The Southern Ontario/WNY Radio-TV Forum » Caribbean Canadian radio station up for sale

sweir · July 16, 2020 1:12 pm

Big news in today's Caribbean Camera newspaper is that the G-98.7 is up for sale by order of the courts. Apparently the Toronto fm-station is heavily in debt ($2M+) and has been placed in” investigative receivership ” Farber & Partners Inc has been authorized to conduct a sale and investment solicitation process (“SISP”) in its capacity as court-appointed Receiver of the station

RadioAaron · July 16, 2020 1:59 pm

That's too bad.

Also, tough time to be selling a radio station.

RadioActive · July 16, 2020 3:08 pm

CKFG has been in serious trouble since the death of its founder, Fitzroy Gordon. Those who took over have exasperated the CRTC ever since, culminating in this major warning to the station last February. An independent without much funding trying to get a foothold in the biggest market in Canada certainly was never going to have an easy time.

My question: if someone buys the place, will they be obligated to keep the format? While there's clearly a market for this kind of radio, the station has never caught on with a huge percentage of the audience and you have to wonder if any new owner would want to take on that risk.

Still, part of me wonders if the Evanovs will make a play for it, even if means selling an existing peripheral property. They've been trying to get a better signal into Toronto as long as I can remember and continually get turned down by the Commission, who can see exactly what their motives are.

Stay tuned. This could get interesting.

RadioAaron · July 16, 2020 3:19 pm

RadioActive wrote:
My question: if someone buys the place, will they be obligated to keep the format? While there's clearly a market for this kind of radio, the station has never caught on with a huge percentage of the audience and you have to wonder if any new owner would want to take on that risk.

Basically, yes. 50% music from specialty, specifically "International/Wold Beat" They just went through a license renewal and were denied a reduction.

RadioActive wrote:
Still, part of me wonders if the Evanovs will make a play for it, even if means selling an existing peripheral property.

They're already in downsize mode, having just announced the sale of their Halifax stations and straight up shutdown of their Montreal station. Under normal circumstances, yeah, that frees up some cash, but they probably needed to do it just to keep the company afloat, not to expand elsewhere.

With ad revenue down so severely, the only existing broadcaster that might be in a position to buy them would be Zoomer, whose ad losses are cushioned by cable revenue. G's audience leans older, too. Might actually be a good fit.

Last edited by RadioAaron (July 16, 2020 3:19 pm)

RadioActive · July 16, 2020 4:02 pm

RadioAaron wrote:
With ad revenue down so severely, the only existing broadcaster that might be in a position to buy them would be Zoomer, whose ad losses are cushioned by cable revenue. G's audience leans older, too. Might actually be a good fit.

Is there still room in the cap for Zoomer to hypothetically make a play for the station, even if it wanted to? Moses owns Classical 96.3, but would 96.7 be held against him as already technically having a second FM in the market? I doubt it, but you never know what those opposed to such a move might raise as an issue.

RadioAaron · July 16, 2020 4:22 pm

96.7 *shouldn't* count as it's just a fill-in repeater. Durham Radio in Oshawa is the only precedence-setting example I can think of.

fybush · July 16, 2020 5:10 pm

RadioAaron wrote:
96.7 *shouldn't* count as it's just a fill-in repeater. Durham Radio in Oshawa is the only precedence-setting example I can think of.

Plenty of examples of FM transmitters for an AM licence not counting against the FM cap - in Chatham/Kent, CFCO's 92.9 doesn't prevent them from owning two full-power FMs in town, 94.3 and 95.1. Same in Sarnia, with the 103.9 fill-in for CHOK 1070 co-owned with two full-power FMs, 99.9 and 106.3.

RadioAaron · July 16, 2020 5:44 pm

fybush wrote:
RadioAaron wrote:
96.7 *shouldn't* count as it's just a fill-in repeater. Durham Radio in Oshawa is the only precedence-setting example I can think of.
Plenty of examples of FM transmitters for an AM licence not counting against the FM cap - in Chatham/Kent, CFCO's 92.9 doesn't prevent them from owning two full-power FMs in town, 94.3 and 95.1. Same in Sarnia, with the 103.9 fill-in for CHOK 1070 co-owned with two full-power FMs, 99.9 and 106.3.

I knew there had to be an example in S/W Ontario. My initial thought was CFOS, but looking it up turned up a denied application, so I gave up. Thanks!

RadioAaron · July 16, 2020 5:46 pm

Charlie wrote:
Caribanna, or whatever it's called these days being cancelled due to COVID, probably did them in.

I doubt that a festival that wouldn't have even started yet being cancelled somehow put them $2M in debt.

