GATINEAU — In two separate decisions today, the CRTC denied applications for new radio station licences in Vancouver, B.C. and Grande Prairie, Alta., saying neither market can support an additional radio station at this time.
Rogers Media had filed the licence application for the Vancouver market, where it currently operates three commercial radio stations and also a rebroadcasting transmitter, CKKS-FM-2, which Rogers wanted to convert to an originating station with the new licence.
In total, 22 commercial stations serve the Vancouver market, and a joint opposing intervention to Rogers’ licence application was submitted by incumbents Bell Media, Corus Entertainment and Stingray Group. In addition, I.T. Productions Ltd. submitted an intervention to say it also wanted to serve the Vancouver market if the Commission issued a call for licence applications.
In its decision today regarding Rogers’ application, the Commission says the Vancouver radio market has experienced declining revenues and tuning, even prior to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, which is likely to further exacerbate the market’s already declining revenues, the Commission adds (some recent reports show radio advertising has fallen by more than 50% during the pandemic). Given its market analysis, the Commission concludes the Vancouver market cannot sustain an additional radio station and denies Rogers’ licence application.
The Commission also denied an application from Vista Radio for a station licence in Grande Prairie. At present, Grande Prairie is served by five English-language commercial radio stations: Vista’s CFRI-FM; Rogers Media’s CFGP-FM; Jim Pattison Broadcast Group’s CIKT-FM and CJXX-FM; and Golden West Broadcasting’s CJGY-FM. The CBC also operates a rebroadcasting transmitter for its Edmonton station, CBX.
In its analysis, the Commission found revenues and profits in the Grande Prairie radio market have declined sharply over the last five years, and this downward trend is likely to worsen further due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and so it said no to Vista.
In both cases, the Commission says it will not accept licence applications for new radio stations, in Vancouver and Grande Prairie, during the next two years.
