QUB Radio personalities, from left: Isabelle Maréchal, Benoit Dutrizac, Mario Dumont, Sophie Durocher and Richard Martineau, part of the nameless “99.5 MTL” radio station’s programming
Four years after it launched WKND 99.5, eager to introduce a new French-language commercial music station in Montreal to compete with the Bell and Cogeco behemoths, Leclerc Communication has thrown in the towel, laying off its on-air staff and choosing instead to source half its programming from Quebecor’s QUB Radio and fill the rest with low-budget rock music.
On Aug. 26, the station once known as Radio Classique will be renamed … well, there isn’t really a name for it. It’s just “99,5 Montréal”. The schedule will be identical to Quebecor’s digital opinion talk radio service between 6am and 6pm weekdays, just enough to stay under the limit of 50% talk programming so it doesn’t have to seek pre-approval from the CRTC for a format change.
QUB, meanwhile, will transition to a more radio-sounding format, with Mario Dumont becoming the morning man. There will also be regular news updates and, presumably, weather and traffic. Isabelle Maréchal, a former midday host at 98.5 FM, takes over the late morning slot, and QUB stalwarts Benoit Dutrizac, Sophie Durocher and Richard Martineau fill out the daytime schedule. Presumably evenings and weekends on QUB will still be mainly repeats and podcasts.
Evenings and weekends on 99.5 will be rock music, though Leclerc was vague on what that would sound like and how much of it would have real people behind the microphone.
The change is an admission that, despite Leclerc’s assurance that Montreal was hungry for the allegedly unique format of WKND, habits die hard and it takes a lot of time and money to pull people away from the incumbents, especially when your transmitter isn’t as powerful, you don’t have a large conglomerate to help promote it, and your industry is already suffering because of post-pandemic lifestyle changes and advertising declines.
Is this legal?
The program supply agreement between Leclerc and Quebecor is unusual, but it’s not unprecedented. Same for the half-talk half-music format. But whether it meets CRTC regulations may be up to the commission to decide. Let’s look at the issues:
De facto control
This may be the trickiest issue for Leclerc to navigate. The CRTC requires that any radio station get prior approval before a change in what’s known as effective control. So if Leclerc wanted to sell the station to Quebecor or any other company not owned by the Leclerc family, it needs approval.
There’s a related rule that the licensee must be in charge of the licence and its broadcasting. So Leclerc can’t simply hand over the reins to Quebecor during the day, it still needs to be in charge, even if it’s sourcing its programming from QUB. But it can still receive its programming from Quebecor — broadcasters get their programming from other companies all the time. In some cases, like when CBC allowed Rogers to take over its television stations during Hockey Night in Canada, the CRTC may require a network licence, but that’s doable if necessary (though because QUB Radio itself isn’t licensed, it’s not clear how that would work).
In the end this may be a judgment call, but Leclerc is probably OK here, provided 99.5 maintains distinct branding, QUB Radio doesn’t pretend it owns 99.5, and Leclerc sells its own advertising and has administrative staff.
Talk format
The CRTC doesn’t normally regulate formats of commercial radio stations. Unless there’s a specific licence condition that prevents it, most stations can switch between Top 40, rock and country as they wish. Where CRTC approval is required is if an FM station wants to switch to or from a “specialty” format, and talk radio is considered a specialty.
Under the current rules, music stations can have up to 50% of their schedule as talk radio without needing a licence change, but if it goes above that, it’s considered specialty. This is why the station is only going talk from 6am to 6pm weekdays. So long as the rest of its schedule (6pm to midnight weekdays and 6am to midnight weekends; overnights don’t count for this calculation) is music, they’re ok.
This isn’t the first time this system has been used. When RNC Media tried to make Radio X work in Montreal on a station that was still licensed as a jazz music station, it kept the talk to 6am to 7pm weekdays and had music on weekends. Same thing when CHMP-FM 98.5 in Montreal switched from “Cool FM” to its news-talk format in 2004, until a licence amendment was approved a year later.
So long as 99.5 sticks to this schedule (with possible repeats during unregulated overnights), it should be in the clear.
