Evanov Radio Group has received a second extension of its authorization to build a new FM station in Winnipeg after it said the coronavirus pandemic has delayed the project.
In 2017, the CRTC granted permission move ethnic station CKJS, owned by Evananov subsidiary Dufferin Comminications, from AM 810 to FM 92.7. The authorization was originally due to expire on Nov. 30, 2019, but was extended by a year after Dufferin said it was considering using a different site and needed more time to prepare.
In its latest application, Dufferin said money is set aside for the project and it had intended to break ground in March, but the project was delayed due to the pandemic and it anticipates future delays. It had sought a 15-month extension but the CRTC website indicates only a 12-month extension was granted, putting the new deadline at Nov. 30, 2021.
The original plan was for CKJS-FM to transmit from a Rogers-owned tower south of Winnipeg with 35kW/154m (class B). The plan now calls for CKJS-FM to transmit from the existing CKJS site, which is nearby, with 24kW/184m (class B).
The project is expected to cost $950,000.
Once CKJS-FM signs on, the AM station will remain on the air for three months of simulcasting before signing off permanently. It will join several other Winnipeg AM frequencies that have gone silent in the past few decades after conversions to FM, a practice which is common in Canada.
Dufferin/Evanov already owns two FM stations in Winnipeg, which is the market cap for Canada, but stations licensed as ethnic do not count towards the ownership cap.
Besides programming in more than a dozen languages, CKJS currently carries 5.5 hours per day of Christian programming.