Montreal AM Licenses to Tietolman, Evanov & TSN

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Montreal AM Licenses to Tietolman, Evanov & TSN

Postby jon » Mon Nov 21, 2011 9:14 am

The CRTC increases the diversity of voices in the Montreal radio market by granting two new licences
Canada NewsWire

OTTAWA-GATINEAU, Nov. 21, 2011 /CNW/ - Today, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) announced that it has approved two new AM radio stations for the Montreal market. Tietolman will use frequency 940 kHz, while Evanov will operate on frequency 990 kHz. The Commission also approved an application from Bell Media for a frequency change for its TSN radio station, from 990 kHz to 690 kHz.

Tietolman will offer a French-language mainly spoken word station focused on news and public affairs, intended for an audience aged 35 and over. Evanov will offer a French-language spoken word and musical station for Montreal's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual community. Evanov already operates a similar station in Toronto.

"We are pleased to be increasing the diversity of voices in Montreal's radio market by offering additional choices to listeners," said Tom Pentefountas, Vice-Chairman of the CRTC. "The Commission received high quality proposals, but was unfortunately unable to approve all of them."

The CRTC considered five applications following a call for applications for the use of frequencies 690 kHz and 940 kHz in the Montreal market. It analyzed them based on the following criteria:
  • the diversity of voices;
  • competition in the Montreal radio market and the impact on it;
  • the quality of the application.
Today's decision follows a process that included a public hearing in Montreal on October 17 and 18, 2011.

Broadcasting decision 2011-721
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2011/2011-721.htm

The CRTC

The CRTC is an independent public authority that regulates and supervises broadcasting and telecommunications in Canada.

Reference documents:
Broadcasting Notice of Consultation 2011-336
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2011/2011-336.htm
Broadcasting Notice of Consultation 2011-453
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2011/2011-453.htm
Broadcasting Notice of Consultation 2011-571
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2011/2011-571.htm
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Re: EXCLUSIVE: Montreal AM Licenses to Tietolman, Evanov &

Postby jawbone » Mon Nov 21, 2011 9:20 am

Just curious how a release on Canada News Wire can be claimed as 'exclusive'?
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Re: Montreal AM Licenses to Tietolman, Evanov & TSN

Postby jon » Mon Nov 21, 2011 10:05 am

"First Public Media Outlet to Report It" wouldn't fit in the Subject line.

Duly noted and corrected.
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Re: Montreal AM Licenses to Tietolman, Evanov & TSN

Postby jon » Mon Nov 21, 2011 12:17 pm

Reading the CRTC decision, they made it very clear why Cogeco did not get approval:
34. The Montréal radio market is largely dominated by the ownership groups Astral and Cogeco, each of which operates five stations in the market. Specifically, Astral operates two French-language and three English-language stations, whereas Cogeco operates four French-language stations and one English-language station. Together, these two licensees generate over 90% of the market’s revenues, and most of the market’s PBIT (profit before interest and taxes).
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Re: Montreal AM Licenses to Tietolman, Evanov & TSN

Postby jon » Mon Nov 21, 2011 3:35 pm

This Montreal Gazette article fills in a lot of the gaps. Some of it has been posted in other threads, but the "News to Me" item was that the CRTC left the door open for an English language clone of Paul Tietolman's (approved today) French "100% local New-Talk Format". With no requirement that it be on AM.

Two new AM radio stations approved for Montreal
By Steve Faguy, The Gazette
November 21, 2011 3:49 PM

Montrealers are soon going to hear two new high-power AM radio stations, including a French-language news-talk station that's going to go up against 98.5FM and a frequency change for TSN Radio 990.

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission announced Monday two decisions on a total of nine applications for AM frequencies in in the Montreal area, five of which were for two clear-channel frequencies that have been unused since Info 690 and 940 Hits were shut down in January 2010.

The CRTC gave 940 AM to 7954689 Canada Inc., a group headed by Montreal businessmen Paul Tietolman, Nicolas Tétrault and Rajiv Pancholy. The station will be used for a French news-talk format that promises 100 per cent local programming and a budget that climbs to $10 million a year. It would compete directly with the 98.5FM (CHMP), news-talk and sports station owned by Cogeco Diffusion Inc. The group had also applied for a similar station in English to compete against Astral Media's CJAD, but the commission denied that application because 690 and 940 were taken and the group would not accept 990 as the station's frequency.

"If Tietolman wishes to pursue its proposal by using an alternative frequency, it may submit a new application to the commission, which will then examine the new application on its own merits," the commission wrote in its decision.

The other clear channel, 690 AM, was given to TSN Radio 990 (CKGM), which had applied for a frequency change to improve its signal. At 990, the station is required to change its signal at night to avoid interfering with CBC stations on the same frequency in Winnipeg and Corner Brook, N.L. TSN Radio owner Bell Media submitted dozens of complaints from listeners and advertisers about the poor signal at night, particularly in the West Island, when Canadiens games are on.

