Ignore that last post. I just heard them ID themselves as RH, coming from Brampton, along with an 1-800-phone number for any questions. So it's confirmed that Humsafar is home - so far. 

Doubt it, because it's not in English and the signal is terrible. 

I just called the 866 number they’ve been giving out and reached a very surprised gentleman who didn’t expect his phone to ring. Apparently, I was CIRF’s very first ever caller. And no, there was no prize given out for that!
 
Here’s what he told me:
 
-The testing began for the first time today, Thursday, in the afternoon, so well done Saul for detecting it.
 
-They won’t be on for long. According to the guy on the phone “they need to fix something,” so when they pull the signal down, they won’t be back again until Monday.
 
-Testing will go on for about three weeks before they allow the government checkers to determine how well it went. (I’m assuming this means interference etc.) If they pass, regular programming will begin shortly thereafter, which means the New Year.
 
-Almost all the programming (90%) will be local out of studios in Brampton, although he admits they may rely on some feeds from their already existing Montreal station. Staff is being hired now, but it’s not yet complete. (You might think with sign-on less than a month away, they would have had that almost finished.)
 
-While they’ve pledged to serve Brampton’s large South Asian community, they’d probably love to get into the Toronto market. But their signal won’t help. It’s 1,000 watts day and a puny 45 watts night. At that rate, I’m not sure even those in Brampton will be able to hear them after sundown.
 
-A website placeholder is in place. It’s 1350.ca, although for now it takes you to their Montreal station’s site.
 
-And finally, The Humsafar in "Radio Humsafar" translates to “Travelling Together In Life.” Who knew?

Coboconk!!!  I haven't heard of Coboconk since ... ever.

Thanks for the smile.

Saul wrote:

Cocobonk...

There's a very strong prescription for that. And, for the love of Buddha, stop scratching it. 
 

Adrian106072 wrote:

Although there's already some long established stations such as CINA and cmr FM, new competitors such as Red FM and Humsafar are attempting to seek for audiences from these stations. Just wonder how long it could last...

Great point Adrian.  Here are some factoids.  Most GTA ethnic stations are not rated.  No ratings.  Zero.  But advertisers (almost always mom & pop stores), buy the ads because they get foot traffic into their businesses.  Several GTA ethnic stations have minimal overhead (transmitter, receptionist, some sales, a few on-air).  I'm not sure that AM1320 Mississauga actually produces any of its own programming.   Some stations might produce a few hours a day of their own programming - for example, CHIN used to produce its own Italian programs (that's going back about 30 years ago)  but most of the schedule of many ethnic stations  is bulk sold off (hours sold) to 3rd party brokers.  The brokers usually are themselves, the on-air talent, and sell the airtime.  Not a lot of time for research, show prep, etc.  Some brokers approach 45 minutes per hour consisting of commercials, sponsorships and "pre-sold" interviews.  That is, they sell an interview time slot to a realtor who provides his/her advice on the market.  Doctors "pay" to be on air to provide medical advice, so do lawyers,.  These segments are presented as programming content, but are often are elongated commercials.  Immigration consultants  - who are prevalent in the S. Asian communities, are often buyers of these time slots within the brokers' shows.  Many station owners have no idea what the content of these programs are.  Why would they?  Many station owners/managers don't speak the languages of the brokers.   People keep listening, because it's an hour of their "home" language. More of a comfort thing.   REDFM - which is CIRV-FM, self-produces a high percentage of programming - without brokers.  I think CINA may also produce a lot of its own programming.   CMR (Thamil) has a lot of brokered content. On the other hand, CHIN's 91.7- which now rebroadcasts only a fraction of 1540's content,  is almost exclusively brokered to 3rd parties - S. Asian and Chinese language brokers.  There's a high turn-over of brokers on stations (notably 530 AM), as you might expect as they cannot generate enough revenue to cover the $200 or $300 per hour (or more!!!)  price tag.  

Good case in point. dawn-to-dusk W-Toronto. (WTOR AM770) is 100% brokered content, most of it orginating out of studios in the West Mall area of Etobicoke.  Wonder if the WTOR brokers pay minimum wage, HST, etc???   Perhaps, but that's where things get murky in brokered ethnic radio.

Obviously the hundreds of dollars an hour of brokers' fees paid for every hour of a 168 hour week, adds up to a lot of revenue more than enough to  pay transmitter site costs, heat and hydro and minimal staffing that the station owners incur.  There's another twist. There are also still a few "SCMO" subcarrier operators.  They recruit (usually) on-air staff from recently arrived immigrants, often women, who worked in radio or print in their home countries.  These recent immigrants are seldom paid "minimum wage" for their services.  It is like an internship from hell.   No one from the labour ministry ever audits these operations, so there's no shortage of willing candidates.  Some will eventually move on to real employment (paid) others do not.  BTW, the CRTC and CBSC rarely get complaints about programming provided by brokers, because there's not much real substance to the programs.  But there are brokers who get into trouble and the wrath of the authorities then lands on the (actual) broadcast licensees. I would also surmise that people who provide support to brokers, aren't themselves paid minimum wage.  And that my friends is how the ethnic radio world works in the GTA.  Not the business model that they teach at Ryerson, Humber or other schools....
One last thought...with all of this "competition" from brokers, ad prices are now hitting rock bottom in the GTA.   Not very good for (legit) operators who actually produce programming, pay minimum wage, sales commissions etc.  It's a really brutal marketplace.  And of course CKNT "wants in" to this lucrative market of brokering airtime.

I've had an "insider's" view of ethnic radio over many decades and one thing is certain.  This brokerage (pyramid) scheme works, until it doesn't.  There are a number of station owners who have become financially wealthy under this business model.

 

Last edited by tvguy (December 13, 2019 9:13 am)

mace wrote:

I know the CRTC takes a dim view of stations programming to markets outside of the area they are licenced to serve [CJRN, CHSC]   Does the FCC not have similar concerns?

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They do not.