The way CHML was shut down so suddenly left me wondering about a couple of questions.  I don't think I heard anything about CHML being put up for sale.  Did Corus try selling the station the way Bell unloaded a number of their AMs recently?  And has Corus returned the license to the CRTC?

Hansa wrote:

If anyone does want to enter the Hamilton AM market there's nothing stopping them from applying for a license and even buying an AM transmitter and other equipment from Corus. I doubt anyone is interested.

Except CRTC has put a temporary halt on new licences for two years. 

RadioActive wrote:

What does this mean for Roy Green? He did his show out of the CHML studios. 

Green confirmed on Sunday that he was doing the show from Hamilton but was using the facilities of CKNW Vancouver for the technical side of things. 

Already there's been a complication - he was just talking about the severe weather in Southern Ontario when his mic went dead in the middle of an interview. The guest was there but the host wasn't, which would not have happened had he been in his old haunt, the CHML studio.

The outage forced a producer in B.C. to come on air, explain what happened, and throw to an early commercial break as they tried to get the host back on and talking. 

It apparently didn't work at first - they wound up replaying a previous hour's segment, as Green remained off air. It was a power failure that got him, but fortunately, they were able to get him back up and running within a few minutes. Good thing too - he was scheduled to grill newly appointed Senator Charles Adler in his last half hour on some of his former statements about what a waste the Canadian Senate is!

Now THAT I have to hear!

No, he just said he was in Hamilton. But he did note by way of explanation that the power went out in the middle of his interview and I would think Corus Hamilton would have a power back-up, so I'm guessing he wasn't there.  

And on Saturday's show, he told the audience something like this: "Last week, I was in the CHML master control studios, but now that they're off the air, we're doing it from elsewhere." He did not elaborate about where. 

RadioActive wrote:

No, he just said he was in Hamilton. But he did note by way of explanation that the power went out in the middle of his interview and I would think Corus Hamilton would have a power back-up, so I'm guessing he wasn't there.  

And on Saturday's show, he told the audience something like this: "Last week, I was in the CHML master control studios, but now that they're off the air, we're doing it from elsewhere." He did not elaborate about where. 

Maybe he's doing it from home? That would probably explain the lack of backup when the power went out.



PJ
 

Bristol wrote:

New Licenses but not license transactions.

It may be too late for that?
Anyway, at this point, I wonder if 610 CKTB can now stress the idea that they are News/talk for St. Catharines/Niagara and Hamilton.  If they can get away with it, they now have a larger ground to work with, knowing there is no longer a station in Hamilton to stomp all over.  

 

RadioActive wrote:

No, he just said he was in Hamilton. But he did note by way of explanation that the power went out in the middle of his interview and I would think Corus Hamilton would have a power back-up, so I'm guessing he wasn't there.  

And on Saturday's show, he told the audience something like this: "Last week, I was in the CHML master control studios, but now that they're off the air, we're doing it from elsewhere." He did not elaborate about where. 

I'd imagine Roy has a home set up left over from the pandemic.

It is a bit hysterical, but he's not wrong about the way some employees were told - or rather, weren't told.

A previous post indicates many found out on social media and had no idea their jobs had disappeared just hours before they were heading into work that day. The very least they were owed was to be told face-to-face as Zamperin was before they shut the whole thing down. 

But that might involve decency and an ounce of humanity and I guess that's something else Corus can no longer afford, even though it would not have cost them a dime. 

I decided to put up Pierson's CHML comments, in case you missed it and are curious to hear what she said. 

It can be heard here. 

John Hardy, who spent 22 years on air at CHML, laments the loss of the station, but wonders if it wasn't inevitable. 

"They avoided the business basic that Corus, and particularly CHML, had been hemorrhaging advertising revenue for years.

The company conveniently masked the undisputable, hardcore business facts and figures which show that radio, especially AM radio, is doomed.

The David and Goliath crush of technology makes the business of traditional radio hopelessly unsustainable. Streaming is now a media basic and podcasts are hot talk radio."

CHML was everywhere with everybody

RadioActive wrote:

John Hardy, who spent 22 years on air at CHML, laments the loss of the station, but wonders if it wasn't inevitable. 

"They avoided the business basic that Corus, and particularly CHML, had been hemorrhaging advertising revenue for years.
The company conveniently masked the undisputable, hardcore business facts and figures which show that radio, especially AM radio, is doomed.
The David and Goliath crush of technology makes the business of traditional radio hopelessly unsustainable. Streaming is now a media basic and podcasts are hot talk radio."
CHML was everywhere with everybody

Of course AM radio is doomed. No freaking surprise here. AM (as we know it) will end (fairly soon). So, eventually, will FM, and terrestrial radio as we know it. Radio is a delivery vehicle or packaging for content . Radio is still somewhat with us, and it still is somewhat viable. But it's all about the content, and making the content fit the packaging is imperative, as is using radio not only for the present but as a building block for the future, thus embedding new technologies on an ongoing basis. Transitions aren't easy, or at least we're not very good at making them. Witness, for example, the very awkward and jerky move to sustainable energy and transportation systems. The point isn't to shed tears for AM, or for radio; it's to get excited about innovating and developing what lies ahead.

Saul wrote:

The point isn't to shed tears for AM, or for radio; it's to get excited about innovating and developing what lies ahead.

However, and even though I have shifted to mostly podcasts and YouTube for my entertainment, I don't agree on podcasting being the "new radio".  Radio is a WEE bit more than just the delivery medium.  There's a certain style of operation to it, and it's regulated.  Podcasting can be listened to at one's convenience, repeated and can contain more long-form and thus relevant content.

You'll notice I do NOT get on the whole "Local, Local Local"!  bandwagon anymore.  There are weather, legitimate news sites and other places to get the information one needs.  So when the "delivery" medium of radio dies, more will go with it that just how it's delivered.  The idea of a newscast being a certain scheduled time, for example, seems increasingly quaint.  Do I really need to hear the SAME pundits on another roundtable?  Some of them I really like, but still, it's not imaginative radio.  Podcasts, even ones that may lack broadcasting polish, are WAY more enjoyable.

 

I half expect the Mercanti  / Andlauer / Bob Young types in Hamilton to organize themselves and ressurect 900CHML - to feature their sports properties.

I actually discovered this in the car yesterday while preparing to delete both 820 and the HD3 feed from CING on my radio. Couldn't help but notice, though, that the static was crystal clear and in stereo!  

Paul Jeffries wrote:

I also agree with your comments about not being on the "Local, local, local!" bandwagon anymore. Maybe 15 years ago radio could have stemmed the tide of declining listenership by focusing on local content, but I think for the most part, that ship has long left the dock and sailed.
PJ

Also, the definition of "local" has shifted to communities of like-minded people sharing interests that are unconnected to their physical locations.

Last edited by RadioAaron (August 20, 2024 6:42 pm)