Pelmorex Radio Network

The Pelmorex Radio Network was a system of Canadian radio stations in Northern Ontario, owned and operated by Pelmorex.

Pelmorex acquired the stations from Mid-Canada Radio in 1990.

tations

History

Pelmorex became controversial as one of the first radio broadcast groups in Canada to centralize its operations as a cost-saving measure. Almost all local programming on the stations was discontinued, with only local morning shows remaining. This process began slowly in 1991 with a mid-day program after a satellite uplink was installed at the CHNO studios in Sudbury. By 1994, most of the stations' programming was voice-tracked from a facility in Mississauga and the stations were reduced to storefronts with just a few staff members.

The controversy came to a head in 1995, when Environment Canada issued a severe weather warning in Sudbury during the Heat Wave of 1995 Derecho Series. The warning, issued barely ten minutes after the stations had switched to the central programming feed, was never broadcast on any of Pelmorex's three stations in the city. Pelmorex, ironically, also owned Canada's Weather Network.

Pelmorex subsequently sold CKNR, CJNR and CKNS to North Channel Broadcasting in 1996. All three stations were merged by North Channel into a new FM station on 94.1 MHz in 1997, known as CKNR. [ [http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Decisions/1996/DB96-396.HTM Decision CRTC 96-396] ]

Pelmorex also converted CHVR in Pembroke to the FM band in 1996, and CHUR in North Bay in 1997. In 1998, after a change in CRTC ownership rules, Pelmorex sold CHUR, CHVR, CJMX in Sudbury and CJQM in Sault Ste. Marie to Telemedia. [ [http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Decisions/1999/DB99-38.HTM Decision CRTC 99-38] ] (Telemedia had previously been limited to one station on each of the AM and FM bands in each market; with the change, it could acquire two in one band and one in the other, so it added second FMs to its existing AM/FM combos in each city.)

Pelmorex sold the remaining stations to Haliburton Broadcasting Group in 1999. The company had received CRTC approval to convert CHNO, CHYC, CKOY, CHYK, CHOH and CKAP to the FM band as well, although the conversions were still in progress when the stations were sold to Haliburton. [ [http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/eng/Decisions/1999/DB99-404.htm CRTC Decision 1999-404] ]

References