Cabin Radio gets right to broadcast on FM radio
The federal regulator responsible for approving or denying new FM radio stations has given Cabin Radio permission to broadcast on the FM band.
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) announced the approval Wednesday. The decision follows years-long efforts by Cabin Radio — a Yellowknife-based online radio station — to actually be on the radio.
In an email Wednesday morning, Ollie Williams, Cabin Radio’s editor and part-owner, said his team will be taking some time to set up its hardware and meet technical requirements before it starts broadcasting on 93.9 FM. He said Cabin Radio plans to provide more information in the future, including a timeline for when it will start broadcasting.
“We always had faith that Cabin Radio would come through this rigorous process and we could successfully demonstrate the merits of our application,” Williams wrote. “That faith mostly came from the incredible support shown by the population of Yellowknife and the N.W.T. Thank you for helping us reach this point!”
Williams said Cabin Radio’s online broadcasting will continue.
In its own news release, the CRTC said approving Cabin Radio’s application would “help Yellowknife residents have better access to local news and community-focused programming, including Indigenous voices while reflecting the realities and priorities of people in the North in our broadcasting system.”
The regulator held a two-day public hearing in February on applications by both Cabin Radio and Vista Radio, a B.C.-based company which currently operates True North FM.
On Wednesday, the CRTC said it has denied Vista’s application “to maintain market stability,” as both applicants had raised the issue of possible financial impact of adding two FM stations to the N.W.T.’s roster.
It said Cabin Radio’s application came out on top because it would increase competition and add to the diversity of voices on the airwaves in the Yellowknife area.
“It also included commitments to diversity, emerging artists and French-language programming,” the regulator noted.
Cabin Radio’s fight for FM rights began in 2019, when it first submitted an application to the CRTC.
Related stories from around the North:
Canada: New media company puts Canada’s Dene Indigenous narratives first, founder says, CBC News
Russia: Russian media pushing “business-as-usual” narrative in Arctic despite sanctions, say media researchers, Eye on the Arctic
United States: Trump cuts funding to pro-democracy media, including news from northern Russia, The Independent Barents Observer
