AM 730 Vancouver Shut Down

[louis_p]

My music taste is concentrated more towards classic hits and classic rock. That leaves Rock 101 and Jack 96.9 as being the major stations in town that a listener with similar tastes would likely want to listen to. For those who aren’t in the market, the format of Rock 101 is more of a hybrid between classic rock and classic hits, while Jack 96.9 is more aligned with adult hits. Add in the can-con requirement, and it the playlist for both stations becomes pretty predictable.

KISM 92.9 covers the market with a run of the mill classic rock format without the can-con requirements.

 

[fordranger797]

KISM 92.9 covers the market with a run of the mill classic rock format without the can-con requirements.

I listen to it every single day. Rock 101 and Jack also focus on classic hits and classic rock, but KISM does it far better.

 

[gr8oldies]

Why are there Cancon requirements? It is a country of 41 million trying to maintain a Canadian identity on a continent where the U.S. and its 330 million residents are dominant. I'm sure if you have to find hits among the 41 million, some of those songs will not be home runs. But I think many Canadians agree with the need to support Canadian artists. I once heard it put this way. "When you turn on the TV or radio, you should be able to figure out which country you're in."

That said, there are plenty of songs from the 1970s and 80s that Canadians recorded and count as Cancon. So why the station threw in a 90s song is puzzling.

Long story. It started in 1971 and CKLW, serving Detroit from Windsor, was hardest hit (and the rule was somewhat aimed at them).

 

[MarioMania]

It's rebroadcaster of sister station CKNW 980

I just heard it on 730

 

[Goldilocks94941]

unique? yes. Well needed? Not a chance.

Thats what smartphones and apps and such are for

It's kinda difficult to look at an app on your phone while you're driving, to figure out traffic alternatives when things start happening around you.
CKGO is one of the remaining high powered Vancouver AMs that puts a halfway decent signal south to Seattle. Perhaps being able to hear what's on CKNW 980 -- now also on 730 -- will be interesting, since CKNW's signal barely makes it south of the border.
Instead of shutting them all down, perhaps they can donate one of these high powered frequencies to a First Nations organization for an indigenous format, like APTN does on TV? I think there are interests and potential audiences for specialized programming beyond time-brokered South Asian and Chinese programming and fundamentalist religions. If someone just had the chance to try it out for awhile on a facility plenty of people could hear, and promoted it to the people they'd like to reach as listeners.
Otherwise, I still like and admire CFAX AM 1070 from Victoria as a good example of a civic-mined "hometown" commercial radio station. Wish there were a few more like it still out there.

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

It's kinda difficult to look at an app on your phone while you're driving, to figure out traffic alternatives when things start happening around you.
CKGO is one of the remaining high powered Vancouver AMs that puts a halfway decent signal south to Seattle. Perhaps being able to hear what's on CKNW 980 -- now also on 730 -- will be interesting, since CKNW's signal barely makes it south of the border.
Instead of shutting them all down, perhaps they can donate one of these high powered frequencies to a First Nations organization for an indigenous format, like APTN does on TV? I think there are interests and potential audiences for specialized programming beyond time-brokered South Asian and Chinese programming and fundamentalist religions. If someone just had the chance to try it out for awhile on a facility plenty of people could hear, and promoted it to the people they'd like to reach as listeners.
Otherwise, I still like and admire CFAX AM 1070 from Victoria as a good example of a civic-mined "hometown" commercial radio station. Wish there were a few more like it still out there.

No one will take the donation of an albatross around their neck... even financially stable organizations would be kinda stupid to do that.. itll lose money.. mostly because of the incredibly expensive upkeep and repair/maintenance costs.

 

[fordranger797]

It's kinda difficult to look at an app on your phone while you're driving, to figure out traffic alternatives when things start happening around you.
CKGO is one of the remaining high powered Vancouver AMs that puts a halfway decent signal south to Seattle. Perhaps being able to hear what's on CKNW 980 -- now also on 730 -- will be interesting, since CKNW's signal barely makes it south of the border.
Instead of shutting them all down, perhaps they can donate one of these high powered frequencies to a First Nations organization for an indigenous format, like APTN does on TV? I think there are interests and potential audiences for specialized programming beyond time-brokered South Asian and Chinese programming and fundamentalist religions. If someone just had the chance to try it out for awhile on a facility plenty of people could hear, and promoted it to the people they'd like to reach as listeners.
Otherwise, I still like and admire CFAX AM 1070 from Victoria as a good example of a civic-mined "hometown" commercial radio station. Wish there were a few more like it still out there.

