Licensed to non-actual locations

[Scott Fybush]

Doug Drown wrote:
> <<The FOX station in Burlington/Plattsburgh has used Montreal in the ID
> from day 1.>>
> 
> I was curious about whether that could be done, given CRTC regulations.  I
> think it was because of the CRTC that RKO General was forced to sell CKLW a
> short time before the company itself disbanded: an American company couldn't
> own a Canadian broadcasting station.  I wondered whether CKLW could continue
> to brand itself "CKLW Detroit/Windsor" after that, and whether, conversely,
> American stations that are adjacent to the border can include the names of
> Canadian communities in their ID's.

The CRTC has no regulatory authority over US stations, so if WFFF wants 
to call itself "Burlington/Plattsburgh/Montreal," what could Canada do 
about it? (Other than pull it off cable, but that would be a nuclear 
attack on a gnat, in terms of proportional response.)

There are a handful of US radio stations that target primarily Canadian 
audiences - WTOR Youngstown NY, a daytimer on 770 directly across Lake 
Ontario from Toronto, is one; WCHL 760 Champlain NY, south of Montreal, 
is another - and as long as they meet their US regulatory 
responsibilities (main studio, public file, EAS, legal ID), the FCC 
doesn't care where their programming is aimed.

s