22 line up for a spot on FM dial
Blues, Christian stations among those seeking 88.1 licence in Toronto
Radio listeners in Toronto can look forward to something a little different in a few months time.
The CRTC is looking to fill the gap left by the loss of the licence held by Ryerson University for the 88.1 FM frequency.
The applicants are varied, from a Christian music station to FrancoOntarian, ethnic and family-focused programming. They come from as far away as Dartmouth, N.S., to as close as Adelaide St. W., all vying for the coveted frequency.
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission stopped accepting applications this week and will review the 22 applicants over two weeks beginning in May.
“It’s an exciting time. You don’t often see opportunities like this,” said Steve Jones, vice-president of programming for Newcap Radio, the Nova Scotia company that pitched a modern adult music format targeting women. “Its exciting for us, it’s exciting for other broadcasters and hopefully, in a year from now, it’ll be exciting for listeners who have a new station to choose from.”
Licences for Toronto radio stations, particularly on the FM dial, are rare and valuable. The applicants all claim to offer something new and different for the Toronto market.
Among them is a group of Ryerson University students looking to reinstate the school’s lost frequency. The CRTC revoked the licence of campus station CKLN-FM last January for breach of numerous licence regulations.
Jacky Tuinstra Harrison, president of Radio Ryerson, said she isn’t concerned about the stigma around CKLN, which shut down in December 2011, a couple of years after a tumultuous period of staff and board disputes, and a lockout of all staff and volunteers.
Harrison says his group has received a lot of support from the school and community. “It’s been a long process, but it’s been amazing and heartwarming and inspiring to see that people still care about local (public) radio,” she said. Some applicants said they were filling a clear gap in the market. Scott Jackson, with Trust Communications Ministries, runs the Christian music station in Barrie. “There are 40 Christian stations in Canada and there isn’t one in the largest city in the country,” he said.
He says it would cost millions to buy a Toronto FM frequency to change that. This is the non-profit’s best chance.
His station would play adult contemporary music by day, and more hip hop and alternative in the evening: like CHUM-FM but with different lyrics.
Frank Torres, meanwhile, has applied with his brother Ed for a blues station. “I think we’re front-runners simply because we’ve proven that we’re able to provide the format that we created, that we invented,” said Torres, who has a similar station in Ottawa, DAWG FM. “There are blues bars and artists playing in venues all across Canada, but there are no radio stations playing their tracks.”
The CRTC will consider four elements in deciding who gets the licence: the quality of the application; the diversity of new voices provided; whether the target market brings enough ad revenue to be financially viable; and the competitive state of the market. The commission won’t grant a licence if it will have a negative impact on existing radio stations.