CRTC WON'T LET THE REGION EXPAND ITS REGION

CRTC Gives A Thumbs Down For 105.9 The Region
Markham’s popular oldies radio station, 105.9 (the Region), has faced a setback in its efforts to expand its signal to reach more listeners in Pickering, Ajax, and Oshawa. The station, known for playing "the best of the 80s, 90s, 00s" and providing extensive news and traffic reports, recently submitted an application to the Canadian Radio and Television Commission (CRTC) to construct a second transmission tower in Pickering.

The station boasts a lineup of seasoned broadcasters, including former TV stars Ann Rohmer (CP24) and Kevin Frankish (Breakfast Television). In addition to its English programming, 105.9 (the Region) offers a variety of third-language shows, including Tamil, through its HD services.

Although the station received significant support for its proposal, with nearly 40 letters backing Radio Markham's efforts to reach more English-speaking and diverse communities, there were also dissenting voices. Several radio stations, including CHES-FM Erin, CJRK-FM Scarborough, and CJKX-FM Ajax, expressed concerns that expanding Radio Markham's transmission could interfere with their own signals.

In its ruling, the CRTC stated that Radio Markham had not sufficiently demonstrated a compelling economic or technical need for the proposed rebroadcasting transmitter. The commission found that the station had not shown a clear necessity for the additional tower within its existing primary coverage area.

Despite this setback, the CRTC did approve Radio Markham's application for a broadcasting license to serve Markham. Currently, the station is licensed to cover Markham and reaches parts of Richmond Hill and Vaughan. The decision was met with disappointment by those who supported the station's expansion efforts, including community groups, artists, radio producers, listeners, the York Region Municipality, and the Mayor of Markham. These supporters praised Radio Markham for its local focus and commitment to serving diverse ethnic communities.

The denied application means that for now, residents in Pickering, Ajax, and Oshawa will be unable to enjoy Radio Markham's programming unless they reside within the existing coverage area. The station's management and supporters may explore alternative strategies to address the concerns raised by the CRTC and potentially expand its reach in the future. 



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sublimnos - Muse for James Cameron

Image
. . Sublimnos No Longer Out Of Sight … And Definitely Not Out of Mind By Stephen Weir It will take a long long time for a piece of Canadian dive history to rust into dust. Given the hard feelings surrounding the historic Sublimnos Project, the deteriorating, remains of that underwater habitat could well be an above-water Lake Ontario eyesore for years until rust indeed becomes dust. Back in the summer of 1969 Sublimnos was set down in the waters of Georgian Bay near Tobermory, Ontario the self-described "fresh water scuba diving capital of the world" .It was a bargain basement underwater research station. Constructed from a railroad tanker for just $10,000.00, Sublimnos became Canada’s first subsurface research laboratory. From 1969 to 1971 the Sublimnos project, funded and spearhead by physician, author, explorer and frequent Diver Magazine contributor Dr. Joe McInnis, was headline news around the world. Built to accommodate up to four divers at a time, in its first two-ye...
Read more

America Wild. The name of a movie, a metaphor for the star!

Image
. Recent Huffington Post Film Story by Stephen Weir   http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/../../stephen-weir/america-wild-interview_b_11397002.html Rachel Pohl - photo by George Socka “ I don’t work out.   I don’t diet.   I don’t prepare before climbing,” confessed 23-year old mountain climber Rachel Pohl.   “ Why can I (climb up a near vertical rock face) do it?   Thank my mother and father for their DNA!” The modest adventurer is starring in   "America Wild: National Parks Adventure".   She doesn’t simply climb mountains, she preternatural ly finds pinkie sized breaks in sheer rock faces. One foot on one side of a stone crevice, the other on a different rock face altogether. And between her legs? The great abyss.   publicity still - Devil's Tower America Wild, a new Imax movie narrated by Robert Redford, recently had its Canadian premiere in Toronto.   It has begun showing at museums, galleries and Science Centres all acro...
Read more

SCUBA DIVING INSPIRES UNDERWATER TATTOOS (AND TOE NAIL POLISH)

Image
 . Chasing Ink With Camera! One Day On A Little Cayman Dive Boat The compass has a dive flag. Celtic ink with 3 waves for the dive world Stripping down in Little Cayman's only food store Little Cayman Island, population 200, attracts only two types of visitors.  Ornithologists. Experienced Scuba Divers. Ornithologists because of the birds. The largest colony of Red Footed Boobies in the Caribbean is found on Little Cayman's Booby Pond. Scuba Divers go there because of the sheer wall of coral found in the island's underwater preserve, just north of the island. My wife and I returned from Little Cayman Island on Sunday.  We weren't there for the birds. Flamingo is the logo for dive haven Bonaire. We spent most of our week on a couple of dive boats. One large scuba boat was operated by Reef Divers out of the Little Cayman Resort.  The other, a small Boston Whaler operated by three divers, was out on the reef hunting the invasive lionfish...
Read more