Quebecor’s cross-media ownership
If you’re wondering why Quebecor wouldn’t just buy the station, it’s because of a CRTC limit on cross-media ownership that says a company can’t own a daily newspaper, TV station and radio station in the same market. Because Quebecor owns the Journal de Montréal and TVA, it can’t control a radio station in Montreal. This is why it launched QUB Radio as a digital-only outlet.
Letting the station continue to be controlled by Leclerc might be seen as making an end-run around this limit. But so long as the CRTC is convinced that Leclerc is still in de facto control of the station, this doesn’t seem to be breaking any rules. Though it may prompt the commission to review its policies.
Is this good?
ADISQ, which represents Quebec’s music recording industry, is obviously disappointed by this change. And it sucks for the on-air staff who were let go, including Étienne Boulay, Patrick Langlois and Maripier Morin.
But Leclerc is right when it says people are looking elsewhere for music. And one of the reasons 98.5 is so dominant is that it’s the only private French-language news-talk radio station in town. Its only competitors in franco talk are Radio-Canada, which has a public service mandate, and BPM Sports, which is sports talk. Bringing QUB Radio into the mix offers some new competition, even if it’s mostly Quebecor columnist talking heads.
Overall, I think it’s a bad sign for the future of radio. We’re seeing stations being shut down or sold off across the country (Corus just shut down its talk station in Hamilton), and if a French-language music station couldn’t make it in Montreal, that looks even worse for smaller markets.
If QUB Radio doesn’t work out to change the station’s fortunes, perhaps it could consider classical music.
Good summary.
I am thinking that the CRTC may yet step in on this one, because of the ownership / content question. If they don’t, they you could picture companies “buying” 50% of the airtime (all of the daytime) and monopolizing marketplaces.
That said, what does it really mean?
There is a point where broadcasters need to understand that radio isn’t a primary music distribution method anymore. it is more and more becoming the LAST alternative in a long list. Most newer cars have a combination of apple play, sat radio, USB connection, android play, or whatever else. Actually using the RADIO function is way down the list. So already, radio is losing out.
So how does radio survive? The same way most smart industries survive, by actually offering / selling what they have that is unique and cannot be obtained from other sources. There is only really a couple of things: unique personalities, and news / information. Everything else is same as same at all stations. Everyone can have the same music, the same jocks, the same overly slick sound. So they need to sell what is different.
Problem? Companies like Bell, Rogers, and the like are all moving to common formats with no jocks, shared news and info on all stations, and basically nothing to make them different. They have literally thrown away everything that makes them unique, and replaced it with pap. On a recent trip from Toronto to PEI and Nova Scotia, I can tell you that radio is in deep trouble. Everything was one of a very few brands, with the same exact sound everywhere. My passengers were absolutely bored of it all within a few minutes and the radio stayed off most of the trip.
QUB may save this station, but since it is a collection of already known voices if may not work out as well as they would like. 98.5 proves there is a big market.
Now, the next question: When will Virgin turn into CJAD FM?
CJAD is already received in FM through 107.3 HD3 in receng vehicles you can hear the station way better than the AM signal.
CJAD is actually on 107.3 FM HD2
CKGM (TSN 690) is on the HD3 position
The problem is legacy equipment. Most people aren’t intentionally buying new radios anymore. If they have a radio at home they use to listen, it is 20 years old or more and doesn’t do HD anything. It is easier to find a shortwave radio!
Most HD Radios are coming with new cars.
And once they hear it, then they’ll consider buying a new AM/FM HD Radio for the Home and Office.
Not everybody wants to use their phone as a radio streaming tool.
Nor is everybody thrilled with the home spy unit that comes with devices like Amazon’s Alexa.
And at some point, old equipment will die out. It’s at that point upgrading to a AM/FM HD Radio will happen.
They’ve been saying this for years now and it hasn’t happened. There is no significant movement toward HD Radio consumption in Canada.
It’s a shame that Leclerc Communication has given up on WKND (Week-end) format on CJPX-FM 99.5.
But, I have to wonder, what did they expect. Did they expect that they would come into the Montreal market, and that it would be an easy ride.
There are long established stations in Montreal, and it’s hard to get people to break old habits. Even if they don’t like the quality of those stations.
The perfect example is CJAD-AM 800 (107.3 FM HD2). They tune in out of old habits. The same goes for CHOM-FM, CKOI-FM etc. etc.
