Evanov shuts French-language Montreal station

By Steve Faguy MONTREAL — Evanov Radio has pulled the plug on its only French-language station, Montreal's CHRF 980 AM, which it admits "never really got off the ground" and was draining millions of dollars from the company. Carmela Laurignano, vice-president and radio group manager, lays some of the blame with the CRTC, saying the Commission's failure to accept its frequency swap plan for its Toronto stations prevented it from getting enough additional revenue to keep subsidizing the station. CHRF launched in 2015 after a competitive proceeding in 2011 to award licences for two clear-channel AM frequencies in Montreal. Evanov...