I mentioned exactly what you stated in an earlier comment. I would migrate the CKNW programming to 730 and abandon 980. 730’s transmitter site is located in a bog near Richmond, and covers the region extremely well. CKNW doesn’t even sound that good in Vancouver proper. I’m not sure how the logistics would work, but 730 is a superior signal in every single way.

As for the traffic programming, I think 730 provided a service that you absolutely could not get on a smartphone. The traffic reports were extremely detailed, and provided specific information about what was going on (and how to avoid it). Unlike in most American cities, Vancouver doesn’t rely as heavily on freeways to take commuters from point A to B. Telling a listener that Oak street is gridlocked (and to use Camble as the alternative over Granville) is something a smartphone app can’t perfectly replicate.

 

[semoochie]

I mentioned exactly what you stated in an earlier comment. I would migrate the CKNW programming to 730 and abandon 980. 730’s transmitter site is located in a bog near Richmond, and covers the region extremely well. CKNW doesn’t even sound that good in Vancouver proper. I’m not sure how the logistics would work, but 730 is a superior signal in every single way.

As for the traffic programming, I think 730 provided a service that you absolutely could not get on a smartphone. The traffic reports were extremely detailed, and provided specific information about what was going on (and how to avoid it). Unlike in most American cities, Vancouver doesn’t rely as heavily on freeways to take commuters from point A to B. Telling a listener that Oak street is gridlocked (and to use Camble as the alternative over Granville) is something a smartphone app can’t perfectly replicate.

That's a fair statement since the last time I was in Vancouver, there weren't any freeways!

 

[boombox4]

Why are there Cancon requirements? It is a country of 41 million trying to maintain a Canadian identity on a continent where the U.S. and its 330 million residents are dominant. I'm sure if you have to find hits among the 41 million, some of those songs will not be home runs. But I think many Canadians agree with the need to support Canadian artists. I once heard it put this way. "When you turn on the TV or radio, you should be able to figure out which country you're in."

That said, there are plenty of songs from the 1970s and 80s that Canadians recorded and count as Cancon. So why the station threw in a 90s song is puzzling.

Yeah, if there weren't any CanCon, there wouldn't have been much of a Canadian music industry.

Myles Goodwin (of April Wine) once said that before CanCon, there were no Canadian record labels to speak of, no Canadian music publishing companies, no Canadian recording studios -- at least nothing like what there was after CanCon took off -- none of that. There was really no Canadian music industry.

 

[RF101]

I find the 730 signal much stronger south of the border than the 980. I can't see why 980 should stay on the air, especially when 730 is more "protected" which respect to US interference.

Meanwhile, why does CJVB AM 1470 have such a crummy signal - even for 50,000 watts?

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

I find the 730 signal much stronger south of the border than the 980. I can't see why 980 should stay on the air, especially when 730 is more "protected" which respect to US interference.

Meanwhile, why does CJVB AM 1470 have such a crummy signal - even for 50,000 watts?

1470 sounds fine up here..... it and 1320 are my most reliable consistent vancouver signals

 

[fordranger797]

I find the 730 signal much stronger south of the border than the 980. I can't see why 980 should stay on the air, especially when 730 is more "protected" which respect to US interference.

Meanwhile, why does CJVB AM 1470 have such a crummy signal - even for 50,000 watts?

Reception on 980 is arguably pretty bad in much of the market. The transmitter site is also located far to the east, which doesn't bode well for listeners who want to hear CKNW downtown (for example). I will say it again, if I were them, I would shut 980 down and use 730 instead. It's night and day difference.

As for CJVB, there are some significant nulls to the south and east. Most of the power is directed west. I live a few miles west of the transmitter site and it sounds like a flamethrower on 1470.

 

[RF101]

Now that KBRO Bremerton is moving/upgrading to 1480 5kw ND daytime things may be even worse for CJVB in some of the fringe zones. (Of course KELA Centralia has been co-channel with CJVB for years.)

 

[fordranger797]

Now that KBRO Bremerton is moving/upgrading to 1480 5kw ND daytime things may be even worse for CJVB in some of the fringe zones. (Of course KELA Centralia has been co-channel with CJVB for years.)

I'm sure there will be some impact, but I think most of the core listeners for CJVB are all in Vancouver, Richmond, and Burnaby. Those locations receive and extremely strong signal on 1470. The Listeners located further east aren't in the best location for picking up the signal though (since there's a heavy southern and eastern null during the nighttime hours). CHMB 1320 is similar, but their pattern is still a bit better overall.