The door to Alberta closed on CHUM Television last month when federal regulators denied the Toronto media giant’s application to launch stations in Calgary and Edmonton, setting back the company’s expansion efforts while throwing a bone to its troubled rival Craig Media.

In an 11-page ruling issued Feb. 26, the CRTC said the market in the Calgary-Edmonton corridor is not strong enough to support two new, conventional stations, citing slow growth and sinking profits at existing ‘casters in that region over the past five years.

The commission also shot down Global Television’s bid to retransmit its CH signal in both cities, noting that Global already operates in both markets and that its parent CanWest Global is the largest media outfit in the province.

‘Approving the Calgary and Edmonton transmitters would therefore increase the level of concentration of ownership and cross-media ownership in those markets,’ according to CRTC documents.

The commission approved, however, Global’s request to disaffiliate CKRD in Red Deer, AB from the CBC.

Craig president and CEO Drew Craig cheered the ruling. ‘This is a win for viewers in Calgary and Edmonton,’ he said in a statement. ‘The CRTC has acknowledged that the health of the market is critical in order for local broadcasters to serve their audiences well.’

Craig and his top execs argued against the applications at public hearings last June, making many of the same arguments seen in the commission’s ruling. New stations in Calgary and Edmonton would have taken a $150-million bite out of Craig revenue over seven years, according to Craig. CHUM put the number closer to $36 million.

CHUM’s move was widely seen as a retaliation against Craig Media for launching Toronto 1. In 2002, the Calgary-based station group fought off CHUM, Alliance Atlantis and others for what is thought to be Toronto’s last conventional licence, and took T1 to air last fall. However, the station has failed to attract significant viewers or advertisers, and Craig Media went up for sale in February.

CHUM is among the companies thought to be eyeing Craig, which, again pending CRTC approval, could both sink a troublesome rival and simply buy the ‘caster’s way into Alberta for perhaps $200 million.

CHUM president and CEO Jay Switzer seemed to hint at this in a recent statement, admitting that while CHUM is disappointed by losing its applications, the company will ‘remain committed’ to entering Alberta and will pursue ‘any acquisition or licensing opportunities’ that come up.

-www.chumlimited.com