While NewCap gets the Telemedia stations out west, Standard gets nearly 30 stations from Telemedia in Ontario, including Toronto's CJEZ (EZ Rock 97.3), which will be paired with Standard's existing CFRB (1010) and CKFM (Mix 99.9). Standard also gets three in Hamilton - country CHAM (820), oldies CKOC (1150) and AC CKLH (K-Lite 102.9) - and three in St. Catharines - full-service CKTB (610), rock CHTZ (97.7, once owned by Standard) and CHRE (EZ Rock 105.7). The company also keeps Telemedia's London foursome - country CJBX (92.7), talk CJBK (1290), AC CKSL (1410) and CIQM (EZ Rock 97.5).
Standard is spinning off much of the remainder of the Telemedia group in Ontario to Rogers, which picks up CJCL (Fan 590), the Prime Time Sports network and the Standard stations in Orillia (CICX), North Bay (CKAT/CKFX/CHUR), Sault Ste. Marie (CHAS/CJQM/CIRS), Sudbury (CIGM/CJRQ/CJMX) and Timmins (CKGB/CJOQ).
Meanwhile in Quebec and the Maritimes, Astral Media gets the former Telemedia properties, including some of the biggest stations in Montreal and Quebec City. The catch? The company will be required to boost the amount of local news on the stations, as well as selling CFOM (102.9 Levis) in the Quebec City market.
Astral already had a strong base in Quebec with the Radio Énérgie network and its local outlets in eight Quebec markets, not to mention half of the Radiomédia partnership with Telemedia, which owned CKAC (730 Montréal) and CHRC (800 Québec). With the closing of this deal, Astral will own most of the market in such smaller cities as Sherbrooke, Trois-Rivières and Chicoutimi; it will also have strong positions in Montréal (with CKAC, CKMF Énérgie 94.3 and Rock-Détente CITE 107.3), Québec (CHRC, CHIK Énérgie 98.9 and Rock-Détente CITF 107.5) and Hull (Radiomédia CJRC 1150, Rock-Détente CIMF 94.9, and CKTF Énérgie 104.1).
And Astral will also get a foothold in the Maritimes, adding Telemedia holdings that include Fredericton's CKHJ (Country 1260 KHJ), CFXY (105.3) and CIBX (Capital Radio 106.9), CIKX (93.5 Grand Falls), CJCJ (104.1 Woodstock), CKBC (1360 Bathurst NB), and CKTO/CKTY in Truro, N.S.
Only one other tidbit from Canada: the Toronto Argonauts sign a five-year deal to put their CFL action on Corus' CFYI (Mojo 640), replacing CJCL as the Argos' flagship.
Fornatale, best known for his many years at the old WNEW-FM, had sparred with WFUV management several times in recent months over political comments made during his show. WFUV will run "best of" programs for now; the station says it still hopes to get Fornatale back on the air soon.
Sorry to report the passing of a newsman who woke up millions of New Yorkers for more than two decades; Jim Donnelly died Saturday (4/20) of complications from Parkinson's disease. Donnelly joined WCBS (880) in 1972, after a career that included KYW in Philadelphia and WNEW(AM) in New York; for most of the time from then until his retirement in 1992, he handled morning co-anchor duties on "Newsradio 88." Donnelly was 69.
The Brooklyn Cyclones will have a new radio voice when their short-season single-A play begins later this spring. Sporting News Radio's WSNR (620 Newark NJ) will carry the entire schedule; the station will allow last season's inaugural flagship, WKRB (90.9 Brooklyn) to continue to simulcast the coverage. (We'll have complete New York-Penn League radio information in a month or so, just in time for opening day...)
A posting on Allan Sniffen's NY Radio Message Board reports WVIP (1310 Mount Kisco) has begun simulcasting the Spanish-language religion of WWRV (1330 New York); we've also heard that WVIP sister station WGCH (1490 Greenwich CT) has been off the air, but it's not clear whether that's related to WGCH's tower dispute (NERW, 4/17).
Heading up towards Albany, the state capital's newest radio station made its debut late last week in stunt mode. Newly moved up the dial (from 93.5) and down I-87 (from Corinth/Glens Falls), WHTR (93.7 Scotia) started out with a loop of "Anarchy in the U.K.," followed by a weekend of simulcasting owner Ed Levine's "K-Rock" (WKLL 94.9 Frankfort-Utica), before launching into a hot talk format Monday afternoon.
As rumored, former WPYX (106.5) morning guy Bob Mulrooney is doing mornings on 93.7; other additions to the schedule include Opie and Anthony in afternoons, Tom Leykis in the evening and Lovelines at night. Much more on this new signal when we return in mid-May...
Trinity Broadcasting won permission this week to put three more LPTVs on the air in northern New York: W26CP and W49CD in Potsdam and W42CQ in Ogdensburg; the religious mega-caster was denied a channel 15 outlet in Potsdam due to Canadian objections.