Now the interesting question is how does this all play out with regulations. Is the reason Quebecor is not give a radio license is due to over concentration of the Montreal media market by Quebecor (CFTM-TV 10.1, Journal du Montreal newspaper, LCN, Videotron, and on and on) or simply not allow the Quebecor Media message thru another broadcast form. By being on CFPX-FM during daytime hours, their corporate media message will still get thru on the radio.
Let’s look at it another way, what if CJPX-FM was up and running with HD Radio. Would their be an objection if Quebecor rented the HD2 position from CJPX-FM and ran QUB radio 24 hrs a day?
As for CJPX-FM, they have a great coverage area in the Montreal market, even if they don’t the highest powered station. Take a look at this map.
https://fccdata.org/?lang=en&canfm=CJPX-FM
Maripier Morin was on the Leclerc payroll? What on Earth is wrong with their HR department? She has no business holding any position in media. She can try her luck as a TikTok’er or if she needs a more steady source of income, she can go stock shelves at Metro.
It looks like CJPX 99.5 has activated HD radio. Two streams are available.
Analog /HD1 : QUB radio
HD2 : WKND music programming
I’ve been listening to CJPX’s new format for the past few days. I have to say that I like. I think the station has just upped its chances of improving its ratings. HD Radio is also now on as well. They are offering CJEC 91.9 FM from Quebec City on HD2. This station is doing the WKND format. Though the on air station ID of 91.9 should also add 99.5-HD2 in Montreal. For those listeners in Quebec City who may be visiting the Montreal area and want to hear the WKND programming.
They have also got the station logos activated for HD1, and HD2 when tuning in on the Car radio. Very clear visually what you’re tuning into.
It would be interesting to see if they add HD Radio on CJEC-FM in Quebec City and place QUB Radio on HD2.
HD radio is perhaps the only way these things will survive. Not sure how the heck the CRTC is going to deal with this, but perhaps it is one of those things that by the time they get around to dealing with it properly, they will be OTBE an no longer relevant.
You can buy a home HD radio in five minutes on Amazon. Stop saying they are hard to find. By the way, their HD signal has been off for three days now.
I searched “HD radio” on Amazon.ca. Of the first 15 results, only four had actual HD Radio receivers. And none of them were under $100.
I counted at least 8 HD Radio models on amazon.ca
Sangean HDR-14
Sangean HDR-15
Sangean HDR-16
Sangean HDR-18
Sangean HDR-19
Sangean HDT-20
Sangean SG-108
Sangean SG-114
Yes, you are correct, none of them are less than $100 cdn. But, you’re not getting an old analog tuner with over 70 years old technology. You’re getting a modern day AM/FM radio with the HD Radio function on each band. If you want a deal, wait for Boxing day.
Best Buy USA currently has a model at $40 US. Just search HD Radio on their site. You can also look at ebay for open box deals.
If you expect to walk into a general retail store and find a HD Radio, forget about it. They’re targeting base model radios to their clients. If that’s good for you, go for it. If you want a radio that’s a modern day AM/FM HD Radio, look for on.
The problem I find is that lot’s of radio stations don’t tell their listeners that they are transmitting a HD Radio signal along with their old analog signal. And that they need to up grade their old analog radios to access that signal. And don’t tell me that broadcasters are not interested in HD Radio. There are currently 49 stations in Canada transmitting a HD Radio signal.
Here is a link to the directory. You can filter it by country, and city.
https://hddirectory.neocities.org/
It’s not that they’re not interested, it’s that they’re skeptical about how much people will adopt it, especially considering the disaster that was DAB. Many stations have added HD Radio, particularly to allow AM stations to rebroadcast on FM HD, but none of the major broadcasters I talked to were particularly bullish on the technology, based on their experiences with it. Streaming, they concluded, has more of a future.
I hear you. That DAB system that was adapted by Ottawa back in the 90’s was a disaster. Digital Broadcasting in Canada was set back almost 20 years because of it. I remember the heavy promos on stations telling listeners about their DAB signals. Nobody cared. People in Canada want to follow the US. Not some European system.
But, at least HD Radio is here now. Has been for almost 10 years. I would think that broadcasters would at least place the HD Radio logo with their call signs to let people know that they have a digital broadcast signal.