Ranjit Singh Sidhu is a radio host at Radio Sursangam, which is part of a group fighting a CRTC deci

CALGARY - Three local ethnic radio stations are asking cheap airline ticket websites the federal government to overturn a decision by the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Comission (CRTC) that saw them passed over for a broadcast license in favour of an out-of-province broadcaster and an English commercial station.
Unison Media, Punjabi World Network Ltd., and non-profit organization Diversified Society of Alberta — all of whom are based in Calgary — have submitted a joint petition to the Governor in Council asking for a reversal of the May CRTC ruling that saw Jim Pattison Broadcast Group and a Vancouver-based ethnic broadcaster beat out a pool of nine other applicants seeking permission to launch new radio stations cheap airline ticket websites in Calgary.
Apar Kahlon — vice-president of operations for Unison Media — said when the CRTC put out the call for applicants in the fall of 2011, his company jumped at the opportunity. The chance to secure a brand-new radio frequency in a city like Calgary does not come around often.
Unison Media operates Radio Sursangam, a Calgary station offering news, talk, and music programming in Hindu, Urdu, and Punjabi. As an SCMO (subsidiary communications multiplex operation) station, Radio Sursangam is not available on a regular radio frequency — all of its listeners must purchase a special radio in order to tune in. In spite of that roadblock, however, cheap airline ticket websites Radio Sursangam has spent the last 11 years building up an audience cheap airline ticket websites that is now made up of more than 20,000 listeners. In addition to providing Calgary's South Asian community with radio programming in their own language, the station also broadcasts public service information aimed at helping recent immigrants adapt to Calgary — such as how to navigate the Canadian health care system and how to find a job.
Punjabi World Network Ltd.'s station, Radio Spice, is similar in concept to Radio Sursangam. Both broadcasters saw the CRTC call for applicants as a chance to launch an ethnic commercial radio station with a greatly expanded reach, accessible on mainstream radio dials. Diversified Society of Alberta was interested in starting cheap airline ticket websites a non-profit community station, also aimed at Calgary's growing South Asian community, which is expected to grow from 70,000 to 200,000 people within cheap airline ticket websites a generation.
The Jim Pattison Broadcast Group proposal, which was awarded cheap airline ticket websites the coveted 95.3 MHz frequency, was for an adult alternative commercial station targeting the 25-49 female demographic. One factor that set the Pattison proposal apart was the company's commitment to spending $8.75 million over a seven-year period to meet the CRTC's mandate of "Canadian Content Development," cheap airline ticket websites the highest financial commitment of any commercial applicant. cheap airline ticket websites Of that amount, $4.9 million will go toward the "Peak Performance Project," a unique talent fostering cheap airline ticket websites program that exposes young musicians to the business side of the music industry.
In its written decision, the CRTC states that the Calgary market is ready for a new ethnic radio station. However, cheap airline ticket websites instead of awarding a license to a local applicant, the 106.7 MHz frequency — a less-powerful signal cheap airline ticket websites that only covers three-quarters of the city — was awarded to Vancouver-based Multicultural Broadcasting cheap airline ticket websites Corporation (MBC). In its decision, the CRTC called MBC "a well-financed and experienced broadcaster whose experience cheap airline ticket websites would contribute to its ability to establish itself in (the Calgary) radio market."
Kahlon said he believes that in this case, the CRTC put money before the needs of the community — first by awarding a broadcast licence to a mainstream commercial station when the city already has so many, and then by passing over three local ethnic applications in favour of a better financed cheap airline ticket websites out-of-province one.
Peter Menzies, the CRTC commissioner for Alberta and the Northwest Territories, was the lone dissenting voice on the committee. He argued the 95.3 MHz frequency, the one that was awarded to Pattison cheap airline ticket websites and can reach the whole city, should have gone to an ethnic station.
"Meeting the growing demand for service cheap airline ticket websites to the Punjabi- Hindi-speaking community would fulfill a clearly defined cheap airline ticket websites social need and contribute more to the diversity of Calgary's radio market than would the addition of yet another commercial radio station," Menzies said in a written statement. Menzies also pointed cheap airline ticket websites out that the Unison proposal, not MBC's, offered the most hours of Punjabi broadcasting.
"They have a voice that should be heard — why aren't they being heard? Those are very appropriate cheap airline ticket websites questions," said Iain Grant of SeaBoard Group. "The commission may be putting too much value on the money aspect of developing Canadian content, and not enough developing the voices that need to be heard."
The CRTC's mandate is to ensure that both the broadcasting and telecommunications systems serve the Canadian public. According to the CRTC's website, "programming in the Canadian cheap airline ticket websites broadcasting system should reflect Canadian creativity and talent, our bilingual nature, our multicultural diversity and the special place of aboriginal peoples in our society."
More on This Story   Follow Herald reporter Amanda Stephenson on Twitter Follow Calgary Business news on Twitter Follow Calgary energy news on Twitter Breaking business news alerts   Story Tools   E-mail this Article Print this Article   Font: * * * * *   Image: * * * *
Ranjit Singh Sidhu is a radio host at Radio Sursangam, which is part of a group fighting a CRTC decision that saw it shut out of acquiring a commercial radio frequency. Photograph by: Stuart Gradon, cheap airline ticket websites Calgary Herald       E-mail this Gallery Print this Gallery Share this Gallery
Eurozone summit: Germans shout 'Nein! No! Non!' Eurozone must move toward fiscal integration to contain crisis: TD Your guide to the most troubled countries in the eurozone Germany kills hopes of quick fix as eurozone cliff looms