Last edited by RadioAaron (July 16, 2020 5:46 pm)

torontostan · July 16, 2020 6:11 pm

Yes indeed it "shouldn't" count as a station. But yes, the CRTC made it clear in 2015 that CFZM-FM-1 does count as an FM. Even though a commissioner filed a dissenting opinion regarding this exact scenario.

I wonder if the ruling as since changed? Maybe in a license renewal?

https://crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2015/2015-162.pdf

RadioAaron · July 16, 2020 6:24 pm

Charlie wrote:
RadioAaron wrote:
Charlie wrote:
Caribanna, or whatever it's called these days being cancelled due to COVID, probably did them in.
I doubt that a festival that wouldn't have even started yet being cancelled somehow put them $2M in debt.
A festival in Toronto probably would have brought in plenty of dough in advertising. It must have hurt the bottom line.

How? Whatever ad money that would have brought in this year wouldn't have even hit the books yet. Did them in?

RadioAaron · July 16, 2020 6:31 pm

torontostan wrote:
Yes indeed it "shouldn't" count as a station. But yes, the CRTC made it clear in 2015 that CFZM-FM-1 does count as an FM. Even though a commissioner filed a dissenting opinion regarding this exact scenario.

I wonder if the ruling as since changed? Maybe in a license renewal?

https://crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2015/2015-162.pdf

Wow. Thanks for looking that up. So 107.7 in Oshawa, which covers the market, doesn't count, but that tiny 96.7 signal does? The CRTC in nothing if not inconsistent.

It might be worth it to shut 96.7 (which doesn't seem to have helped them at all in ratings) down in order to acquire G.

splunge · July 16, 2020 7:05 pm

@RadioAaron. you'll note that all the examples of FM repeaters provided are on border stations. Oshawa was grandfathered if i recall. look up the Corus decision for CJOB Winnipeg from about 10 years ago, along with the CFOS decision. Commission is pretty consistent about calling FM rebroads as "stations" for the COP. granted, doesn't make sense, but there ya go.

paterson1 · July 16, 2020 7:23 pm

CKNX FM 101.7 has a low power rebroadcaster in Meaford at 104.9 it has been around since the mid 90's. The station's main transmitter was putting in a poor quality signal in Meaford and the valley surrounding the town which is part of their coverage area. CRTC agreed and they got the repeater.

RadioAaron · July 16, 2020 7:27 pm

The CJOB application was for 100k and was quite obviously a full-on move to FM.

What do you mean by grandfathered with respect to Oshawa? It's hasn't been on more than ~10 years, I think.

In the decision you linked to, the CRTC noted how there was a large population in 96.7's coverage...well, of course, it's downtown Toronto! But it's a fraction of 740's coverage and 100% overlap.

The CRTC seems to go out of its way to make technically correct decisions with absolutely zero practical context.

RadioActive · July 16, 2020 8:01 pm

I well recall the application for 96.7 in downtown Toronto. It came about after Moses threatened that if the CRTC didn't grant the request, he planned to shut the station down entirely. I remember it was a big thread on one of the incarnations of SOWNY at the time and the word "blackmail" was used more than once. For whatever reason, the Commission gave him exactly what he wanted.

splunge · July 16, 2020 9:12 pm

I may have been mistaken about Oshawa, sry. However, Moses jumped several hurdles to get his Toronto repeater, but the COP wasn't one of them.

Similarly, CKNX in Meaford is outside the Wingham primary contour. no COP issue there.

tri-cities · July 16, 2020 11:46 pm

CKNX FM -2 applied for a Freq Change to 102.7 to 250 watts was denied in 2008 and in 2016 they asked for the 5 watts at 104.9 be deleted.

I knew the 'Nested" 100 kw FM in Winnipeg was a chance at an overlap service. As Jack H explained to me that wanted FM for Winnipeg but 680 for all of Manitoba.

Last edited by tri-cities (July 16, 2020 11:47 pm)

Adrian106072 · July 17, 2020 1:37 am

G98.7 is one of the most important Black Canadian radio stations in the history of media, even the station has been poorly managed by its previous owners, it still represents the voice of Black and Caribbean people in Canada. I guess CRTC will seek for new investors who attempt to retain the same format as G98.7, under the diversity and ethnic radio policy. There are over 400,000 Black people living in the Greater Toronto Area, so CRTC wouldn't easily let the frequency become another Top 40 or oldies radio station.

I've noticed speculations that Evanov and Zoomer Radio might be actively interested in buying 98.7. However Evanov has just sold 2 radio stations in Halifax, they wouldn't have enough capital to invest in a new frequency in Toronto. Meanwhile I cannot foresee Zoomer will retain the 'urban' format if they acquired the station.

