The following is a copy of a reply from the CRTC that a friend in Winnipeg received regarding the format change at CAFE 100.7 (CHNR are the original call letters of the facility).
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From: CRTC DONOTRESPOND/NEPASREPONDRE
To: ____________
Sent: Wednesday, December 27, 2006 1:12 PM
Subject: Your message of 12/26/2006 4:13:22 PM (Case ID 326837)
Dear Mr. ____________:
Thank you for taking the time to contact the CRTC.
When CHNR-FM was initially licensed, the applicant agreed to a Condition of License (CoL) that 40% of the musical selections aired on the station would be from the Specialty category (music category 3). The other 60% can be from Category 2 (most popular music including country). When Newcap acquired the station last year, this CoL was maintained. For your reference, here is a link to the decision which approved the acquisition by Newcap:
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Decision.../db2005-554.htm So long as the 40% Category 3 music requirement is met, the station would be in copliance with it's CoL concerning the type of music aired.
Concerning your other question, there is no regulation concerning the number of times a given selection is repeated. However, it is unlikely that any listeners would find that appealing and would likely not listen for very long.
I trust that I have answered your questions. Please let me know via the link below if you need any further information.
Sincerely,
Gary Krushen
CRTC Client Services
1-877-249-2782 / t?l?copieur/facsimile (819) 994-0218
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It will be interesting to see how Newcap lives up to the 40% Music Category 3 requirement. They seem to be throwing in a lot of Classic Country, but the definitions for Category 3 state that it includes old-time country music recorded before the 1950s, and traditional bluegrass (haven't heard any of that on HANK).
Don't get me wrong, I think this whole specialty format crap should be done away with sooner than later, but until such time that might occur it should remain an even playing field for everyone that is stuck with one of these licenses. On the other hand maybe Newcap is just planning to be defiant here to show the powers that be exactly how ridiculous this whole thing has become.