paterson1 wrote:

RadioActive wrote:

Colin wrote:

20 years too late, but we'll take it!

This policy never made any sense to me. This constant "protection" the Commission appears to love seems to fly in the face of stations actually competing equally for an audience. Can someone explain why this rule was ever there in the first place?

Now Ottawa and Montreal radio will sound like everywhere else.  Predictable, safe, and not as exciting.  At least with the hit/non radio sounded different and more interesting on air with more new music.  That's one reason why radio in Ottawa and Montreal is more competitive and overall better than Toronto.

When the non hit reg came in for FM, broadcasters were on side.  Their AM stations were more popular and made the bulk of the money.  The same was largely true in the US where FM radio had been very slow to become popular.  Like colour TV, for decades FM radio languished with few listeners and low revenue.  

Rightly or wrongly the hit/non hit ruling gave AM and their owners more years of profitability from a technology that  was out of date and doomed.  Also gave time to license more FM around the country and smaller companies to open new FM stations which were initially financed by, and depended on, the AM operation.  

When I hear those that still drone on and complain about how terrible the hit/non hit ruling was and how it hurt FM in Canada so much, it is laughable.  Sort of revisionist history.  When FM tuners became standard in automobiles was a huge change that moved the audience away from AM in the car.  By the mid to late 80's FM had become standard and no longer an option in most vehicles.  Another big nail in the coffin for AM radio. 
 

This garbage again.

Montreal English music radio is NOT competitive. There are three stations, two of them owned by the same company.

Ottawa is competitive because HOT 899 launched in 2003 and turned the market on its head. Format changes since then are a direct result of that. Additionally, Ottawa Anglo (CBC) and Montreal Franco (98,5) have #1 talk stations that are #1 by a wider margin than any market in North America. There's a reason for that.

How on earth is playing songs that stiffed the first time and hoping people will like them now supposed to help radio?

Last edited by RadioAaron (December 12, 2022 9:26 pm)

paterson1 wrote:

RadioActive wrote:

Colin wrote:

20 years too late, but we'll take it!

This policy never made any sense to me. This constant "protection" the Commission appears to love seems to fly in the face of stations actually competing equally for an audience. Can someone explain why this rule was ever there in the first place?

Now Ottawa and Montreal radio will sound like everywhere else.  Predictable, safe, and not as exciting.  At least with the hit/non radio sounded different and more interesting on air with more new music.  That's one reason why radio in Ottawa and Montreal is more competitive and overall better than Toronto.

 

If stations in these markets had buried the non-hits in all dayparts, that would have been fine. But the non-hit dumps from 7pm to midnite made them unlistenable at night.

At the risk of opening up this can (or should that be CanCon?) of worms again, I'll simply let this article from the CBC - yes, the CBC, so hardly a bastion of right wing thinking - about concerns over Bill C-11 speak for itself.

I think they're relatively fair in presenting both sides, but I should note that it refers to a petition sent to the government from Open Media expressing concerns about this proposed law. What it doesn't say is that petition contained some 103,000 signatures, which, despite the story's headline, would seem to indicate there are far more than just "some" Canadians worried about the implications of this thing.

CBC: Some Canadians worried new legislation could change how they stream media


 

Both Google and Facebook have threatened to leave various countries over the past year.  I believe Google actually posted to viewers in  Australia in January 2021 that they were planning to cut service to Australia because of government regulations.  They have also threatened New Zealand and some countries in Europe because of proposed or passed regulations.  They may have shut down briefly in Australia but as far as I am aware haven't followed through on their threats so far in other countries. 

Interesting that the US Senate, military and the governments of some states are proposing or have already banned Tik Tok from being used on government issued devices.

Mark Rubio has also introduced a bill to ban Tik Tok outright in the US since the social media giant has become so popular and is Chinese owned.  There is a fear of security and possible connections to the Chinese government.  Rubio's bill also calls for the banning of social media platforms from countries of concern such as Cuba, Iran, South Korea and others. More from NPR..https://www.npr.org/2022/12/15/1142828852/tiktok-senate-federal-ban-state-agency-governors#:~:text=Press-,U.S.%20Senate%20approves%20bill%20to%20ban%20TikTok%20on%20federal%20agency,their%20agencies'%20phones%20and%20computers.