Tom Jeffries wrote:I wish both Terry and Jack the best.
I wonder if this station is viable.
I think the sad truth of the matter is, these new stations that have been licensed in the past few years aren't viable. Maybe on paper the plan looks great, but in reality it's a whole new ball game.
In a market the size of Vancouver, even the stations with full market coverage and actual ratings (and making money) are cutting expenses back to the bone. The number 3 market in the country, and you
have stations cutting live on air people in favour of voice tracking (usually from out of market). How can a new start up with a low power signal expect to compete? The only income most stations have is
commercials. Who's going to waste ad dollars on a station that has no signal or no listeners? Very deep pockets are required, and nobody is prepared to lose money forever just to finance somebody's dream
of owning and operating a radio station. The CRTC has been way too generous in granting licenses to underfinanced operators.
I'm sure these startups have a dream of getting their station on the air and then in a few years cashing in when they can hopefully sell it off to one of the big guys for a huge profit. That ain't going to happen
in today's economy. And things are still pretty good.
It's not just the new entries into the Vancouver market that aren't viable. Look at smaller markets like Kelowna and Red Deer that are totally over radioed. Again, too many licenses granted. You get the
bottom feeders selling spots for next to nothing and that affects everyone in the market. Suddenly existing stations have to cut back on expenses because the advertising dollar pie has been cut too thin.
In addition, let's not forgot how many former radio listeners have now found other options for News, Music and Information. A lot of those people used to read newspapers too.
All the best to Terry and Jack. I'm sure there will be more enjoyment in sleeping in until after the sun rises each day.