Medicine Hat News
The sale of local radio station CJCY-FM to Rogers Media has been approved by the Canadian Radio and Telecommunications Commission.
The sale of the radio station, first announced in mid-January, is not contrary to public interest, the CRTC stated in a release on Thursday.
The $4-million transaction gives Rogers a second station in Medicine Hat, along with Rock 105, and 53 across Canada.
“Leveraging” local resources would improve its business model in the area, it stated in the application to the CRTC.
Operational changes and staffing levels were not discussed in the ruling.
“Rogers also stated that CJCY-FM would continue to provide coverage of local news, weather, sports and community information that is relevant to Medicine Hat,” read the ruling. “Finally, the applicant did not propose to modify any of CJCY-FM’s existing conditions of licence.”
ClearSky said in a filing for a May 31 public hearing that it planned to redeploy its resources to concentrate on stations it owns in Lethbridge and Cranbrook.
Other than the parties to the transaction, only one other submission was received. The City of Medicine Hat stated it was impartial in terms of specific ownership, but supported the need for “a variety of local media outlets in the community.”
An additional six per cent of the $4-million sale price, about $250,000, will go toward CRTC initiatives for Canadian Content and other objectives.
