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97-Year-Old Legendary Cdn. Radio Station May Go Silent Without Cash
You may not know the radio dial in Alberta, but you may have heard of CKUA-FM. Canada's oldest community station is 97 years old and there are fears it may not live to see its 100th birthday. The problem? An extreme cash crunch so dire, it could leave the legendary Edmonton outlet going silent.
It needs $3 million by September or the transmitter gets turned off, possibly for good.
"The station has become known for supporting local musicians, playing tracks from more than 1,000 Alberta and 3,000 Canadian artists annually. [CEO Marc] Carnes said CKUA was the first station in Canada to broadcast a football game, the first to stream online and the first to showcase Canadian icons such as k.d. lang, Jann Arden and Corb Lund.
“CKUA isn’t just a broadcasting investment — it’s a heritage investment,” said Carnes, noting the station’s “priceless” historical record collection.
“As Canada’s first public broadcaster, we are the blueprint for all public and community broadcasters across Canada."
Closing in on 100 years, CKUA Radio could go dark without cash infusion
- ED1
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Re: 97-Year-Old Legendary Cdn. Radio Station May Go Silent Without Cash
CKUA went through a shutdown of its operations back in March of 1997 for 5 weeks due to financial mismanagement and political squabbles.
The radio network also operated Alberta's Emergency Public Warning System (the predecessor to the Alberta Emergency Alert system and the National Public Alerting System/AlertReady) until 2010.
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Re: 97-Year-Old Legendary Cdn. Radio Station May Go Silent Without Cash
Turns out this isn't the only non-profit or college station that's in trouble.
Bleak future for McGill’s radio station
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Thread Starter- BowmanvilleBob
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Re: 97-Year-Old Legendary Cdn. Radio Station May Go Silent Without Cash
When I worked in Edmonton in the 1990s, CKUA was seen as an eclectic part of the local broadcasting scene (less so in Calgary) that offered a wide range of music from bluegrass to big bands. Steady government funding, plus a strong corporate donation base, kept the station going and meant that ratings didn't matter as much as they did for commercial outlets. Unfortunately, funding cuts and partisan infighting over the station's direction, similar to what we saw at CIUT and the former CKLN, meant that a lot of local support has bled away over the years. It's a shame when a tradition comes to an end, but that's what happens when the media environment changes.
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Re: 97-Year-Old Legendary Cdn. Radio Station May Go Silent Without Cash
It's not often three stories about college or indie radio stations in Canada appear over 48 hours, but here's another one. It concerns CJTR in Regina, where the problem isn't money exactly, it's a new owner and what that could mean.
Regina local radio station CJTR to maintain mandate, programming in ownership shift
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Thread Starter- RadioAaron
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Re: 97-Year-Old Legendary Cdn. Radio Station May Go Silent Without Cash
CKUA is different from most Canadian community stations that began as, or still are, run by University student associations. It has more in common with its American counterparts and runs a fairly consistent music format (AAA basically) while the University-affiliated stations run block programming, As a result, it also has respectable ratings, finishing ahead of two commercial FMs, CBC2, and Corus' all-news station in the latest ratings.
- BowmanvilleBob
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Re: 97-Year-Old Legendary Cdn. Radio Station May Go Silent Without Cash
Former CKUA general manager Ken Regan offers his thoughts in this Twitter thread on CKUA's current problems and why funding is still desperately needed.
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Re: 97-Year-Old Legendary Cdn. Radio Station May Go Silent Without Cash
CKUA has raised a remarkable $850,000 in just two days. But that's still far short of what it says it needs to survive.
Urgent CKUA Radio drive raises $850K in two days
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Thread Starter- paterson1
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Re: 97-Year-Old Legendary Cdn. Radio Station May Go Silent Without Cash
They have now raised over $1 million in five days. CKUA needs to raise $3 million total by the end of September. So hopefully the remaining $2 million will continue to be pledged at a brisk pace.
Last edited by paterson1 (April 30, 2024 10:11 am)
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Re: 97-Year-Old Legendary Cdn. Radio Station May Go Silent Without Cash
paterson1 wrote:
They have now raised over $1 million in five days. CKAU needs to raise $3 million total by the end of September. So hopefully the remaining $2 million will continue to be pledged at a brisk pace.
Good news! Donations to community radio and TV have been really weak for a while; glad they had a strong start.
- paterson1
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Re: 97-Year-Old Legendary Cdn. Radio Station May Go Silent Without Cash
Alberta radio CKUA is on fire with their fundraising campaign. The first quarter ended last evening at midnight and the goal was $775,000. They hope to raise $3 million in total by the end of September.
The first goal was smashed with more than $1,670,760 donated by midnight!
Congratulations, over half of the total amount needed to keep CKUA running has already been raised!
- 67GreenRambler
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Re: 97-Year-Old Legendary Cdn. Radio Station May Go Silent Without Cash
According to this info the station is burdened with $6M of debt. That's a lot of spending. And four years ago they had nearly $2M cash in reserve. I wouldn't give them a penny.
Sort of related ... I was inspired once to send a few bucks 91.1 way until I read a published financial statement. 350,000 dollars worth of office furniture in the joint.