In Buffalo, Family Life will get to acquire translator W284AP (104.7) after all; the FCC said it goofed when it rejected the application to transfer the license from Casciani Communications to Family Life, and the transfer has now been granted. Look for W284AP to switch primaries from sports WNSA (107.7 Wethersfield) to religious WCOU (88.3 Warsaw) if it hasn't happened already.
The Buffalo Broadcast Pioneers announced their Class of 2002 Hall of Fame inductees, and it's another star-studded bunch. Leading the way are WKBW's news trio of John Zach, Jim Fagan and the late Henry Brach; Zach is still active in the Queen City as morning news anchor at WBEN, while Fagan is retired. Also being inducted from KB is Jefferson Kaye, whose stint in Buffalo was part of a career in top-40 radio that also included time at Boston's WBZ. Kaye was responsible for the 1968 "War of the Worlds" re-creation at WKBW; later, he handled mornings at WBEN before joining NFL Films as its chief announcer. Two more posthumous inductees: Ted Darling, the first play-by-play announcer for the Sabres, and Frankie Crocker, the "Chief Rocker" whose career began at WUFO in Buffalo before going on to WBLS in New York and other great urban voices around the country.
The Pioneers will induct this year's class on Tuesday, May 21, at the Tralfamadore Cafe in Buffalo; visit their Web site (bbp.buffnet.net) to learn more (and we'll see you there!)
Harrisburg's "Cat" finally has calls to match; WRKZ (106.7 Hershey) changed its calls to WCAT-FM late last week (though simulcast WHYL-FM 102.3 in Carlisle stays the same). The calls, helpfully enough, already belonged to owner Citadel; they'd been on 99.9 FM in Athol, Mass. for more than a decade. That station, which runs oldies, became WAHL(FM).
And the FCC says it won't reconsider its decision to allocate 101.3A to Strattanville, a tiny (490 people) town in northeastern Pennsylvania. Two broadcasters in nearby Clarion and Brookville had opposed the allocation, saying the economically-depressed area already had more radio than local advertisers could support; the FCC replied by noting that that's no longer a factor in its decisions to stuff the FM band as full as possible.
And WGLS (89.7 Glassboro) at Rowan State College has been granted a CP for an auxiliary transmitter, to run 90 watts from WGLS' current antenna site.
Up in Hartford, Buckley adds the Bill O'Reilly show to WDRC (1360) and its simulcasts (WMMW 1470 Meriden, WWCO 1240 Waterbury and WSNG 610 Torrington). O'Reilly will air from 3-5 PM, followed by an hour of Sean Hannity.
We expect all the programming to come from the college's Georgia headquarters (the "TFC Network," based at WRAF 90.9 in Toccoa Falls) - and as for listeners up there who try to tune in the local news and talk from WBUR (90.9) in Boston, well, they'll have to comfort themselves that the "public interest, convenience and necessity" are indeed being served...
We've already mentioned the call change in Athol that has WCAT-FM (99.9) becoming WAHR; the AM outlet in Orange remains WCAT(AM) at this writing.
Out on Cape Cod, WOCN (103.9 South Yarmouth) was granted a power boost this week; the station goes from 3000 watts at 96 meters to 5500 watts at 104 meters (nulled to the northwest to protect WBCN in Boston), moving its transmitter from South Dennis to a site just south of US 6 a couple of miles to the west.
Burlington's ABC affiliate is losing its general manager. Lawrence Delia is moving to New Orleans, to be vice president and general manager of Tribune's WGNO (Channel 26) and WNOL (Channel 38), a big move up from his duties at WVNY (Channel 22) in Burlington.
Down in Brattleboro, WKVT (92.7) PD/afternoon jock Rick West leaves the station; no word on whether that's connected to the impending sale of the station to Saga.
Another Pax TV outlet wants to move its analog service to its DTV allocation; in addition to the stations in Boston, Providence and Scranton, Pax's WPXB (Channel 60) wants to shift its analog signal to channel 34. The transmitter location (atop Mount Uncanoonuc in Goffstown) and the power (1410 kW visual from 293 meters) would remain unchanged, but the new WPXB-TV 34 would alter its directional pattern, sending a bit more signal south towards Boston.
WBPX carries ShopNBC home shopping, by the way; Pax service to New Hampshire comes from WPXG (Channel 21) up in Concord, relaying WBPX (Channel 68, applying for channel 32) in Boston.
The ABC affiliate was granted CPs this week for W26CQ in Colebrook, N.H. and W27CP in White River Junction, Vermont.
And the KAWZ (Twin Falls, Idaho) translator in Southwest Harbor has applied to change frequencies. W218BD wants to leave 91.5 in favor of 91.3; it would remain a 38-watt signal, but with vertical-only polarization, on the new frequency.
That's it for NERW for this week - and for the next couple of weeks. We're on hiatus for the next couple of weeks as we head off to explore England, Wales and France. Check our "Links" page at fybush.com for some other fun places to explore in our absence, and we'll see you back here with the May 13 issue!