Watchdogs not happy about radio marriage

A prominent national lobby group has fired off a letter of concern to Canada’s broadcast regulator about what some are calling the next best thing to a merger between Z-103 FM in Sudbury and Rogers radio stations including Q-92, CIGM and Easy Rock.

In the letter dated Oct. 30 to Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) secretary general Diane Rhéaume, FRIENDS of Canadian Broadcasting spokesperson Ian Morrison questions the legality of a business arrangement between Rogers and Newcap, the owners of Z-103.

Quoting a June 7 newspaper article, Morrison explains how the Z-103 sales team was laid off and the job contracted to Rogers.

The FRIENDS spokesperson says the arrangement in the Sudbury radio market may contravene CRTC policy and regulation.

“FRIENDS believes that the present business arrangement between Rogers and Newcap ...has not been approved by the Commission,” states Morrison.

In its research, FRIENDS was unable to find any evidence of an approved Local Management Agreements (LMA) between the two companies.

A review of the public files on the stations in question did not reveal any approved condition of licence. CRTC staff were also unaware of any such arrangement being approved, he says.

Morrison goes on to say that in the view of his group this practice is inconsistent with the Commission’s Public Notice CRTC 1999-176 - Local Management Agreements.

“In this public notice the Commission established a new policy ‘that any radio broadcaster wishing to enter into an LMA with another radio licensee will be required to seek Commission approval to amend its radio licence by adding a condition of licence to that effect’,” says Morrison.

“The public notice goes on to state that any such application would be evaluated in the context of a public process.”

While FRIENDS supports the Commission’s view that LMAs are appropriate tools for radio broadcasters, “LMAs may have a detrimental effect in a given market,” says Morrison.

“The Commission indicated its concern ‘that the increased market power of the LMA parties over other radio licensees in that market or potential new entrants could have a negative impact upon the ability of those licensees to meet their broadcasting obligations’.”

FRIENDS is recommending the CRTC require Newcap and Rogers to cease their business agreement until such time as they satisfy the Commission their corporate behaviour conforms with CRTC policy and regulation.

FRIENDS is a Canada-wide voluntary organization whose mission is to defend and enhance the quality and quantity of Canadian programming in the Canadian audio-visual system.

More information on the Toronto-based organization is available at http://www.friendscb.org/.

© Sudbury Northern LIfe

See also:

The letter sent by FRIENDS dated Oct. 30 to Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) secretary general Diane Rhéaume.