CRTC denies request from Rogers-owned radio station to lower CanCon requirement

The CRTC has denied a request from Rogers Communications Inc. to delete the CanCon condition of license (COL) for Kitchener’s Country 106.7 radio station, CIKZ-FM. In a decision announced on Thursday, the regulator stated that Rogers’ request to remove the station’s COL requiring at least 40 per cent of its music broadcasts to be Canadian, is unjustified. Five per cent higher than the standard CanCon requirement for commercial radio stations, the COL in question was established when the station was first licensed back in 2003 to a different owner. Through a competitive process, Larche Communications Inc. proposed a 40 per cent threshold and its application was approved. Then, in 2007, CIKZ-FM changed hands to Rogers, who has upheld the obligation since. Rogers’ application, submitted last August, argued the higher threshold puts a burden on the station, limiting its ability to compete against streaming platforms as radio revenues decline. Reducing the CanCon threshold to the standard 35 per cent “would provide us with the flexibility to adjust to changes that are beyond our control,” stated Rogers. Despite this, the company did not explain how reducing CanCon requirements by five per cent would improve the station’s financial situation. It also stated that cutting the COL would not change existing financial projections and is not necessary for CIKZ-FM’s financial viability. “The commission… generally expects licensees to demonstrate economic need for this type of license amendment,” stated the CRTC in its decision. It explained that although it has been several license terms since the COL was first established, “the commitments made at the time of the original licensing and reaffirmed when the station was acquired by Rogers remain relevant and would serve to maintain programming diversity in the Kitchener market.” Multiple applications to reduce CanCon obligations have been submitted by broadcasters recently, including from BCE Inc., Corus Entertainment Inc., and Quebecor Inc. Carrying much of the same arguments, they insist that although the Online Streaming Act has passed and requirements are expected to change, it will take too long to address the immediate regulatory relief they claim to need due to an advertising recession and increased competition with foreign streamers. – Reporting by Phalen Tynes-MacDonald at pcreed@thewirereport.ca and editing by Jenna Cocullo at jcocullo@thewirereport.ca.

CRTC denies request from Rogers-owned radio station to lower CanCon requirement

News | August 10, 2023

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CRTC denies request from Rogers-owned radio station to lower CanCon requirement

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