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CRTC approves world's 1st gay-themed radio station for T.O.

D

Darkstar416

Guest
CRTC Approves LGBT Radio Station
Toronto ON from Connie Tete

The CRTC in broadcasting decision 2006-128 has approved an application by Rainbow Media Group Inc. for a broadcast license to operate a new English-language commercial FM radio station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada for the country's and the world's first conventional radio station for the LGBT community.

Rainbow Radio will serve the Gay and Lesbian (LGBT) community of Toronto. It's spoken word programming, which will include news, publicity for daily events, and open line programs, would reflect the diverse interests, concerns and activities of the LGBT community. This project has been 10 years in the works!

Rainbow Radio will also feature a mix of Top 40 music, pop, and classic hits from the 1970's, 1980's, and 1990's, and in the evenings and on weekends, dance music, Rhythm and Blues, club mixes and easy listening.

The Rainbow Media Group will be an active participant in community events and be an invaluable showcase for LGBT musicians and artists. Rainbow Radio is also committed to Canadian music and programming content and development of Canadian Talent.

Rainbow Radio will operate at 103.9 MHz (channel 280A1). This will comprehensively cover the many LGBT districts that exist within the downtown core. The station is expected to be on-air within the next 12 months.

A partner in the application is Evanov Radio Group which currently owns three other stations in Southern Ontario CIAO-AM530, CIDC-FM (Z103.5), CKDX-FM (FOXY 88.5); an CKHZ-FM (Z103.5 Halifax), and CJWL-FM (The Jewel Ottawa)

Z103.5 Toronto has been voted Best Radio Station by the readers of XTRA! Magazine and it has just won the prestigious Canadian Music Week Station of the Year Award.

Rainbow Media Group Inc. is excited and honoured to be given the opportunity to serve this rich, diverse market for many years to come and to be part of the enrichment of our broadcasting landscape.
 
Re: CRTC approved world's first gay-themed radio station in

That's cool.
 
Re: CRTC approved world's first gay-themed radio station in

Mr. Slave is sooooo happy!!!

GayBar.jpg
 
Re: CRTC approved world's first gay-themed radio station in

Here is an article on the background of this business enterprise, from the Globe back in January:

Globe Toronto
All the gay news that's fit to broadcast (and a little Cher too)
Rainbow Radio aims to become the world's first lesbian and gay station
By SHERRY NOIK-BENT
14 January 2006
M3

Is Toronto ready for “103.9 — all gay, all the time�

Rainbow Radio, the world's first gay and lesbian station on FM radio, could be on the air by the end of the year. This Monday, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission will begin hearing the application submitted by a prominent gay publishing concern and a small mainstream broadcaster.

So what exactly makes radio “gay� A lot of thump-thump-thumping dance music? Yup, the sound will definitely be more Pet Shop Boys than Beach Boys. Cher? Madonna? Sure. But the station aims to be more than just one continuous club mix.

“What's going to define it is the perspective,†says Carmela Laurignano of Evanov Radio Group, an independent broadcaster that's making its first significant foray into the gay market with this venture. “There is a definite wealth of information that the community cannot find now on the airwaves, and [that] we intend to provide.â€

But all is not well in Rainbow Land. Pink Triangle Press, the publisher of Xtra magazine, has pulled out of the partnership with Evanov, which owns Z103.5 FM and four other stations. “I have doubts about their interest in our community,†PTP president Ken Popert says.

When his company teamed up with Evanov, Mr. Popert believed that PTP would supply current affairs and news content for the station and possibly provide a storefront location for the broadcast studio. But now, after more than two years of negotiations, he says Evanov hasn't been willing to make an acceptable offer, “even though we were proceeding in good faith.â€

Mr. Popert says PTP helped gather significant community support for the bid, including letters from “out†politicians such as Ontario MPP George Smitherman and Toronto City Councillor Kyle Rae.

“Of course, it crossed my mind that once we had done these things, our value to the [partnership] was considerably diminished.â€

Still, Evanov — which competed in 1999 for the frequency that went to FLOW 93.5 — is confident that this second attempt at a licence will be the charm, with or without PTP's backing. “While there may have been some synergies with some of the things that they do, we were not relying totally on them to do it,†Ms. Laurignano says.

