Kelowna

Kelowna Radio: “A wild west town without a sheriff.”

That’s what Commissioner Michel Morin said after the Kelowna CRTC hearing last October. Today’s CRTC decision grants FM stations to Walter Gray (Sun Country Cable) & Vista Radio of Calgary, with Morin dissenting from the other two Commissioners.

In the decision, Morin criticizes existing Kelowna broadcasters, the process, and his fellow Commissioners, saying, "The dominant players in the Kelowna market appropriated the new players’ formats even before the hearings were held, thereby short-circuiting the call for applications issued in response to Vista Radio’s 2006 application."

"Were some factors more important than others? The [CRTC] public notice did not say. Even today, no one - including industry - knows which factors were the most influential in determining the CRTC’s selections. In short, the CRTC must be more transparent to undertakings that are making investments and taking risks."

Dissenting opinions are relatively uncommon in CRTC decisions and Morin's tone and length is equally rare.

Morin finishes, "I believe that the proposals submitted by Corus Radio, Deep Waters Media and CTV were superior to those submitted by Sun Country and Vista Radio. Even more important, they were fundamentally different. Clearly, both of the Commission’s choices favour male listeners! Some diversity!" he adds.

Link: Read the full CRTC decision. Link: Previous story - Two more Kelowna radio stations Link: Previous story - Two new FM stations?