by jon » Thu Jul 10, 2014 5:36 pm
Edmonton radio stations Now! and Up! sold to Pattison broadcast group
By David Howell, Edmonton Journal
July 10, 2014 5:33 PM
EDMONTON - The Jim Pattison Broadcast Group is acquiring Edmonton music stations 102.3 Now! and Up! 99.3 as part of a nine-station deal with Rawlco Radio Ltd. of Saskatoon.
“It’s just great for us to have this opportunity to be in Edmonton and bring our voice to the Edmonton market,” Rick Arnish, chairman of the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group, said Thursday. The deal, which is subject to regulatory approval, would see Pattison acquire three Rawlco stations in Prince Albert, Sask., three more in North Battleford, Sask., and another in Meadow Lake, Sask. Terms were not disclosed.
“It allows our company to continue to growing in the future,” Arnish said. “We’re acquirers, we’re not sellers. We think an awful lot about radio — it’s got a very bright future — and we’re looking to continue growing in Western Canada in particular.”
Now! ranked No. 1 in the Edmonton market, with an 11.4-per-cent share, in Bureau of Broadcast Measurement ratings published in June. Up!, with a 5.5-per-cent share, was in 10th spot among 18 stations measured.
Both stations play a diet of upbeat songs without focusing on a specific musical genre or era. Now! targets younger listeners while Up! appeals to older adults. Both put an emphasis on interactivity with audiences through social media.
“Rawlco has done a great job in creating these formats that have worked extremely well in Edmonton,” Arnish said. “We are going to learn from the team that’s there about how we can take some of the practices that they’re doing in Edmonton and apply them to some of our other stations in larger markets, or medium-sized markets as well, if that is possible.”
Management and staff won’t change at either station, and neither will the music and conversation, he said.
Arnish said he had tried to make a deal with Rawlco Radio’s CEO Gordon Rawlinson several times over the course of many years. Rawlco’s original station, CKBI in Prince Albert, is among the nine being sold. Rawlco will continue to own stations in Saskatoon, Regina and Calgary.
In a news release, Rawlinson praised Pattison’s reputation and commitment to current staff. “I am confident that these stations will be in very good hands,” he said.
The Jim Pattison Broadcast Group, headquartered in Kamloops, B.C., is a division of Vancouver-based The Jim Pattison Group, headed by billionaire Jim Pattison.
The deal is subject to approval from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission.
If approved, it would give Pattison a total of 13 radio stations in Alberta.
Earlier this year it acquired Calgary station CKCE from Bell Media and rebranded it 101.5 Kool FM. In April, Pattison launched a new Calgary station, 95.3 The Peak. Pattison also owns two stations in Lethbridge, two in Medicine Hat, two in Red Deer and others in Grande Prairie, Drayton Valley and Rocky Mountain House.