Broadcast Dialogue magazine makes us aware that Matthew McBride’s two Long Beach Radio stations, CHMZ-FM Tofino and CIMM-FM Ucluelet are among a handful of Canadian broadcasters whose licences expire Aug. 31 and are in apparent repeated non-compliance according to the CRTC.
The stations have not filed a pile of required paperwork, e.g. annual returns, submission of radio monitoring material, response to requests for information and Canadian content. Furthermore, they’ve been on short-term renewals for similar transgressions of CRTC policy.
A station in Meadow Lake Saskatchewan and McBride’s two Vancouver Island operations are the only stations on the naughty list west of Quebec.
Colour me shocked.
Not surprised at all, having worked at those stations for 6 years.
Just a little correction; The stations aren’t branded as Long Beach Radio, anymore. They have been broadcasting separate programming under the names Tuff City Radio and Ukee Radio for a couple years now. Each with it’s own logo, etc.
Why not CKPM?
While I applaud Matthew for attempting to do what so many people only talk about (running their own station), perhaps the best thing the CRTC can do at this point is let the licenses expire, effectively shutting both signals down.
Businesses fail all the time, with reasons ranging from internal problems like inept managers and/or owners, to failure to embrace technology change, to external conditions like the depressed economy of a specific community / region. How many restaurants, travel agencies & beauty salons have gone under across the country during the past five years? Why should broadcasting be any different?
Maybe once the issues associated with his Tofino & Ucluelet outlets are no longer a burden, perhaps Matthew can then completely focus on CKPM Port Moody and try to make that station viable.
Well put. Businesses do fail. It’s life, it’s not always the fault of the guy who signed the papers. I don’t like all of Matt’s ideas but he is one reason i returned to the business. The west coast of the island must be a nightmare to try and work with, It’s just a different way of life, and not really the place for “Normal” radio. I hope things go well for him and he can make his tri-city station what it can be. Good luck Matthew.
Questions: are the Van Island stations even on the air at this time? Neither seems available online. And if we add Pemberton to the mix is it safe to assume that 3/4 McBride stations are effectively dormant? I have heard rumblings about a legal matter between the landlord at his former Tofino location and McBride (not very surprising), and that there is an interested buyer for the Ucluelet station. But are any of these stations worth anything.
I agree with Willy that businesses close on a daily basis but there is no denying that McBride must hold the record for most inept radio station owner in the history of the medium.
More questions: how much is CKPM worth? He’s already sold 49.5% for peanuts to non-radio business people who had been applying for a Vancouver license; he does not own the building where it operates, and the equipment is virtually worthless. Meanwhile staff, including the morning guy, works for free, interns come and go, and most people quit once they realize they’ll never get paid what they’re owed.
Never mind who or what is on air at CKPM… the signal, even in the Tri-Cities, is dreadful… the production values are non-existent… the station is more than likely non-compliant with the CRTC.
So how much is it worth?
“There is no denying that McBride must hold the record for most inept radio station owner in the history of the medium.”
As many are aware, there has been MUCH discussion on this and other forums about MMB.
Yet, the sucker continues to operate,
So, why the hell does the CRTC continue to support McBride, yet are tough as nails on other licence holders.
That seems like a complete hypocrisy to me !
It sounds like a CRTC “problem,” and not solely, a Mathew McBride “problem !”
-NAPPC
Matt’s one of the reasons I returned to radio. his influence on me during the short time I worked for him made me see the fun side of a business i was getting tired of, and beat up by. While I may not like EVERYTHING he ever did, I can’t harp on him for mistakes and falures. We all fall down. I’ve been there. I cannot imagine what kind of nightmare it was to try to run commercial radio on the west island. It’s just not a…”normal” market. I hope he can get through this and build something great in the tri-cities. It would be nice if Puget would stop hacking the guy at every chance and stick to news. not this Ezra Levant style crap. Good luck Mr McBride
Thanks, Bill, for that assessment. There are always two sides to every story.
What McBride is trying to pull off would have worked 40 years ago. The big difference today? No one needs to listen to his stations. There are too many choices.
Living across the sound, with Mt. Ozzard in line of sight, we are among the lucky few in Bamfield to receive signals for CBC Radio One, but when we tire of the bad news, and want some fun, we switch to Tuff City Radio. It’s a blast from the past; the Deejays and the local ads charming reminders of a kinder/gentler era. We would really miss 90.1 if it disappeared.