While the rest of the country deals with decidedly mixed economic signals, Alberta continues to race along, despite the nasty blow dealt by Mad Cow. Its second largest city, Edmonton, is no stranger to the boom and some buyers are saying the market is so hot that it’s in need of more of nearly everything – especially TV and radio.

Depending on where you are in the market, this is either good or bad. If you’re a buyer or marketer interested in radio, fierce competition of late has kept the cost per thousand (CPM) down. But if you’re looking at TV, prepare to face rates that have climbed by as much as 30% in the past year, according to one buyer, with no let-up in sight.

Television

‘There are fairly significant things going on in TV,’ says Luke Moore, VP, director of media, Western Region for M2 Universal.

For one, Toronto’s CHUM is applying for what it calls a ‘Citytv-style licence’ – and as it did with Citytv Vancouver, it’s stepping once more into a battle with Craig, of Calgary.

‘The problem is the CHUM format is virtually identical to the A-Channel format,’ Moore says. ‘I don’t think that’s really doing the viewers a service.’ The CRTC is expected to make a decision on CHUM’s licence application within four to six months.

Meanwhile, CanWest Global, HQ’d in Winnipeg, is in the process of switching CKRD in Red Deer – which is currently affiliated with the CBC – to CH. This will deliver both Edmonton and Calgary audiences. However, CanWest already operates a station in Edmonton, CITV. Robin Ferry, media director at Edmonton-based Media Active, says CH programming previously purchased by Craig will likely move to CKRD, leaving more inventory available on the latter.

Despite the threat of competition, Craig has been aggressively hiking its A-Channel rates over the last year, according to Jane Nesbitt, senior buyer at Vancouver-based Genesis Media West.

‘A few years ago we used A-Channel to bring the cost per point down in the market. They’ve kind of had an ‘ah-ha’ moment where they’ve said, ‘We don’t have to be that much cheaper – we just have to be cheaper.”

Radio

As in other parts of the country, the big news here is an ongoing game of change the format.

On June 27, