CRTC questions Corus about QR 77 simulcast on FM

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CRTC questions Corus about QR 77 simulcast on FM

Postby radiofan » Thu Feb 02, 2023 5:29 pm

Broadcasting - Staff Letter addressed to Karen Gifford (Corus)
Ottawa, 24 January 2023

Reference(s): 2022-0653-1, 2022-0657-3

BY E-MAIL

Karen Gifford
CORUS
25, Dockside Drive
Toronto, Ontario, M5A 0B5
Karen.gifford@corusent.com

Subject: Staff Letter - Broadcasting - Re: Applications 2022-0653-1 and 2022-0657-3 – Licence Renewals – CFGQ-FM Calgary and CFGQ-FM-1 Calgary and CHQR Calgary

The Commission is in receipt of the above-noted applications to renew the broadcasting licences for the English-language commercial radio stations CFGQ-FM Calgary and its transmitter and CFGQ-FM-1 Calgary, and CHQR Calgary. To pursue the analysis of these applications, please respond to the questions set out in this letter.

The information requested herein should be received by the Commission no later than 3 February 2023.

Considering the above request, once the applications are completed with this additional information the Commission will republish the applications for additional comments.

The timelines for the proceeding will be as follows:

The deadline for the filing of additional interventions is 13 Feb 2023.
The deadline for the filing of replies to the interventions by the applicant is 20 Feb 2023.
It was recently brought to Commission staff’s attention that CFGQ-FM Calgary is currently rebroadcasting CHQR Calgary, which offers a News talk format.

As set out in the Radio Regulations, 1986, (Regulations) an A.M. station is defined as a station that broadcasts in the A.M. frequency band of 525 kHz to 1605 kHz, but does not include a transmitter that only rebroadcasts the radiocommunications of a licensee. Similarly, an F.M. station is defined as a station that broadcasts in the F.M. frequency band of 88 MHz to 108 MHz, but does not include a transmitter that only rebroadcasts the radiocommunications of a licensee.

As set out in subsection 14(1) of the Regulations, an F.M. licensee that is also an A.M. licensee shall not, during the broadcast day, broadcast simultaneously on its F.M. station the same matter that is being broadcast on its A.M. station if any part of the F.M. station’s 3 mV/m contour or the digital radio station’s digital service area overlaps with any part of the A.M. station’s daytime 15 mV/m contour. Pursuant to subsection 14(3), notwithstanding subsection (1), a licensee may broadcast simultaneously for a maximum of 42 hours during any broadcast week. Appendix A displays the contours of CFGQ-FM 3 mV/m and CHQR 15 mV/m daytime.

According to Commission records, as well as Broadcasting Decision 2014-147 and broadcasting licence 2014-0147-003-2021, there are no rebroadcasting transmitters authorized to simulcast the programming of the commercial AM station CHQR Calgary. CHQR’s licence authorizes Corus Radio Inc. to carry an English-language A.M. radio programming undertaking on the frequency 770 kHz in Calgary.

According to Commission records, as well as Broadcasting Decision 2014-147 and broadcasting licence 2014-0147-002-2021, CFGQ-FM-1 Banff is the only transmitter authorized to broadcast, in its entirety, the programming of the CFGQ-FM Calgary.

Read the full document here: https://crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2023/lb230124.htm
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Re: CRTC questions Corus about QR 77 simulcast on FM

Postby groundskeeper willy » Thu Feb 02, 2023 6:10 pm

How could it be that John Vos, the regional PD for Corus' Alberta properties, wouldn't know the simulcast regs before flipping Q107 to talk? Surely somebody within the Calgary offices, or even Corus Quay in Toronto, should have raised their hand and questioned what was happening? Or has the Corus business model now become a variation of the old cliche "it's easier to ask forgiveness than to get permission"? I don't think that'll cut it when dealing with the CRTC.
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Re: CRTC questions Corus about QR 77 simulcast on FM

Postby Rocky » Thu Feb 02, 2023 9:11 pm

I hope the 3 Stooges of Corus (John, Brad and Larry) have their resumes up to date.

They applied for an FM repeater several years ago, and were turned down. Now they think they are bigger than the CRTC and made up their own rules.

