OTTAWA – The CRTC is considering granting an exception to its common ownership policy in the Calgary radio market.
The Commission said Wednesday that it has received a request from Corus Entertainment on behalf of its wholly owned subsidiary CKIK-FM Limited, to amend the broadcasting licence for its AM radio station CHQR Calgary in order to add an FM rebroadcasting transmitter in Calgary.
Corus currently owns two FM radio stations in Calgary, CFGQ-FM (through CKIK-FM Limited) and CKRY-FM through Corus Radio Company. According to the CRTC’s common ownership policy, in markets with eight commercial stations or more operating in a given language, a person may be permitted to own or control as many as two AM and two FM stations in that language. There are currently 17 commercial radio stations operating in the Calgary market.
In its application, Corus maintained that the addition of an FM rebroadcasting transmitter for CHQR does not represent a new service, as the new transmitter would simply rebroadcast the programming of CHQR within its existing contours. But if the Commission were to consider that the addition of this FM transmitter constitutes a third FM presence in the market, it asked for an exception to the common ownership policy “in light of the unique circumstances associated with its application”.
Comments are due by December 9 and Corus has until December 19, 2011 to file any replies.
