The CRTC’s recent decision to deny a licence amendment requested by Harvard Broadcasting Inc.’s CKEA-FM in Edmonton was based on a difference of opinion over what songs fall into what category, according to the company, while a radio expert says the same could be true of other cases. The regulator renewed the station’s licence last month but denied an amendment to eliminate the requirement that the station select 15 per cent of its music from the special interest music category and that 20 per cent of its blues and jazz selections be Canadian. In the decision, the CRTC said the station appeared to be in non-compliance with the requirement for special interest music during...
A new piece of technology is causing controversy within Canada’s oldest broadcast medium. Over the past months, some radio stations in Canada have quietly begun using a device called Voltair in an attempt to improve their ratings — at least until ratings service Numeris stepped in and told them to stop a few weeks ago. Now Numeris says it’ll study the device to determine whether it really offers an improvement in ratings and whether the device, or the technology it’s based on, should be incorporated into Canada’s audience measurement system. “We asked them to remove it from service,” said Numeris president and CEO Jim MacLeod in a phone interview. “It appears in some way to affect the ratings. If some stations have it, and some stations...