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Bell to buy Astral Media

V

Vanlen

A press conference is about to reveal that Bell Canada is going to buy out Astral Media for over 3.5 Billion!
Canada's radio landscape is about to get even smaller
 
This will certainly have an impact on the local radio scene, in the larger centres wouldn't it? Or will the CRTC have to change the rules, to allow one entity can control all radio in a particular market. Corporate 'communism' at its finest. :-\

~BG
 
My thoughts exactly. Does the CRTC really care about competition? That's why I like Canadian radio: Not one freakin company in some far away place owns every radio station in one town. There are a bunch of unique smaller companies in the country, and I applaud that.
 
So Which radio markets are effected to ownership cap? (2AM, 2FM)

Vancouver: (BCE) CKST 1040, CFTE 1410, CFBT 94.5, CHQM 103.5
(Astral) CISL 650, CKZZ 95.3, CHHR 104.3

Calgary: (BCE) CKCE 101.5
(Astral) CIBK 98.5 , CJAY 92.1, CKMX 1060

Winnipeg: (BCE) CFRW 1290, CHIQ 94.3 CFWM 99.9
(Astral) CKMM 103.1, CFQX 104.1

Toronto: (BCE) CHUM 1050, CFXJ 93.5, CHUM 104.5
(Astral) 1010 CFRB, CHBM 97.3, CKFM 99.9

Ottawa: (BCE) CFRA 580, CFGO 1200, CKKL 93.9, CJMJ 100.3
(Astral) CJOT 99.9, CKQB 106.9
 
And Montreal. Astral's CJFM 95.9, CHOM 97.7 and CJAD 800 plus Bell's CKGM 990 only add up to four stations, true...but the cap in Montreal is three, because there are only five English-language commercial stations. (You need eight in the market to trigger the four-station ownership cap.)
 
e-dawg said:
So Which radio markets are effected to ownership cap? (2AM, 2FM)

Ottawa: (BCE) CFRA 580, CFGO 1200, CKKL 93.9, CJMJ 100.3
(Astral) CJOT 99.9, CKQB 106.9
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info, but just a slight correction there, e-dawg. CJOT occupies 99.7 on the dial, up there in Ottawa.

If figures are the yard stick to go by, CJMJ (Majic 100) has no worries, at 7% market share (BBM Fall 2011), while CKQB (106.9 The Bear) sits just above CKKL (Bob FM), with 3.7 and 3.5 market share respectively. It's CJOT (BOOM 99.7), which at 1.5 % is a hurtin' unit...hmmmm, I wonder if Znaimer and company might be interested in finding space in Ottawa...

~BG
 
e-dawg said:
Q: Who will buy these radio stations? Rogers? Golden West Broadcasters? Cogeco? Corrus? Evanov? Shaw Media?
Click to expand...

One Possibility: Sell to CHIN. They'd most likely LOVE to move 1540 to a solid FM and shut down both the AM 1540 and FM 91.9 repeater. Bell would secure less competition on the dial that way, for sure!
 
One possible guess: Move Toronto's CHIN 1540 to FM. (93.5?)
That makes good sense because it's a station that's not a threat to any of the Bell owned stations. That way, there's less competition for sure!
1540 can be shut down or perhaps sold to another multicultural outlet. (or other format, if someone out there wants to give it a try...)
 
With any merger and large swallow up like this I figure there will most likely be more than a few good people that will be let go.
 
Yeziknoradio said:
One possible guess: Move Toronto's CHIN 1540 to FM. (93.5?)
That makes good sense because it's a station that's not a threat to any of the Bell owned stations. That way, there's less competition for sure!
1540 can be shut down or perhaps sold to another multicultural outlet. (or other format, if someone out there wants to give it a try...)
Click to expand...

Isn't CHIN already operating on 100.7, in Toronto? On second thought, 100.7 programming is separate from 1540, isn't it? I remember picking them up on 100.7, one evening here south of Ottawa, and their programming was Italian, while CHIN Ottawa (97.9) carried CRI programming.

This could actually be a good thing. Currently, many of the 'big player' stations are competing with each other, with the same formats, trying to chase the biggest bang for their commercial dollar. If Bell/Astral own the most 'popular' formats, yet are still restricted to the CRTC's '2 per band' ruling, this could actually open up radio to smaller, more independent operators and maybe, just maybe, radio can become a little more interesting again.

