Vancouver and Surrey CRTC Decisions

Vancouver and Surrey CRTC Decisions

Postby radiofan » Wed Aug 06, 2014 9:52 am

The CRTC has awarded licenses to South Fraser Broadcasting for a new English language AC station in Surrey on 107.7 with 3,400 watts and to Roundhouse Radio for a new Progressive Urban Talk station on 98.3 in Vancouver with 6,000 watts.

Read full CRTC Decision
Those who danced were thought to be quite insane by those who couldn't hear the music.
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Re: Vancouver and Surrey CRTC Decisions

Postby Coolcat » Wed Aug 06, 2014 11:30 am

Talk about a blip on the radio dial. Not sure how many people will be able to pickup these flamethrowers.
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Re: Vancouver and Surrey CRTC Decisions

Postby jon » Wed Aug 06, 2014 11:38 am

South Fraser Broadcasting is owned by Sukhvinder Singh Badh, not to be confused with Surinder Kaur Badh, who owns Sher-E-Punjab Radio Broadcasting Inc. which was turned down for use of 600 KHz in this decision. And not to be confused with the South Fraser Broadcasting that first put CISL on the air.

Sukhvinder Singh Badh's South Fraser Broadcasting is still awaiting a CRTC decision on his application for 580 KHz in Edmonton, and the CKUA-AM transmitter site.

Here is what was applied for in Surrey:
Type: English‑language commercial FM radio programming undertaking
Technical parameters: 107.7 MHz (channel 299A), average effective radiated power (ERP) of 1,066 watts (maximum ERP of 2,500 watts with an effective height of antenna above average terrain of 132.4 metres)
Format: Blended mainstream Adult Contemporary, gold-based Adult Contemporary and Contemporary Triple A
Target audience: Adults 18‑64 years of age (core audience of women aged 25‑54)
Canadian content (music): 40% category 2* (35% between 6 am & 6 pm Monday to Friday); 10% category 3**
Local programming per broadcast week***: 110 hours
Spoken word programming per broadcast week: 34 hours
News programming per broadcast week: 5 hours, 25 minutes (news**** and related surveillance material), 3 hours, 19 minutes pure news, 75% local
Canadian content development contribution (over the basic annual contribution): $700,000 over seven consecutive broadcast years
Emerging Canadian artists programming per broadcast week: 2%
* Percentages shown for category 2 musical selections (Popular Music) are for both the broadcast week and the period from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Monday to Friday. The definition of “broadcast week” is the same as that set out in the Radio Regulations, 1986.
** Percentages shown for category 3 musical selections (Special Interest Music) are for the broadcast week. The definition of “broadcast week” is the same as that set out in the Radio Regulations, 1986.
*** The definition of “broadcast week,” as it relates to local, spoken word and news programming, is the same as that set out in the Radio Regulations, 1986.
**** As set out in Revised content categories and subcategories for radio, Broadcasting Regulatory Policy CRTC 2010‑819, 5 November 2010, “news” excludes related surveillance material, that is, weather, traffic, sports and entertainment reports.

The station also will provide funding for:
Fusion Festival & Canada Day in Surrey, for secondary stages featuring emerging Canadian talent;
Surrey School Board, for music programs, an annual jazz festival and a program that partners professional musicians with students;
Scholarships for broadcast journalism students at British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) and Kwantlen Polytechnic University; and
Evolution 107.9, for programming and volunteer training initiatives at BCIT’s student radio station.
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Re: Vancouver and Surrey CRTC Decisions

Postby jon » Wed Aug 06, 2014 11:43 am

This decision doesn't mean that we'll never see 600 KHz back on the air. Here is what the CRTC said on the subject:

Use of the AM frequency 600 kHz and FM frequency 91.5 MHz

The Commission is mindful of the scarcity of spectrum in the Vancouver market. For this reason, and, in the case of 600 kHz, given its extensive coverage, the Commission considers, in the circumstances of this proceeding, that the applications submitted proposing the use of 600 kHz and 91.5 MHz do not represent the best use of the frequencies. The Commission will therefore not be approving applications proposing the use of these two frequencies at this time.

