KVRI 1600 To End Radio India Programming

"Bowing to CRTC pressure, representatives of Radio India have appealed to the Commission to give them 120 days to wind down operations and prepare a submission for a future licence on AM 600 in the Lower Mainland. Radio Punjab Ltd. of Surrey and Sher-E-Punjab Radio Broadcasting Inc. of Richmond recently agreed to sign “consent” agreements that allowed them to avoid a CRTC hearing Wednesday. ..." from http://nwbroadcasters.com/

Smart move. Maninder Gill, the operator of KVRI had previously threatened to dig in his heels and fight the CRTC. But that would cause a nastier international dogfight than what we've already seen this year with the proposed Point Roberts KRPI radio towers debacle.

So here's the scoreboard so far: All three South Asian formatted "Border Blasters" have agreed to stop broadcasting to the Lower Mainland (namely Surrey) Which means KRPI 1550 and KVRI 1600 will soon need to find replacement programming. The third station, little 500 daytimer KRPA 1110 out of Oak Harbor (which barely makes it to Victoria) has been on all day simulcast with Variety Hits KWLE "1340 The Whale" Anacortes the last few weeks.

Northwest Washington radio could get interesting in 2015. We'll see....Or at least HOPE......

I'm hopeful but doubtful. I think we will be seeing the reoccupying of 600AM along with something worse coming to a 1600 near you. [PLEASE. No K-LOVE]

fordranger797 said:

I'm hopeful but doubtful. I think we will be seeing the reoccupying of 600AM along with something worse coming to a 1600 near you. [PLEASE. No K-LOVE]

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K-Love and Air-1 are FM only formats. However, there is always AFR, Bott, FBN, Sacred Heart, Immaculate Heart, Family Radio, American Christian Network, EWTN, TBN, 3ABN or any group of preaching-to-the-choir conservative religious radio networks. KVRI and KRPI put huge signals in Vancouver, an affluent major market absolutely filled with unwashed sinners.

That's the most likely scenario.....

Which leads to a question: what's to keep an American company from taking advantage of one of the stations' locations and audience to broadcast a South Asian format from studios in the US?

boombox4 said:

Which leads to a question: what's to keep an American company from taking advantage of one of the stations' locations and audience to broadcast a South Asian format from studios in the US?

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Nothing. To be honest, I can definitely anticipate that happening. I don't really see it evolving into anything else (unless it became a Bellingham news station). Of course, Bongwater's idea is just as plausible!

Bongwater said:

K-Love and Air-1 are FM only formats. However, there is always AFR, Bott, FBN, Sacred Heart, Immaculate Heart, Family Radio, American Christian Network, EWTN, TBN, 3ABN or any group of preaching-to-the-choir conservative religious radio networks. KVRI and KRPI put huge signals in Vancouver, an affluent major market absolutely filled with unwashed sinners.

That's the most likely scenario.....

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I know.. I was just joking around (with my "love" for K-LOVE). Unfortunately, you could very well be right, Northwest Washington might be getting the Immaculate/Sacred Heart treatment. I don't know, they are all the same to me!

If 1550 goes back to Christian programming, it will just be going back to what it used to be. A station with very few listeners on either side of the border, but one who's bills are paid.

boombox4 said:

Which leads to a question: what's to keep an American company from taking advantage of one of the stations' locations and audience to broadcast a South Asian format from studios in the US?

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Canadian advertising revenue. That was the whole reason the South Asian border blasters even existed. There are very few South Asian owned or marketed businesses in Whatcom and Skagit Counties and very few South Asian listeners overall in NW Washington and that's not enough to keep ONE station going.

But across the border are a HUGE number of affluent South Asian businesses and listeners. A number that's only getting bigger (which is something I can't say for the conservative religious.) However, the CRTC and Revenue Canada are threatening to close the business tax deductions loopholes for advertising on cross-border radio stations in the wake of this. Which would all but eliminate the purpose of cross-border broadcasting altogether.

Bongwater said:

Canadian advertising revenue.

But across the border are a HUGE number of affluent South Asian businesses and listeners. A number that's only getting bigger (which is something I can't say for the conservative religious.) However, the CRTC and Revenue Canada are threatening to close the business tax deductions loopholes for advertising on cross-border radio stations in the wake of this. Which would all but eliminate the purpose of cross-border broadcasting altogether.