Znaimer's Classical FM format, has been looking to expand into areas further beyond Toronto (Collingwood Ontario, being their latest approval), in order to truly make it "The Nation's Classical Music Station". They've been eyeing Ottawa, but the band was too full for a suitable frequency, however they were "monitoring the situation, going forward should the status quo change". Here's hoping the 'status quo' has changed.

~BG
 
Just focusing on the Toronto Radio Dial:

when will I notice ?
an average Buffalo listener - hearing the
"a Bell media 1-stop shop(LOL)" on the top of the hour id..

or, when will I notice, simple on aire changes: ie:
it is CHUM.Radio FM (as the new on aire tag);

I am sure I can check here to see the "latest" news/post
so and so gone from virgin 99.9 ?

-will any station be sold off to a smaller owner
(in the toronto radio market)?
 
Yeziknoradio said:
One possible guess: Move Toronto's CHIN 1540 to FM. (93.5?)
That makes good sense because it's a station that's not a threat to any of the Bell owned stations. That way, there's less competition for sure!
1540 can be shut down or perhaps sold to another multicultural outlet. (or other format, if someone out there wants to give it a try...)
Click to expand...
I don't think 93.5 CFJX can change formats because I think it has to have some form of Urban Music, hip-hop, R&B,reggae and/or calypso I think it may be a condition of license.
 
93.5 switch??

two things come to mind:

1. wouldnt rap/hip hop (say in italian) still qualify for the
requirement of the lease;

2. would CHIN's multi-culture *TRUMP* the
urban condition of the lease ?
 
ELL383 said:
I don't think 93.5 CFJX can change formats because I think it has to have some form of Urban Music, hip-hop, R&B,reggae and/or calypso I think it may be a condition of license.
Click to expand...

One thing for sure, it can be surrendered, shut down and relaunched as something else, under a new owner.
(all those trying to get 88.1 would LOVE for that to happen!)

I don't view that as being an option because Bell would much rather sell a station and gain revenue from the sale...(one would think) instead of just getting nothing, (for an FM)
saying "Here you go CRTC...give this to someone else..."

I hope the plan isn't to try and keep everything. (a request to CRTC to change regs)
When that comes to be, Rogers, Corus and Bell may as well own everything!!
(and eventually just Rogers and bell...including Shaw direct)

**note that when I say "own everything", I do mean that there will still be some little guys left, and medium sized companies, perhaps.
Astral media was one of the "biggies" in the biz. It's sad to see them go.
 
Yeziknoradio said:
ELL383 said:
I don't think 93.5 CFJX can change formats because I think it has to have some form of Urban Music, hip-hop, R&B,reggae and/or calypso I think it may be a condition of license.
Click to expand...

One thing for sure, it can be surrendered, shut down and relaunched as something else, under a new owner.
(all those trying to get 88.1 would LOVE for that to happen!)

I don't view that as being an option because Bell would much rather sell a station and gain revenue from the sale...(one would think) instead of just getting nothing, (for an FM)
saying "Here you go CRTC...give this to someone else..."

I hope the plan isn't to try and keep everything. (a request to CRTC to change regs)
When that comes to be, Rogers, Corus and Bell may as well own everything!!
(and eventually just Rogers and bell...including Shaw direct)

**note that when I say "own everything", I do mean that there will still be some little guys left, and medium sized companies, perhaps.
Astral media was one of the "biggies" in the biz. It's sad to see them go.
Click to expand...

In Canada if a station surrenders a license the frequency would then be open for applications for a new station so bell would most likely not get anything out of it. In Toronto there would be lots of applications and no one knows what the CRTC would pick.
 
Re: 93.5 switch??

Radio_bored-Op said:
two things come to mind:

1. wouldnt rap/hip hop (say in italian) still qualify for the
requirement of the lease;

2. would CHIN's multi-culture *TRUMP* the
urban condition of the lease ?
Click to expand...
It would need to meet Canadian Content requirement and in Canada and the license still would need to be changed to a multi-culture license and in Canada I don't think you can lease a station
 
wait a second :::

hold on - dont place the carriage in front of the horse
or what ever that phrase is - I just thought of something::::

the terms, 3.38 billion, the companies, astral and bell, great...

*BUT*

did the CRTC aaaaaactually approve the sale ?
hence, they see the forest thru the trees,
(i must be a hot dog, im on a roll : ) >if they view
the bigger picture and say , umm, no sale (for) the
entire deal; no deal for select markets, then what ???
 
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