OTTAWA – The CRTC has decided against issuing a call for new radio stations to serve the Alberta/Saskatchewan city of Lloydminster after finding that the market cannot sustain an additional commercial radio station at this time.
The Commission said that it is concerned that licensing an additional station in Lloydminster right now “risks having an undue financial impact on incumbent stations” CKLM-FM, owned by Vista Radio, and Newcap operated CKSA-FM, noting that profitability in this radio market was below the national average in 2016 and 2017.
“While Lloydminster`s population is growing and average household income is relatively high, the Commission is concerned that its radio market is in decline”, reads Wednesday’s decision. “Total radio market revenue in Lloydminster has decreased at a greater rate than the provincial average for Alberta since 2013. Further, radio market revenues began to decline before the economic downturn in Alberta, and revenues have not recovered despite Alberta’s economic recovery.”
The Commission also said that it will return Vista Radio's application seeking a new station, adding that it will not generally be disposed to accept applications for new commercial radio stations to serve the Lloydminster radio market for a period of two years.
The CRTC issued a call for comments on the market capacity and on the appropriateness of issuing a call for radio applications in the Lloydminster market last August after receiving an application from Vista Radio seeking a new commercial radio station there.