With 990 freed up, the CRTC awarded that frequency to Dufferin Communications Inc., which will setup a French-language music and talk station for Montreal's gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community called Radio Fierté. Dufferin's parent Evanov Communications Inc. owns 13 radio stations, but this will be their first one in Quebec.

Evanov vice-president Carmela Laurignano told The Gazette the group is "extremely, extremely happy" to have its application approved and looks forward to bringing a first-of-its-kind station to Quebec. The group operates a similar LGBT station, Proud FM, in English on a low-power FM frequency in Toronto.

The CRTC also denied an application from Cogeco Diffusion for an English-language all-traffic station, saying it was "not satisfied that the proposed service would represent the best use of a high-power AM frequency in Montreal."

The station would have acted as a sister station for Radio Circulation 730, which launched in September and replaced CKAC Sports. The two would have been funded mainly through an agreement with the Quebec Transport Ministry that would give each station $1.5 million a year in exchange for advertising time. The English station was already being advertised by the government as coming soon and Cogeco had sought applicants for jobs as traffic announcers.

As with Tietolman-Tétrault-Pancholy, the CRTC said Cogeco could re-apply for another frequency.

The decisions require the three approved applications to be operating within two years, but each has said it would like to be on the air by next fall.

In a separate decision also issued Monday, the CRTC denied four applications for low-power AM radio stations in Montreal, three with multilingual ethnic programming and one for a French-language religious station. The CRTC ruled the Montreal market could not handle the additional stations, which would compete with five existing ethnic stations and religious station Radio Ville-Marie (CIRA-FM 91.3).

The denied applications were from Radio Humsafar Inc. and Ontario businessman Neeti P. Ray for stations mainly targeting the South Asian community, La Méga Radio inc. for a station mainly targeting the Latin American community, and Gospel Media Communications for the proposed religious station.

ref. - http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/rad ... story.html
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Re: Montreal AM Licenses to Tietolman, Evanov & TSN

Postby andysradio » Mon Nov 21, 2011 4:24 pm

Good for TSN/Bell. It is ironic that at night I will be able to hear TSN Montreal clearer that TSN Toronto in Peterborough. 1050 just gets murdered. Now they need to do something with 1050.
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Re: Montreal AM Licenses to Tietolman, Evanov & TSN

Postby jon » Mon Nov 21, 2011 10:49 pm

These pictures tell the story of why CHUM (TSN 1050) and CFTR (News 680) serve Toronto and not much else at night:
ImageImage
It is the price they paid to get 50,000 watts at night: a very tight pattern, shown in Red that pushes the equivalent of about 125,000 watts at Toronto, but not much of anything elsewhere.

There just aren't a lot of (any?) available frequencies around Toronto where you could be licensed for 50,000 watts at night with a fairly broad pattern.
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Re: Montreal AM Licenses to Tietolman, Evanov & TSN

Postby johnsykes » Tue Nov 22, 2011 9:13 pm

Interesting that the Tietolman name is back in broadcasting....albeit Paul and not his father Jack, who is long gone.
Almost 40 years have passed since the Tietolman name was erased from CKVN/CFUN Vancouver. And, yes, I do remember.
I wished I'd never answered the phone call from Paul T., August 3, 1969.....my mother's birthday. I was in Vancouver by the 15th.
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Re: Montreal AM Licenses to Tietolman, Evanov & TSN

Postby jon » Tue Nov 22, 2011 10:49 pm

According to reports by one of the consultants involved in the Tietolman CRTC presentation, one of the frequencies suggested by the CRTC for the unapproved English counterpart and under consideration by Tietolman's group is 600, former home of Canada's first radio station, CFCF, originally run by Marconi the company, not the man.

It probably is the best choice. Even though CFCF only had 10,000 watts day and 5,000 watts night, it has a nice 4 tower North-only pattern 24/7 from a transmitter site near Chateauguay, which should cover all of Montreal quite well. I'm not sure when the Google StreetView photo was taken, but the transmitter site looks to be in excellent shape.

Click here to take a look.
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Re: Montreal AM Licenses to Tietolman, Evanov & TSN

Postby Anotherwpgguy » Wed Nov 23, 2011 12:17 am

John ... similar feelings. Although it turned out OK in the end, I had some tough times trying to work for the Tietolman's PD .. Simon G.

I guess I can't complain all that much, because when CHUM bought the place, it became a very different operation, and was one of the must fun periods of my time in radio.

One of the very classy constants of CKVN/CFUN was General Manager Ron Carrabine ... what a gentleman.

AWG
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Re: Montreal AM Licenses to Tietolman, Evanov & TSN

Postby johnsykes » Wed Nov 23, 2011 9:19 am

Simon G. was an a******. Didn't have a clue about radio....I forget what he did in Montreal, but it wasn't anything in radio.

As for Ron Carabine, an absolute gentleman........same goes for Bill Konyk....loved working for him too.

AWG, you must have been there the same time as I if you were there during both CKVN/CFUN times. The only guys from WPG I recall were Ched Miller, a classy morning man and Ron Hill who briefly was with us in sports.
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