On célèbre au 91,9 Radio X la réponse du CRTC! #selfie @MargeVallee @MartelAnnie @VinceDess #champagne pic.twitter.com/Etk1MhOXkG
— BPM Sports (@BPMSportsRadio) April 8, 2014
Planète Jazz is no more.
Two years after RNC Media first requested that CKLX-FM 91.9 in Montreal be relieved of its conditions of licence requiring a specialty jazz format, and a year after an initial denial, the CRTC approved the request on Tuesday as part of the station’s licence renewal.
Under the new licence, the station would remain under a specialty format, but one that requires at least 50% of its programming to be spoken word.
The new licence, which is for a short term because the CRTC found that the station failed to comply with terms of its existing licence (including incorrectly classifying some popular music as jazz to meet its specialty licence requirements), takes effect on Sept. 1. But a CRTC spokesperson tells me that the change relating to format takes effect immediately.
When it denied the same application a year ago, the CRTC cited two main reasons: the fact that the station appeared to be failing to meet its current licence, and the fact that it has approved another French-language talk station in Montreal (TTP Media’s news-talk station at 940 AM) and that granting this request could threaten the financial viability of that station.
So why the change of heart? Two reasons: One, since this is a licence renewal decision, the CRTC is more open to changes to that licence. The commission doesn’t like rewarding non-complying stations by changing their licence conditions during their licence term. And it says in this decision that it monitored programming last fall and found the station had rectified its licence compliance issues.
As for competition with TTP Media, the CRTC said that “the Commission’s standard practice is to not consider applications for new stations intended to serve the market in question within two years of the publication of its decision to approve a new station when it was licensed following a call for applications.”
The French TTP Media station was approved on Nov. 21, 2011. It was supposed to launch two years later, but was granted a one-year extension to Nov. 21, 2014. But there’s no similar extension to a de facto moratorium on new competing formats. So the CRTC felt it no longer had to consider that issue. The commission also notes that TTP Media did not write to the commission to oppose this application.
Those issues dealt with, it came down to the basic question: Is there an economic need to justify this change?
The CRTC found a year ago that there was one. And that situation hasn’t changed.
CKLX-FM was first approved by the CRTC in 2003, along with others including CJLV 1570 AM in Laval, CKDG-FM 105.1 in Montreal, and the 104.7 FM transmitter for CBC Radio One.
The logic at the time was that because the Montreal International Jazz Festival was so popular, a jazz music radio station would also be so, or at least popular enough that it could be profitable. So Spectra, the company that runs the festival, partnered with broadcaster RNC Media and applied for a licence for a radio station, which was later approved.
But it didn’t work that way. Jazz music simply wasn’t that popular. Some fans have argued that’s because the station’s music was poorly programmed, but after a decade, it was clear it could not be made profitable. Spectra was bought out as a partner, and RNC made the decision to change Planète Jazz to Radio X, copying its mega-successful programming format in Quebec City.
That decision hasn’t been that successful either. The station has only a 1% market share among francophones in the latest BBM ratings, and 3% among francophones age 25-54. The station has argued that it’s growing, but it still has a long way to go.
The new CRTC licence means that now Radio X Montreal must have at least 50% talk programming, and has no requirement at all for jazz. It would likely mean a more CHOI-like programming schedule, with more talk in the evenings and more rock music on weekends. Right now, the station switches to jazz music at 7pm every day, and runs jazz all weekend except in the afternoons when it has a rock music show.
In an on-air discussion after the decision was published, station management said there would be an evaluation of programming options over the coming weeks, and no changes would be announced right away.
Radio X has posted photos of staff drinking champagne after the decision.
Correction: An earlier version of this post said that Radio X’s licence change takes effect Sept. 1. Though RNC Media apparently believes this to be the case, the CRTC tells me that it actually takes effect immediately.
UPDATE (April 15): Jazz was removed from Radio X’s schedule over the weekend. It now airs rock music all weekend and repeats overnight.
Good on the CRTC for getting out of the way and letting business be business. At the same time, shame on the CRTC for wasting FM space on talk radio.
The decision isn’t too surprising, considering that the station likely would have failed without a format change. Moreover, while they were careful in respecting the TTP license for French talk radio, I am sure that the total radio silence from TTP (pun partially intended) including a lack of any representation or input on this choice made it many times easier for the CRTC to make this move.
I suspect that the current near bi-polar content mix isn’t helping them to establish a place in the market, but that with a more consistent format that is more in tune with their target market, they should grow at least a little bit over time. Considering they have until September to work it out, there is no rush.
I agree that the CRTC is wasting good FM space on talk radio. Some of the talk radio stations don’t even broadcast in stereo rather in mono which I find belongs on AM radio. Good music stations such as CJLO 1690 AM belong on the FM band as some of the music they play sounds so bad broadcasted in mono.
Hi Dilbert,
I don’t understand why you consider the use of FM waves for talk as being a “waste”. We have more than enough musical station in Montreal and very few talk radios that cater to a younger and more politically inclined clientèle. There is 98,5 but it has an older and stiffer feel to it which I am unable to relate to.
I must say that I am a regular listener of Radio X Montreal having discovered the format from a 2 year stay in Québec City. I actually enjoy the Jazz music at night when I’m at home. But in today’s era where you can have all the music you want from a click of a button, I believe that traditionnal radio must offer a different content that you can’t dowload and consume on demand and Talk radio is exactly this kind of content.
One reason planete jazz didn’t catch on was that it couldn’t beat stanley péan’s supper hour jazz show (one of the best shows on radio, anywhere) on radcan’s (excuse me, ICI’s) espace musique 101.7, which is actually programmed by an intelligent music loving human and not a corporate playlist computer program, which was a problem with planete jazz (no one wants to hear the same old, same old, every damn day, oh, except in corporate radio land they do don’t they? My bad).
Funny how this decision is so beside the point. Radio x is soooo trash radio that if the CRTC was doing it`s job correctly it would add conditions to the owners in order to keep their license. Furthermore, i may not be the biggest french language advocate but in this case, it is so not well spoken that there should be some way to make them improve the quality of language used on air. Cause this is the main issue with radio x as much as the content, the language used is cheaper than anywhere else. Yes yes i know it takes all kind…but we could do without…
What’s so trashy about Radio X? Why should the CRTC set conditions on a radio station just because of the opinions of its personalities?
The same conditions should be imposed upon Sun “news”.
Why do some people refer to Talk radio as a waste of FM space. The problem already exists that there is a shortage of Talk radio format stations on the dial. It is for that reason that one station dominates the English airwaves, while our National radio network lays off hundreds of employees. Meanwhile music stations can be found all around the dial AM, FM, and Internet in addition to I Tunes and other downloadable sites not to mention sirius radio.