As for PTP's decision to pull out, “I think it was a business decision on their part,†she says. “I think they felt that their equity position was not as big as maybe they would have wanted. . . . They decided it was not a good investment for them, and we respect that.â€

The CRTC's decision, which will be issued in three to six months, is likely to be favourable, because the 103.9 frequency already belongs to Evanov as an “adjacency†— a frequency that had been left free to prevent bleed between stations.

And that means Rainbow Radio will be breaking new ground with 24/7 queer content on the mainstream airwaves. To be sure, there is gay broadcast programming all over the world, but to date it has been mostly relegated to community radio stations and the Internet. (The American satellite radio channel Out Q is available only to subscribers of Sirius Canada.)

Ms. Laurignano says the station will provide unique programming, with tax and estate planning for newly betrothed — and, inevitably, newly divorced — gay couples, coverage of gay sports leagues, open-line chat shows, “straight talk†on issues, and specialty programs oriented toward the wide range of age groups and ethno-cultural backgrounds within the community.

Its news broadcasts would be “inclusive of gay- and lesbian-interest stories that would not typically make the short list of other Toronto services,†according to the supplementary brief filed to the CRTC. Even the traffic reports will focus on the geographic areas of greatest interest to the listeners, helping them navigate their way home through the Gay Village, and other neighbourhoods identified as having a significant gay population (Ms. Laurignano says research suggests clusters around Broadview and Danforth and around College and Bathurst). No word, though, on whether the daily weather report will be It's Raining Men.

With the city's gay-positive image firmly established, thanks to same-sex marriage legislation and Pride Week celebrations that are among the biggest in the world, a radio station devoted to the lifestyle was, perhaps, just a matter of time.

Crunching numbers from Statistics Canada and other sources, Rainbow Radio has identified a potential audience of about half a million self-described gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered individuals. And let's not forget the rest of the population, who might just be, um, curious enough to tune in. Research commissioned by Evanov concluded that “there's a terrific demand for it,†Ms. Laurignano says. A survey in 1999 showed that 80 per cent of the self-identified gay and lesbian population would “definitely†or “probably†listen.

Ms. Laurignano says Evanov's plans are moving forward; the company has already sourced a good deal of content and secured some staff. “I found it a little surprising that Mr. Popert had some concerns about our long-term commitment,†she says. “We've been on this project for almost 10 years. We are very, very committed to it.â€

That may be, but Mr. Popert isn't convinced the project will fly without PTP. “I hae to wonder how they're going to show their faces in the very community they're expecting to broadcast to.â€

AoD
 
Re: CRTC approved world's first gay-themed radio station in

Ken is, as ever, full of his own self importance.
 
Re: CRTC approved world's first gay-themed radio station in

Cool!? I hope it's not all campy stereotypes. But it can't hurt to have another choice on the radio landscape in TO.
 
Re: CRTC approved world's first gay-themed radio station in

I'm surprised they haven't approved the world's first station for gay aboriginals.
 
Re: CRTC approved world's first gay-themed radio station in

I think it's very cool. I will be listening, I just hope the reception will be good downtown.
 
Re: CRTC approved world's first gay-themed radio station in

I predict it will be as much of a sucess as PrideVision was on tv!
 
Re: CRTC approved world's first gay-themed radio station in

Cool... 24h of non-stop Abba and Cher.
 
Re: CRTC approved world's first gay-themed radio station in

How'd they get at my cds!?!?
 
Re: CRTC approved world's first gay-themed radio station in

Cool... 24h of non-stop Abba and Cher.
Click to expand...
Hopefully not. 12 hours maybe.
 
Re: CRTC approved world's first gay-themed radio station in

Yeah, the've got to shoehorn the showtunes in there somewhere.

"I'll plan my own tree and I'll make it grow..."
 
Re: CRTC approved world's first gay-themed radio station in

I don't know if we really needed our own station, but I think it's fantastic.

I have several friends who work at Evanov and they told me this was coming.

Hmm, now that I'm thinking about it, maybe I could have my own show!

Louroz
 
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