| Two large organizations representing campus and community radio stations say their member stations need financial assistance to stay alive now that the Canadian Radio and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has allowed subscription satellite radio to be broadcast in Canada.
The National Campus and Community Radio Association (NCRA) and the Association des radiodiffuseurs communautaires du Quebec (ARCQ) are calling on the CRTC to order companies that have recently been awarded satellite licences to give their associations financial support. The NCRA represents English campus and community radio stations across Canada and the ARCQ represents French campus and community radio stations in Quebec.
The CRTC granted Sirius Canada and Canadian Satellite Radio (now called XM Canada) licences for satellite subscription radio service this summer. In order to receive satellite subscription radio, listeners have to buy a special receiver and then pay a subscription fee, similar to cable TV. The technology used is digital.
Melissa Kaestner, national co-ordinator of NCRA, says during the regulatory hearing the two companies "indicated" that they would give financial support to the community radio sector, but the CRTC didn’t make it a requirement. Kaestner says NCRA has been trying to negotiate with Sirius Canada for a year with no success. XM Canada has offered some funding, but Kaestner says it is only a "token amount," adding up to about $60,000 a year based on projected XM Canada revenues.
Kaestner says statistics in the U.S., where satellite radio already exists, show that for every two people who subscribe to satellite radio, one no longer listens to AM or FM radio. Kaestner says NCRA is worried that fundraising will suffer because listeners will go to subscription radio, which they’ll have to pay for. She also argues that subscription radio will be tough to compete with because it can be so specialized.
"It will affect fundraising. It will affect numbers. Let’s face it," says Kaestner.
She says if a jazz fan has the option of subscribing to a 24-hour jazz station they’re less likely to tune into a one hour, once a week jazz program on their local campus or community radio station.
Kaestner says NCRA and ARCQ are hoping to set up a community radio fund to help stations deal with the advent of a new form of radio.
"It would definitely be helpful. Any funding is great," says CJSW music director Derek McEwen, adding that such funding would be especially beneficial for less established stations.
"I think it’s more about the smaller stations, say someone like Kelowna or Gabriola Island that are just getting up and running and they don’t have a funding drive or a foothold in the community or anything like that. To them it’s going to be really important, especially because they are so small," he says.
Kaestner says the CRTC should order Sirius Canada and Canadian Satellite Radio to provide financial support "to ensure our protection."
"I think we pride ourselves on being communicators of cultural identity and things that are Canadian," says Kaestner.
She points out that most of the new subscription satellite stations will offer American content. Sirius Canada has just announced it will offer 100 channels – and 90 of them will be American. Standard Radio and CBC will be responsible for the other 10 Canadian channels. XM Canada has announced it will offer 80 channels, eight of which will be Canadian.
Mariannne Arnaudon, spokesperson for the CRTC, says she’s unable to comment on the CNRA request because Sirius Canada and Canadian Satellite Radio are still going through the regulatory process. They have applied to amend their licence conditions.
No one from Sirius Canada or Canadian Satellite Radio was available for comment. |
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