Radiowiz · July 17, 2020 4:32 am

So why not just let CHRY have it? A Vibe 2? Community radio station for Toronto if no one else is interested in maintaining the current format?

Adrian106072 · July 17, 2020 4:53 am

Radiowiz wrote:
So why not just let CHRY have it? A Vibe 2? Community radio station for Toronto if no one else is interested in maintaining the current format?

That's a solid point, I consider VIBE 105 the best tender for the frequency 98.7 if there's no bidder willing to continue G98.7's format. Moving their station to 98.7 will allow them to have a much better signal covering the GTA. However the possibility of having a 'VIBE 2' would be minimal.

I still hope some individuals or companies will be willing to continue G98.7's format, also taking up its whole crew.

RadioActive · July 17, 2020 11:16 am

sweir wrote:
Big news in today's Caribbean Camera newspaper is that the G-98.7 is up for sale by order of the courts. Apparently the Toronto fm-station is heavily in debt ($2M+) and has been placed in” investigative receivership ” Farber & Partners Inc has been authorized to conduct a sale and investment solicitation process (“SISP”) in its capacity as court-appointed Receiver of the station

Here's the article referred to in the original post:

Radio Station G98.7-FM to be sold

Radio111 · July 17, 2020 7:13 pm

CKNT to FM? Imagine!

RadioActive · August 8, 2020 9:54 pm

The owners of CKFG, along with members of the Black Action Defence Committee, are asking the Prime Minister to intervene to prevent the sale of the station, arguing it would seriously harm multiculturalism and the black community,

My favourite part of the article:

"The group said the outstanding debts that triggered the court-ordered sale is, “a mere $5 million”.

Well, if it's only a lowly $5 million, then I guess it's OK...

“Don’t Silence Us!” – Radio Station G98.7 FM wants Canadian Prime Minister to intervene in sale

Media Observer · August 8, 2020 10:33 pm

RadioActive wrote:
My favourite part of the article:

"The group said the outstanding debts that triggered the court-ordered sale is, “a mere $5 million”.

Well, if it's only a lowly $5 million, then I guess it's OK...

“Don’t Silence Us!” – Radio Station G98.7 FM wants Canadian Prime Minister to intervene in sale

Real Debt Matters.

radiokid · August 9, 2020 12:02 am

Adrian106072 wrote:
Radiowiz wrote:
So why not just let CHRY have it? A Vibe 2? Community radio station for Toronto if no one else is interested in maintaining the current format?
That's a solid point, I consider VIBE 105 the best tender for the frequency 98.7 if there's no bidder willing to continue G98.7's format. Moving their station to 98.7 will allow them to have a much better signal covering the GTA. However the possibility of having a 'VIBE 2' would be minimal.

I still hope some individuals or companies will be willing to continue G98.7's format, also taking up its whole crew.

Vibe is technically a campus community license owned by York University, where G987 is a commercial ethnic license. I have a feeling it would be hit with some resistance from the CRTC. The licence is ethnic which limits the format it can be without CRTC approval. This could keep the station alive as long as the CRTC stands it's ground and refuses to change or lift the limits put on the license with this condition. Sadly changes are needed to get the financials brought in line regardless. It's the sad reality.

Radiowiz · August 9, 2020 12:05 am

RadioActive wrote:
"The group said the outstanding debts that triggered the court-ordered sale is, “a mere $5 million”.
Well, if it's only a lowly $5 million, then I guess it's OK...

Where is 5 million expected to come from? Even if it could be a listener supported station, there's still too much debt!
When CHRY was listener supported they'd be lucky to see $100,000 let alone 5 million!
Back in 2003 they raised $70,000 to stay on the air.
Source: http://www.yorku.ca/chry/fundraising/fundrive.html
Note: When CHRY switched to the new Vibe format, fund raising was discontinued in favour of other revenue methods.

Radio111 · August 9, 2020 6:56 am

I get it, it’s an important voice in and for their community. However, it’s just not paying the bills. A bailout of sorts would just open the floodgates for similar stations, and there go your tax dollars.

The groups that did support it could perhaps buy time on one of the CHINs or another top of the dial station. Sure, it’s AM, but the voice is still getting out there.

RadioActive · August 26, 2020 11:46 pm

Thousands sign petition to keep Toronto radio station G98.7 Black-owned and operated

Adrian106072 · August 27, 2020 8:53 am

Wow, even Mayor John Tory and Doug Ford are on the petition list. I really anticipate that G98.7 can get into the right hands, that the new operator can continue G98.7's format and retain its staff.