| As Calgary continues to be Canada’s fastest growing city, the different ways that the boom is affecting the everyday lives of its citizens is becoming more and more diverse. We already know about the traffic problems and the housing costs, but there are positive benefits of rapid expansion as well. On August 3 of this year, the CRTC announced that it had approved four new radio stations for the Calgary area – alternative rock station Extreme FM (92.9), hot adult contemporary station Energy FM (90.3), an adult album alternative station Café FM (99.1), and an as yet unnamed acoustic/folk station (100.3). While the news of an expanding radio dial was greeted positively, the number of new stations generated some shock.
"I was a little bit surprised," admits Jane McCullough, programming director for University of Calgary’s radio station CJSW. "Calgary has been booming for awhile, and radio should reflect that, but I was especially shocked that 12 companies were vying for those four spots."
Even stranger then, considering how many potential stations were being pitched to the CRTC, that they would push ahead with two new adult contemporary stations, considering the current prominence of Lite 96 FM. Though Energy FM is being advertised as current adult contemporary and Café FM has been less clear about what they will be playing, their basic formats seem very similar. In addition to that, many are wondering about the lack of hip hop and rap stations for a city of Calgary’s size.
"If hip hop was given a chance," McCullough says, referring to quick format changes made to both Vibe 98.5 and Kiss 96.9, "they’d be surprised what they could do with it. The problem when Kiss came out was that it was just too much at once. They tried to beat Vibe to the punch by getting on the air first, but they didn’t have any announcers. It was too much Eminem. If a station came out that really played the breadth of hip-hop music, it would do well."
Deficiencies in the new stations aside, the fact remains that four new frequencies elbowing their way onto the radio at the same time provides an unprecedented level of competition for listeners’ ears. Competition that McCullough is confident won’t affect CJSW. While three of the new stations don’t tread too much on the university station’s ground, the addition of alternative rock station Extreme FM does create a bit of an overlap.
"I don’t think the thinning of the audience will affect (CJSW) at all," she says. "Competition will occur amongst the commercial sector. The philosophical difference between CJSW and Extreme is that Extreme is a revenue generating, commercial entity. They’re using music to complement their advertising — if the White Stripes don’t sell tires, they won’t get played."
Commercial or not, more radio stations can only be a good thing. Even if the new stations aren’t as diverse as one would have anticipated, this can at least be seen as a step in the right direction for a city that, until now, had surprisingly little to offer on the radio considering its size. As for the ultimate effect that the new stations will have on the existing ones, that remains to be seen, but when McCullough is asked how the new stations will impact CJSW’s programming and/or marketing, her answer is succinct — they won’t. |
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