GATINEAU – London, Ontario will be getting a new FM radio station.
The CRTC has approved an application by Blackburn Radio Inc. for a station operating at 98.1 FM that will target adults aged 34-64 in the adult album alternative format.
It also approved the re-launch of Sound of Faith Broadcasting’s Christian music specialty station in that market, replacing its existing low-power FM radio station CHJX-FM.
Nine applications for new radio licenses were considered after the CRTC determined that the London radio market could support one new mainstream commercial radio station.
Blackburn, which currently operates radio stations in Chatham, Leamington, Sarnia, Windsor and Wingham, Ontario, “will add to the musical diversity of the London radio market and will address an underserved demographic in that market,” as well as “add to the diversity of news voices in London”, the decision read.
But Commissioners Elizabeth Duncan and Peter Menzies disagreed with the decision, saying that Rogers Broadcasting submitted an application that was “superior” to Blackburn’s.
The Rogers proposal, which intended to link the Internet and mobile technologies with conventional radio, “showed the type of ingenuity that would not only best serve London’s significant university population and underserved youth demographic, but create a template for future creativity within the industry,” their dissention read.
