Calgary radio station's switch from rock to talk runs into CRTC static

Jun 29, 2023

The regulator has advised Corus Entertainment that switching its Calgary classic rock station to a talk format violates regulations.

A federal regulator says it still hasn't found what it's looking for after a broadcaster switched a Calgary classic rock radio station to a talk format.

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Corus Entertainment's move to transform its Q107 FM from rock music to a simulcast of its 770 CHQR AM news and talk programming was done last month without the required transmitter and licence, says the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC).

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"According to commission records . . . there are no rebroadcasting transmitters authorized to simulcast the programming of the commercial AM station CHQR Calgary," states a Jan. 24 letter sent from CRTC senior radio analyst Laurent Robillard-Cardinal to Karen Gifford, the broadcaster's senior director of regulatory compliance and licensing.

"The licensee has not applied for a licence amendment to request that CFGQ-FM be authorized to operate in the specialty format."

The letter goes on to say Corus only possesses the authorized transmitter to simulcast its news/talk format 24/7 in Banff.

And as it now stands, the FM station can only simultaneously broadcast its AM counterpart's content 42 hours a week, states the CRTC.

To meet federal regulations, Corus was asked to submit information to seven questions — including "does the licensee intend to keep both stations in operation?" — and to divulge how many hours of the news/talk format a week the broadcaster expects to air on the FM station.

It gave Friday as the deadline for the requested information to be submitted to the CRTC, and a cut-off for "additional interventions" was set for Feb. 13.

Last Dec. 16, it was revealed QR107, which had broadcast classic rock music for the past 19 years and whose predecessors date back four decades, would be changing its format in early January.

In sometimes emotional farewells, the station's soon-to-be laid-off DJs signed off by playing nothing but listener requests that day.

With considerable fanfare that included congratulations from political figures, CFGQ FM began airing content also broadcast by its sister AM station on Jan. 9.

Nowhere in Robillard-Cardinal's letter did it state CFGQ FM must cease broadcasting, but it concludes by saying, "In the absence of a response on your part by the specified deadline, the licensee will be in a situation of apparent non-compliance" with federal regulations.

On Friday, CFGQ FM was simulcasting its usual news-talk content.

The CRTC didn't responded to requests for comment on Friday and a spokeswoman for Corus had little to say.

"We can confirm that we have received questions from the CRTC about CFGQ-FM and CHQR, and will be pleased to provide responding information shortly," Rishma Govani said in an email.

"Corus is proud of the extensive news, local and regional programming that its Calgary radio stations have provided the community over the years."

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Twitter: @BillKaufmannjrn

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