I hope the former Q107 employees have good lawyers. I'm sure they could do well with this shit show. The station really wasn't changing formats, these people were terminated a week before Christmas because Corus was gambling on
a change, not a change that was approved by the CRTC.

I hope every other broadcaster in the Calgary area and beyond files interventions and gives these goons the fight of their life.

QR let down the people of Calgary during the 2013 flood and was not there when people needed them, all they supplied was a simulcast of 630 CHED and fired Dave Rutherford in the process for criticizing the Corus priorities.

Good luck with this one. I pray for an outcome that has balls.
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Re: CRTC questions Corus about QR 77 simulcast on FM

Postby groundskeeper willy » Fri Feb 03, 2023 12:11 am

Tough to say what the outcome might be. As it's all happening during licence renewal time for CFGQ-FM, you might have a few more Corus regulatory staff being called to a few more face-to-face meetings with the commission, where they'll plead for mercy and make inventive excuses about how they were planning on following procedures and filing appropriate paperwork but somehow things just didn't work out, they lost track of time or the dog ate the paperwork or blahblahblah. Worst case scenario, they'll get a three year licence instead of the typical seven year term, and all the amendments for the Specialty format condition will be rubber-stamped to allow talk on FM. They might try to get creative in changing CHQR-AM's signal strength or reception contour to reduce overlap between the two signals. Or they could challenge the simulcast regs which say you can't do full-time programming originating on an AM signal onto an FM signal, but the lawyers could argue that the regs don't apply going in the opposite direction, that an FM originating signal should be able to simulcast full-time on AM without violating any of the regulations. Guess it all comes down to how badly Corus wants to do the "Talk on FM" thing and to what length they're willing to sacrifice the AM signal in order to accomplish it.
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Re: CRTC questions Corus about QR 77 simulcast on FM

Postby radiofan » Fri Feb 03, 2023 5:47 pm

From the RADIO WEST ARCHIVES ...

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=10788&p=12816544&hilit=CHQR+CRTC#p12816544


Ottawa, 24 May 2012

CKIK-FM Limited
Calgary, Alberta

Application 2011-1347-2, received 28 September 2011
Public hearing in Calgary, Alberta
6 February 2012

CHQR Calgary – New FM transmitter in Calgary
The Commission finds that the additional FM presence that would result from approval of the application to amend the broadcasting licence for the AM radio station CHQR Calgary by adding an FM transmitter in Calgary would undermine the Common Ownership Policy by adversely affecting competitive balance and diversity in this market. The Commission also finds that the applicant has not provided sufficient justification to warrant the granting of its application on its own merits. Accordingly, the Commission denies the application.

Introduction
1. In Broadcasting Notice of Consultation 2011-398, the Commission called for applications for a broadcasting licence to operate a commercial radio service for Calgary. In Broadcasting Notice of Consultation 2011-694, the Commission announced that it had received and retained 11 applications for broadcasting licences to operate new radio programming undertakings to serve Calgary. The Commission’s determinations with respect to the competitive applications for a new commercial radio service in Calgary are set out in Broadcasting Decision 2012-308, also issued today.

2. In response to Broadcasting Notice of Consultation 2011-398, the Commission also received an application by Corus Entertainment Inc. (Corus), on behalf of its wholly owned subsidiary CKIK-FM Limited. Corus proposed to amend the broadcasting licence for the commercial AM radio programming undertaking CHQR Calgary by adding a nested FM rebroadcasting transmitter1 in Calgary. The transmitter would operate on frequency 106.9 MHz (channel 295A) with an effective radiated power of 1,000 watts (non-directional antenna with an effective height of antenna above average terrain of 243.6 metres). The applicant stated that the proposed transmitter would provide a reliable high-quality signal on the FM band to listeners in downtown Calgary who are no longer able to obtain satisfactory reception of CHQR on the AM band.

3. Corus currently owns two FM radio stations in Calgary, CFGQ-FM (through CKIK-FM Limited) and CKRY-FM (through Corus Radio Company). There are currently 17 commercial radio stations operating in the Calgary market.

4. According to the Commission’s Common Ownership Policy, which was confirmed in Broadcasting Public Notice 2008-4, a person may be permitted to own or control as many as two AM and two FM stations in a given language in markets with eight or more commercial stations operating in that language.

