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Ottawa, 15 April 1986
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Decision CRTC 86-357
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CFCN Communications Limited
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Edmonton, Alberta - 853121200
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For related documents: see Decision CRTC 81-798 dated 29 October 1981, Decision CRTC 85-917 dated 27 September 1985 and Public Notice CRTC 1986-22 dated 3 February 1986.
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The Commission has considered an application to amend the Promise of Performance for CJAX-FM Edmonton by changing the station's format from "Group III" to "Group I" and decreasing the levels of spoken word, news, foreground, combined foreground and mosaic, and Canadian content for Music-General (category 5) selections.
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The Commission notes that CJAX-FM had little success in attracting an audience to its rock-oriented Country sound from the inception of operations on 10 August 1982 and that it experienced considerable financial losses as a result. During the first term of licence, the licensee adjusted CJAX-FM's programming in an effort to improve its ratings, adopting a more mainstream Country sound and ceasing to comply with the important spoken word commitments on which the Commission had based its original decision to grant this licence (Decision CRTC 81-798). At a Public Hearing in Calgary on 28 May 1985, the Commission discussed with the licensee its serious concerns with regard to compliance and the complaints from CISN-FM Edmonton that CJAX-FM was duplicating its more mainstream Country musical format. The Commission subsequently renewed the licence of CJAX-FM for a period of one year, noting the licensee's efforts to come into compliance and the substantial losses incurred by CJAX-FM as a Country station during its first term of licence (Decision CRTC 85-917).
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The present application was submitted in response to the renewal decision which directed the licensee to submit "a new Promise of Performance more in keeping with the level of commitment made at its original licensing hearing, especially insofar as news, foreground and mosaic, and support of Canadian talent are concerned" and in the meantime expected CJAX-FM "to adhere to its original Promise of Performance in all respects". The Commission's analysis of the station's programming for the week of 11 to 17 November 1985 and the self-assessment report submitted by CJAX-FM indicate that the licensee has made significant efforts under the particular circumstances of this case to comply with the current Promise of Performance.
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The Commission has considered the licensee's request for a format change taking into account the diversity of radio services available in this market and the opposing interventions submitted by two of CJAXFM's competitors, CKXM-FM and CIRK-FM.
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CKXM-FM, Edmonton's only "Group I" station to date, opposed this application on the grounds that it would duplicate the most popular elements of the CKXM-FM sound as well as its audience demographics. CIRK-FM, the "Group II" station in this market, expressed the view that Edmonton was already well-served by stations relying significantly on "past" repertoire and seeking to attract the 15 to 40 year old demographic.
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The Commission notes that the "Group I" music format encompasses a wide variety of distinct sounds ranging from instrumental and easy listening to soft rock and considers that a soft rock station relying primarily on past material can contribute to the diversity of radio services available in this market without directly affecting other broadcasters.
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Furthermore, in the Commission's view, there are important differences between the proposals outlined by CJAX-FM in this application and those contained in CKXM-FM's current Promise of Performance and Description of Programming. CJAX-FM proposes a soft rock orientation with a vocalto-instrumental ratio of 97:3 and 75% "past" repertoire. In contrast, CKXM-FM is committed to an easy listening/MOR orientation with a vocalto-instrumental ratio of 80:20 and only 20% "past" repertoire. The upper demographic range of its target audience is 54, somewhat older than the audience CJAX-FM hopes to attract.
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With respect to the concerns expressed by CIRK-FM, the Commission considers that Edmonton has the resources to support an "oldies-based" "Group I" FM station and believes that CIRK-FM, as the only "Group II" station in this market, will be minimally affected by the change of CJAX-FM's format.
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Accordingly, the Commission approves the licensee's request to change the station's music format from "Group III" to "Group I" with a vocal-toinstrumental ratio of 97:3. CJAX-FM will offer a soft rock, adult contemporary sound to an audience primarily between the ages of 25 and 44. The station's playlist will include hit musical selections from the sixties and seventies, selected current hits of the eighties and album tracks from the past two decades.
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The Commission also approves the reduction in the level of spoken word programming from 35 hours 21 minutes to 20 hours per week, including a reduction in the weekly commitment to news from 10 hours 22 minutes to 6 hours 35 minutes.
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The licensee's request to reduce its weekly commitment to foreground programming from 33% to 25% and the combined foreground and mosaic level from 100% to 65% is approved.
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The Commission considers that these Promise of Performance amendments are reasonable in light of the licensee's original licensing commitments and the Commission's revised approach to the regulation of FM. Moreover, the news and spoken word levels are above average for "Group I" stations in this region, while the foreground and foreground/mosaic target levels proposed by this independent licensee exceed the minimum requirements for joint licensees.
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The Commission approves the licensee's request to reduce the level of Canadian content for category 5 selections from 30% to 20%, which is in line with the Commission's guideline for "Group I" stations with a vocal-to-instrumental ratio greater than 1. The Commission further acknowledges the interventions from the Canadian Independent Record Production Association and the Canadian Music Publishers Association in this regard.
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The Commission notes the licensee's increased commitment to the support and development of Canadian talent through the allocation of more than $100,000 for station-produced live music and other forms of creative endeavour. This sum represents an increase of $60,000 over the level proposed in the previous Promise of Performance and, in the Commission's view, appears to be consistent with the commitments made in this area when CJAX-FM was originally licensed.
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Fernand Bélisle
Secretary General
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