Who Will Get Oilers Radio PBP?

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Who Will Get Oilers Radio PBP?

Postby jon » Thu Apr 10, 2014 6:15 pm

From Marty Forbes' Edmonton Sun column from earlier this week:

As we wind down a rather frustrating NHL season, this marks the possible end of the Oilers broadcast rights on 630 CHED where it has been a mainstay for the past decade or so. Much has changed in the broadcast world, and ROGERS controls a great deal of the advertising and media surrounding the Oilers — however, do not have an AM radio station in town where sports broadcasts usually reside. A move to FM? Or a short term deal to remain on CHED? I’m guessing the later and the announcement should be relatively soon. BOB STAUFFERS Oilers Now program will likely be part of the ultimate decision as well.
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Re: Who Will Get Oilers Radio PBP?

Postby Rocky » Fri Apr 11, 2014 11:15 am

I'd think after several years of no ratings results and a big overhead, Corus would be quite happy to sell CHQT 880 to Rogers. Losing the Oilers would be a big hit for CHED, but Rogers will do what makes them the most money. Sportsnet 880 The Fan has a nice ring to it. (ka-ching, ka-ching).

I quite honestly don't see Rogers doing a deal with Bell to move hockey to 1260.
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Re: Who Will Get Oilers Radio PBP?

Postby jon » Fri Apr 11, 2014 3:57 pm

Rocky wrote:I quite honestly don't see Rogers doing a deal with Bell to move hockey to 1260.

Now that Bell owns 1260 (CFRN) and has it branded TSN, I cannot see what had long been considered the more logical alternative: Rogers buying 1260.

Does the Rogers "master agreement" with the Oilers and the NHL see them more or less automatically acquire the Radio Play-by-Play rights when the contract with CHED expires? I don't know.

But, if it does, I can't see them interrupting regular programming on either Sonic or The Bounce to air Oilers games. Running play-by-play plus all the pre- and post-game shows, plus the regular daily Oilers Report, would simply kill their existing music-based audience on whichever of the two stations they chose. You could get away with that in Yakima in the '60s, but not Edmonton today.

One FM possibility does exist, though it may not be possible under the current CRTC license: World-FM (CKER) could pre-empt their ethnical programming for games.

Like Rocky, I cannot see the possibility of arch rivals Rogers and Bell coming up with an agreement that sees Bell-owned TSN-1260 run Oilers games. Though more likely than 1260, Bell and Corus undoubtedly consider each other major rivals, which makes it hard for me to imagine Rogers buying 880 or cutting a deal to continue airing games on CHED after Rogers acquires the rights.

So, what other possibilities are there?
  • Rogers applying for a license for one of the many AM frequencies that are currently available in Edmonton. 580 is probably the only one where they would have a chance at 50,000 watts.
  • Rogers cutting a deal with Newcap to have CFCW-790 air the games
  • Rogers buys time on CJCA-930 for the games. John Short had a daily Sports show on CJCA for about a year, so there is a precedent for Sports on the religious station.
  • With three CHR stations in Edmonton, Rogers may just decide to bite the bullet and turn The Bounce into Sports Net 91.7. ...with CRTC license amendments, of course.
Although there is no clear winner in all that has been discussed in this thread, I think killing The Bounce makes the most sense.
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Re: Who Will Get Oilers Radio PBP?

Postby Aaron » Fri Apr 11, 2014 4:56 pm

One of the options will simply NOT happen: One big group selling an AM to another.

CORUS may be losing money on 880, but they won't let Rogers put something successful on it only to have it syphon ad dollars from the market. They'd be better off going all-traffic, syndicated comedy, JOE 880, or even shutting it down. Same deal with 1260. Not going to happen.

Killing a music station also won't happen. Even the lowest rated commercial music station is very profitable, while an FM sports would take YEARS to get there.

790 or 930/105.9 make some sense, provided it works the same way as the Rogers/CBC deal. Rogers gets the revenue, Newcap/CJCA get the exposure.

101.7 is VERY possible. I know they're not licensed to be 100% non-English, though I'm not sure of the exact %. If Rogers gets the radio rights, look for this one to happen.
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Re: Who Will Get Oilers Radio PBP?

Postby jon » Fri Apr 11, 2014 5:27 pm

Thanks, Aaron, for getting me to research the CKER-FM license!

http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2013/2013-153.htm

Unless I missed some other condition of license, up to half the broadcast week could be Sports in English, based on the statement that the station must dedicate "84 hours and 30 minutes of programming per broadcast week to ethnic programming". There are 168 hours in a week, so that is 50.3% of the week that has to be ethnic programming.

The only real risk with this approach -- Oilers to CKER-FM -- is that it may prompt a challenge to the CRTC exception that allowed Rogers to own three FM stations in Edmonton. The logic at the time was that CKER-FM was not an English language radio station, using the precedent of the CRTC allowing four FMs under one roof in Montreal, with two in English and two in French.

As for The Bounce, I still think Rogers could throw in the towel on the station at any moment. Or give it another 5 years to prove itself. But, Aaron is probably right in the sense that Rogers is much more likely to try another music format on the frequency, than they are to ask the CRTC for a change in license so they can make it a Sports station, given the current value of a full power FM music-based license in a major market.

Which takes me back to CKER-FM. I'm assuming that the way they are licensed as an ethnic station automatically exempts them from the standard FM licensing requirement to play at least 50% music.
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Re: Who Will Get Oilers Radio PBP?

Postby Aaron » Fri Apr 11, 2014 5:41 pm

The only real risk with this approach -- Oilers to CKER-FM -- is that it may prompt a challenge to the CRTC exception that allowed Rogers to own three FM stations in Edmonton


So long as they're living up to their conditions (And it looks like they would be; thanks for checking!) there's really no risk there. And yes, they don't have to be 50%+ music.
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Re: Who Will Get Oilers Radio PBP?

Postby freqfreak2 » Wed Apr 16, 2014 6:36 pm

Rogers/CKER might be testing the waters with soccer:

FC Edmonton Professional Soccer Club inked a partnership agreement this morning with Rogers Media, which locally includes City Television, OMNI Television, 101.7 World FM, 102.9 SONiC and 91.7 The Bounce.

City Edmonton will air 13 of 14 FC Edmonton home matches as part of the station’s regular programming Sundays at 1:30 p.m. starting this Sunday, April 20th. All 13 matches will be broadcast on City Sundays at 1:30pm MST, with the majority being live. 101.7 World FM will be airing live play-by-play for home games, commencing Saturday May 3rd when FC Edmonton entertains Ft. Lauderdale, City Edmonton and Breakfast Television will support the team with weekly highlights and team features ...

101.7 World FM Radio has been providing information and entertainment to Edmonton’s multilingual community for almost thirty-five years. Reflecting the culturally diverse and rich tapestry that defines Edmonton, World FM presents programming in twelve distinct heritage languages, with roots extending from South Asia to South America, from East Europe to East Africa.


http://www.fcedmonton.com/news/detail/uuid/z3bz3yga2nym1k85de2aypdsh/eddies-ink-broadcast-partnership
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