Media News Digest: Bad Blood debuts, Randy Renaud replaces Tootall, The Bridge replaces Cinq à six

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https://twitter.com/mahoneygazette/status/910284100019392515

At the CRTC

  • Evanov Radio has proposed a way out of its Toronto problem: A station licensed to the suburb of Orangeville (CIDC-FM Z103.5) that’s being prevented from formally expanding into Toronto, and another licensed in downtown Toronto (CIRR-FM Proud FM 103.9) that for technical reasons can’t expand its signal beyond 225W. Under the proposed changes, Z103 increases power but adopts a directional lemon-shaped signal that avoids Toronto, while Proud FM goes from 225W to 10,000W and changes frequency from 103.9 to 103.7 to greatly expand its reach in Canada’s largest city. The applications are posted here and accepting comments until Oct. 16. The CRTC has screwed over Z103 by on the one hand preventing it from offering a better signal in Toronto because it’s licensed to Orangeville, but on the other hand licensing another station in Orangeville because it determined that Z103 was too Toronto-focused.
  • Maclean’s has a story about how RT (Russia Today) is still available on Canadian TV providers, usually for free or at very low cost. (Videotron is not one of those providers.) The CRTC says its status is not under review. But as Greg O’Brien notes, someone could file a complaint.
  • The commission has denied a request from Canal Évasion to lower its Canadian programming expenditure quota from 46% to 32%. The commission found holes in its reasoning (comparing Évasion to Astral channels without taking into account changes since their purchase by Bell Media) and determined it would be better to ask for such changes when their licence is up for renewal.
  • The commission has denied a request from the CBC to offer an analog subchannel of CBL-FM (CBC Radio Two Toronto) to a Tamil-language service. The commission felt such a service would compete with a recently-licensed ethnic station and an existing Tamil subchannel service.

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3 thoughts on “Media News Digest: Bad Blood debuts, Randy Renaud replaces Tootall, The Bridge replaces Cinq à six

  1. kv

    as for the maclean’s article on rt being free, this includes being free with rogers’ skinny basic package which is not permitted according to crtc rules. with an “extended free preview” ( forever so far ) this seems to be a loophole the crtc could plug if they wanted to. my opinion.

    Reply
    1. Fagstein Post author

      Sure, but why? What’s the practical difference between including a channel for free in the basic package and offering it as part of a free add-on package?

      Reply
  2. dilbert

    I like Randy Renaud. He’s knowledgeable and has a comforting voice, not at all harsh. I am happy for him getting the job.

    However, I think that Bell missed a bit of a chance here to transition towards younger talent. Randy isn’t a spring chicken, and I am sure to a point he will be comforting for the rapidly aging CHOM demographics. The chance to bring in someone a little younger and a little more on the cutting edge towards modern / current rock is something that I am surprised they didn’t choose.

    That said, i am sure he will do well. If nothing else, fans of TooTall will be comforted by a familiar voice, and Bell gets to kick the whole rock station thing down the road a bit longer before they have to consider the implications of the longer term demographic trends for the station.

    Reply

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