are the possible sanctions that could be brought against broadcasters who defy the CRTC and seemingly thumb their nose at the broadcast act?

[jon]

According to Wikipedia, Contempt of the Federal Court in Canada, which is where the CRTC files their Mandatory Orders:

Punishment can range from the person being imprisoned for a period of less than five years or until the person complies with the order or fine.

[Tape Splicer]

I just checked the links above and 1550 and 1600 are still online, and I assume OTA...

[RationalKeith]

"The orders do not affect programming that is streamed over the Internet."

Which is the way of the future?

You can get clock radios that play from the Internet.

[xwdcatvb]

Dan Sys' Canadian Radio News is reporting that both 1550 and 1600 are still running South Asian language broadcasts as of 40 minutes ago. 1110 switched to a simulcast of 1340 Anacortes more than a month ago.

The CRTC deadline was midnight last night.

As I understand it, that fact alone puts them In Contempt of Federal Court, and is normally considered serious enough to warrant charges even if they both shut down later today with an apology.

What's the status with the CRTC orders concerning 'Sher-e-Punjab' on KPRI/1550 and 'Radio Punjab' on KVRI/1600?

A quick check as of 4.45 pm PDT Tues 10 Mar 2015 shows South Asian programming on both 1550 and 1600. Are the two programmers now originating from facilities in Washington state? Or have appeal proceedings put the CRTC orders into limbo?

[Dan Sys]

I'm not sure what the status is on this situation. It took about a year for the CRTC to clamp down on the "illegal" 2DAY FM simulcast in Niagara Falls and Fort Erie, so perhaps some type of action is still in the cards.

In the meantime I have noticed that KRPI has a new logo that emphasizes Ferndale:
http://www.krpiradio.com/

[jon]

As Dan says, if past actions are any indication, the CRTC can take a long time to actually take action that finally results in immediately stopping "bad behaviour" by broadcasters.

As I've mentioned in another thread, it does not pay to wait if you are the broadcaster involved. The CRTC will typically keep careful track of all the infractions over the period up to when they take the action that actually corrects the situation, and the severity of the penalty is generally related to that "count". The clock usually starts ticking on the infraction count on the day the CRTC issued its original Order on the subject.

On the other hand, the CRTC has clearly been wrestling, over the last decade, with how to deal with long term failure by a station to abide by CRTC Regulations.