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Canada clamped down on tax incentives and the ability to sell advertising across the border years ago. 2002 I believe. KVOS-TV is a prime example of the impact. Past sales revenue of $15 million POW! Down to $300K in one year. Next the local cable company, Shaw, relocated KVOS to another channel, 24. Game over.

Kelly A said:

Canada clamped down on tax incentives and the ability to sell advertising across the border years ago. 2002 I believe. KVOS-TV is a prime example of the impact. Past sales revenue of $15 million POW! Down to $300K in one year. Next the local cable company, Shaw, relocated KVOS to another channel, 24. Game over.

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Yes, that's exactly right...to both Kelly's and Bong's posts. The population of south Asians is exploding, and yes, they are very affluent in Canada. They're also quite generous with donating money and spending locally.

I remember the KVOS situation. When I lived in B.C in the 80's KVOS was a very popular channel with plenty of Canadian advertising. Once that ended, the revenue stream dried up and they became less prominent on the cable dial, eventually moved to higher numbers where fewer and fewer people tune.

Kelly A said:

Canada clamped down on tax incentives and the ability to sell advertising across the border years ago. 2002 I believe. KVOS-TV is a prime example of the impact. Past sales revenue of $15 million POW! Down to $300K in one year. Next the local cable company, Shaw, relocated KVOS to another channel, 24. Game over.

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Difference here is Maninder Gill is a Canadian citizen, running a Canadian business (Radio India) that used American airwaves. Advertisers did not go to KVRI directly, they went to Radio India, which is a legitimate Canadian business. Way Broadcasting itself was likely given a nice flat fee every year for operating KVRI as Radio India. The actual Canadian South Asian stations, CJRJ 1200 and CKYE 93.1 (the ones who played according to Hoyle) never liked watching Radio India, Sher-E Punjab and Radio Punjab get away with cheating.

I should have made it clearer this was in no way similar to the KVOS deal. Radio India's studios and offices are in Canada and it's a Canadian station in every way except the STL antenna points towards Blaine.

Bongwater said:

However, the CRTC and Revenue Canada are threatening to close the business tax deductions loopholes for advertising on cross-border radio stations in the wake of this. Which would all but eliminate the purpose of cross-border broadcasting altogether.

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Is the potential loss of a business tax deduction enough to keep people advertising on a station like KVRI if it's US owned and operated? I'm guessing that KVRI's signal is about the same as CJRJ.

But obviously KVRI still gained a very large audience. That potential audience isn't going to disappear.

I understand what was said here about what happened to KVOS TV 12. But I'd think this is a special case, of an audience (South Asian) that is apparently underserved over the border in Canada.

From what I've been hearing lately the Badh family from Richmond will be selling their stake of KRPI 1550 to the stations U.S. "ghost" owner Bagh Khela (a relative of the Badh's). This in all likelihood means that KRPI will retain its Punjabi format from studios based in the U.S.

Boombox.....KVRI 1600 has a much stronger signal (as does KRPI) than Vancouver's CJRJ 1200 in the Fraser Valley. In fact at nights CJRJ is barely audible out here.

I said this in another thread, but I am going to repeat myself: Where the heck is the public service programming that all of these Whatcom stations are supposed to be providing? Not to mention, I doubt I could walk into their studio and ask to see the public file (which I believe is required to be kept at the studio).

The Commission now requires TV public inspection files to be available on-line, or for TV and radio, at a designated location in the community of the license. It doesn't have to be at a "studio". The FCC is expected to allow, and even require, all stations to make their public files available on-line in the near future.

Bear in mind, the FCC's definition of "public" doesn't say "US public" or "diverse cultural public", or the like. If a station chooses to serve an Indian, or Asian, or Korean audience of 75 people on the other side of the border, and it documents how it served its target audience, then I think it has successfully made a showing that it has "served the public" in accordance with its license expectations.

If you happen to travel to Key West, you'll note a number of stations around there shoot their programming as close to Cuba as they can. In their minds, they are "serving the public", though I can imagine there'd be some in the community that might not agree.

Sure, but there is a difference between a perception of serving the public with a unique language and the public inspection file. Domestic stations are still required as a licensee to maintain a public inspection file with for the most part, all the same requirements. But I'm sure that's what you meant.

Kelly A said:

Sure, but there is a difference between a perception of serving the public with a unique language and the public inspection file. Domestic stations are still required as a licensee to maintain a public inspection file with for the most part, all the same requirements. But I'm sure that's what you meant.

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It is. Thanks for clarifying that.