5. Corus submitted that the addition of the FM rebroadcasting transmitter to the broadcasting licence for CHQR would not represent a new FM service as the new transmitter would simply rebroadcast the programming of CHQR within its existing contours and that it would therefore be fully compliant with the Common Ownership Policy. Corus added that if the Commission were to consider that the proposed FM transmitter would count as a third FM presence in the market under the Common Ownership Policy, it requested that the Commission grant an exception to this policy in light of the unique circumstances associated with its application.

6. Accordingly, in Broadcasting Notice of Consultation 2011-695, the Commission called for comments on whether the proposed FM rebroadcasting transmitter would constitute a third Corus-owned FM station in the Calgary market and if so whether the Commission should consider granting an exception to its Common Ownership Policy for radio and maintain the consideration of Corus’s application as part of the Calgary public hearing announced in Broadcasting Notice of Consultation 2011-694.

7. In response to Broadcasting Notices of Consultation 2011-694 and 2011-695, the Commission received interventions in support of the application, comments by Astral Media Radio Inc. (Astral) and Rogers Broadcasting Limited (Rogers) and opposing interventions by Bell Media Inc. (Bell) and Multicultural Broadcasting Corporation Inc. (MBC).

8. The Commission maintained the consideration of Corus’s application at the Calgary hearing in order to discuss with the licensee and other parties the specific merits of the application and the best use of the proposed frequency, as well as to complete the record relating to Broadcasting Notice of Consultation 2011-694.

9. The public record for the above-noted proceedings is available on the Commission’s website at http://www.crtc.gc.ca under “Public Proceedings.” Having examined the public record for these proceedings in light of applicable policies and regulations, the Commission considers that the issues it must address are the following:

Would authorizing the proposed FM rebroadcasting transmitter for CHQR Calgary be consistent with the Common Ownership Policy?
If not, should the Commission consider granting Corus an exception to the Common Ownership Policy?

Read the full decision here: https://crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2012/2012-307.htm

The CRTC's Conclusion:

Conclusion
31. As noted above, the restriction of ownership is a tool the Commission uses to ensure diversity in a given market. This was the primary objective of the Common Ownership Policy for radio as stated in the Commission’s 1998 policy and remains a key concern in its most recent Diversity of Voices Policy. The Common Ownership Policy for radio has been implemented in a more flexible fashion in areas where communities and radio markets are close together in order to ensure that a minimal overlap between contours does not necessarily prevent the introduction of a new service that would otherwise benefit residents of one or the other market (see Broadcasting Information Bulletin 2010-341). In this case, the Commission finds that the additional FM presence that would result from the Corus proposal would undermine the Common Ownership Policy by adversely affecting competitive balance and diversity in the Calgary market.

32. Further, notwithstanding the determinations made above on the basis of the Common Ownership Policy for radio, the Commission finds that Corus has not provided sufficient justification to warrant the granting of its application on its own merits.

33. In light of all of the above, the Commission denies the application by Corus Entertainment Inc., on behalf of its wholly owned subsidiary CKIK-FM Limited, to amend the broadcasting licence for the AM radio programming undertaking CHQR Calgary by adding an FM transmitter in Calgary.

Secretary General
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Re: CRTC questions Corus about QR 77 simulcast on FM

Postby radiofan » Fri Feb 03, 2023 6:34 pm

Calgary radio station's switch from classic rock to talk runs into CRTC static
The regulator has advised Corus Entertainment that switching its Calgary classic rock station to a talk format violates regulations.


Bill Kaufmann. Published Feb 03, 2023 •

A federal regulator says it still hasn’t found what it’s looking for after a broadcaster switched a Calgary classic rock radio station to a talk format.

Corus Entertainment’s move to transform its Q107 FM from rock music to a simulcast of its 770 CHQR AM news and talk programming was done last month without the required transmitter and licence, says the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC).

“According to commission records . . . there are no rebroadcasting transmitters authorized to simulcast the programming of the commercial AM station CHQR Calgary,” states a Jan. 24 letter sent from CRTC senior radio analyst Laurent Robillard-Cardinal to Karen Gifford, the broadcaster’s senior director of regulatory compliance and licensing.

“The licensee has not applied for a licence amendment to request that CFGQ-FM be authorized to operate in the specialty format.”

Read the rest of the story here: https://calgaryherald.com/news/local-ne ... rtc-static
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