Calgary’s FM Pileup

Whether your musical tastes run to Pete Seeger or Bob Seger, chances are you’ll find something you like on Calgary’s FM dial.

That’s because of an August 2006 decision by the CRTC that green-lighted an unprecedented five new FM radio stations for the Calgary market.

Extreme, Fuel, Energy, as well as The Range in Airdrie (a bedroom community north of Calgary) hit the airwaves between Dec. 31 and early April 2007, while another station owned by Rawlco is still waiting in the wings. When they are all up and running, the number of Calgary commercial stations will have jumped almost 40% to 18 from 13.

Is the Calgary audience and advertising pie big enough for them all? The CRTC thinks so, citing the robust economy and the high PBIT (profit before interest and tax) rates of existing stations, at 31.8%, as the highest in Canada.

Local media buyers generally agree. Susan Beck, vice-president and media buyer at Highwood Communications, says “there was definitely a need to open up some new stations in Calgary. With the strong economy, I think there’s enough advertising to go around.”

Susan Dioszeghy, VP and media director at M2 Universal, says that for a city with a population of 998,123, 18 stations seems a bit high, particularly when compared to the population/station ratios in Toronto and Vancouver. According to BBM, the Greater Toronto Area has 23 stations for 5.3 million people and Greater Vancouver has 18 stations for 1.9 million. Still, she feels Calgary’s ever-expanding economy can likely support the newcomers.

Not surprising, operators of the new stations are confident they can grab their piece of the more than $24-million before tax profit pie Calgary radio stations split in 2005, an increase of $5 million from the previous year. Christian Hall, operations manager and program director of Harvard Broadcasting’s Extreme 92.9, says the CRTC’s decision to grant so many licences at once is unusual, but it didn’t surprise anyone in the radio business. “Calgary was the most under-served market in Canada before the CRTC decision,” he says, pointing out that Winnipeg has 15 radio stations for 700,000 people.

James Stuart, general manager of CHUM Alberta, which operates Energy 101.5, believes the new stations fill format gaps and their entry into the market won’t snatch too much business from existing stations. Stuart says his station, which defines itself as adult contemporary, fits between Lite 96, the Vibe and Jack in terms of age demographic and music playlist. “We serve a few of the people who listen to Vibe, a few who listen to Lite 96 and to Jack, but we can super-serve those people without a hugely negative impact on the other three stations.”

Energy also skews its playlist towards women and promotes itself as the station for mothers and daughters. Extreme offers a new format in the market, playing hard-edged alternative music for what the station feels is an under-served audience segment, 18- to 24-year-old men. At Newcap’s Fuel, defined as an adult alternative station with a 25-54 demo and an equal male/female split, general manager Murray Brookshaw says his station is unique from other adult rock/contemporary offerings because it will “go deeper” into the music, playing more than just the most popular cuts. The Range 106.1, operated by local Tiessen Media, bills itself as an eclectic adult contemporary station offering pop, soft rock and country to a 25-54 demographic. The Rawlco station, yet to make its appearance, will have a folk/acoustic format according to its submission to the CRTC. That format, as well as Extreme’s hard-edged sound, are new to the market.

Local media buyers agree the new stations offer advertisers more diversity. Says Highwood’s Beck, “We’re looking to fill some audience gaps with Energy’s female-friendly focus and format.”

Dioszeghy hopes the new stations will mean lower rates for advertisers. “Costs were pressured in the Calgary market in the last year. They were on the high side and the cost per point was rising,” she says. “If the new stations can join the high-performance group of five or six radio stations, that may alleviate the rate crunch.”

It’s too early to say who might be able to muscle into the top tier of music stations, currently dominated by Country 105, Lite 96, CJAY and Jack. However, Extreme, which was first out of the gate among the new stations, ranked ninth among all adult listeners in the only BBM book to come out since the station went on air. It also ranked second in the 18-24 demographic. Extreme was the only one of the new stations included in the first quarter BBM report.

Like most local media buyers, Debra Lamb of Lamb MediaWorks, isn’t ready to crown any winners. She says many of her clients are waiting before they commit dollars to the new entries. “We can’t tell yet because the stations could suffer a drop-off as the novelty factor wears off. It will take until the December BBM book to really know how it’s going to shake out.”

How it shakes out may depend on how successful the newcomers are in initially marketing themselves to potential listeners. With so many stations elbowing their way onto the dial within weeks of one another, it’s a challenge to cut through the clutter. All three of the Calgary city stations used extensive and high-profile launch campaigns. (see “Making Noise,” above)

But, media buyers agree all moved quickly to differentiate themselves. They also agree with Highwood’s Beck, who says that while the strong economy and an audience hunger for new formats will benefit the newcomers, success will depend on good business principles. “The key is to understand exactly who it is you want to reach and programming properly to reach them.”