By Ahmad Hathout
YELLOWKNIFE, NWT – Yellowknife’s internet radio outfit Cabin Radio said Wednesday it is reapplying for a commercial FM licence in the capital city within 60 days.
The company was denied an application last month by the CRTC, which said the market could not support another station and would pose a financial threat to the only commercial FM radio station in the city, Vista Radio’s CJCD-FM. The regulator noted the poor radio revenue climate since the pandemic. Two commissioners dissented.
But Cabin Radio said in a letter to the CRTC dated Tuesday that it will file again by the end of April, requesting that the commission lift the two-year moratorium on reapplications for FM licenses.
“We respectfully submit that the Commission must be procedurally fair, take into consideration the key factors set out above, grant an exception to the moratorium, and open Cabin Radio’s forthcoming application within the reasonable period of six months following its receipt,” the letter said.
It said the reasons for its reapplication include the fact that it waited an “extreme and unreasonable” 42 months for the first decision, the regulator’s alleged use of NWT data instead of Yellowknife data to evaluate whether the market could support another station, and because the CRTC allegedly overlooked that the station has been in operation since 2017.
Cabin Radio said its continued existence and Vista requesting a second licence are proof that the city can support another player. “Our forthcoming application will provide incontrovertible evidence that the economic situation in Yellowknife supports Cabin Radio as an internet radio service, as it has done since 2017, and will do so as an FM radio station,” the letter added.
Finance minister backing
And the company will get some support. The minister of finance of the Northwest Territories said during debates Monday that she is preparing a letter in support of Cabin Radio getting an FM license in Yellowknife that is expected to be ready this week.
“While this isn’t going to be a Cabinet position…I will be writing a letter outlining the position — a general position of support to the FM license application that’s been put forward,” said Finance Minister Caroline Wawzonek.
“Having the opportunity to raise the issue publicly…probably is one of the strongest things we can do to get all of the public aware, and they can make their own choices and decisions and participate as members of the public vis-a-vie the federal government in terms of raising the voices from the North,” Wawzonek added.
The CRTC’s decision to deny the application drew a bit of a firestorm during debates in the NWT House last month. A member of the assembly from Yellowknife said it was “mindboggling” that such a small company could pose a financial threat to a large company like Vista.
Photo via Cabin Radio