Sher-E-Punjab Radio Broadcasting Inc. (Sher-E-Punjab) is one of the applicants that proposed to use 600 kHz. The Commission notes that some interveners opposed Sher‑E‑Punjab’s application, arguing that Sher-E-Punjab broadcasts from the U.S. into Canada without a licence. At the hearing, Sher-E-Punjab proposed to abide by a condition that would require it to cease providing its programming for broadcast over transmission facilities located in the U.S. once the Department of Industry has issued a broadcasting certificate to Sher-E-Punjab for the use of 600 kHz. The Commission’s decision to deny Sher-E-Punjab’s proposal for the use of the AM frequency 600 kHz as set out in the preceding paragraph will also provide the Commission with time to examine the issue of broadcasting services transmitted from locations outside Canada and which appear to serve Canadian markets.
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Re: Vancouver and Surrey CRTC Decisions

Postby jon » Thu Aug 14, 2014 8:30 am

More details on South Fraser's station, including Branding, from this morning's Broadcast Dialogue:
The Commission also gave the green light to South Fraser Broadcasting for an FM station in Surrey at 107.7 with power of 1,066 watts and programming blended mainstream AC, gold-based AC and Contemporary Triple A. It will be branded My Surrey FM and will be the first English-speaking station based in the city...
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Re: Vancouver and Surrey CRTC Decisions

Postby jon » Wed Aug 20, 2014 5:47 pm

Thanks to Dan Sys for finding this article on the two new stations, from a business perspective:

New FM stations signal more change in local radio market
Regulatory approval opens way for launch of Vancouver and Surrey specialty channels
Bob Mackin
Business Vancouver
biv.com
Mon Aug 18, 2014

The Lower Mainland radio market is poised for a shakeup as soon as next winter after new commercial FM stations targeting Vancouver and Surrey got the regulatory green light on August 6.

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) approved bids by 0971197 B.C. Ltd., dba Roundhouse Radio, and South Fraser Broadcasting Inc. Roundhouse proposed a specialty FM station at 98.3 FM for the city of Vancouver with an 80% spoken word, 20% music ratio that is “hyper-targeted” to downtown.

South Fraser's My Surrey FM at 107.7 FM will carry an adult contemporary music format with local news, sports and weather. Both low-power signals will spill over to neighbouring municipalities, but the stations will also stream live on the Internet.

They were among 11 applicants for new stations that appeared at a January 27 CRTC public hearing in Vancouver. Both have a two-year window to launch, but could be on air in six months.

“In the short term, it's nothing but good news for media buyers and planners and good news for advertisers any time there are new options to consider,” said David Stanger, president of Langley-based media buying agency DSA Media Network. “I think once the dust settles it will be very interesting to see the long-term sustainability.”

In 2013, the 20 commercial radio stations in the Metro Vancouver radio market recorded total revenues of $124 million, representing a slight decrease of 1.6% relative to the prior year. Nonetheless, on an aggregate basis, the Vancouver radio market's profitability remained strong in 2013 with a profit before interest and taxes margin of 24.1%, up from 22.8% in 2012.

The CRTC consequently ruled that the Metro Vancouver radio market could support two new stations without harming incumbent services.

Roundhouse received strategic advice from former CKNW producer Shirley Stocker, former Global, CBC and CHEK news anchor Tony Parsons and Kirk LaPointe, the print and broadcast media executive seeking Vancouver's mayoralty for the NPA. (See “A fond farewell to St. Pierre and the glory days of dailies, CKNW” – BIV issue 1293; August 12–18.)

Roundhouse's CEO is veteran radio programming executive Don Shafer, who said the group was “a little overwhelmed, humbled, shocked” by the decision, but it was not pausing to celebrate.

“We have to secure a lease for our rooftop antenna and transmitter, we have to secure offices, we have to buy equipment, we have to obviously find the right people who can breathe life into our application,” Shafer told Business in Vancouver. “We have to establish contact with all the community groups, all the different downtown business associations and start working the streets.”

Shafer declined to discuss the application costs and startup budget.

Although CKNW AM 980, News1130 and CBC 690 AM/88.1 FM also compete for news and talk radio listeners, “only a small amount of their content is generated or focused for the city of Vancouver, people who live, work and play in downtown Vancouver,” Shafer said.

Image

South Fraser owner Sukhvinder Badh, a Simon Fraser University and Douglas College economics instructor, said the My Surrey FM proposal cost $500,000 and it could cost another $250,000 to $500,000 to get the station operating.

He said the key to the application's success is Surrey's lack of an English-language station. An estimated 94% of residents in B.C.'s second-largest city understand English. Smaller markets like Halifax and Regina boast multiple radio stations.

“[Surrey residents] have their own separate tastes. What they really lacked, the research pointed out, was they wanted something that would talk about Surrey first and Surrey always,” Badh said. “They also felt the Vancouver stations give Surrey a priority only during drug busts, murders and other criminal activity. They figured that their Surrey has more to offer than what the Vancouver stations are labelling Surrey as.”

Stanger said it will be vital for both new stations to launch and sustain unique programming to captivate listeners and advertisers.

“The downtown station, the challenge they have is to be relevant to the people that live downtown, and I'm not at the moment convinced that radio is the go-to medium for most people that live downtown,” Stanger said. “The Surrey station, the news and information may be aimed at a Surrey market, but if the music they play is the same as four other Vancouver radio stations, eventually they're going to be in a ratings and price war with the stations that play the same music.”
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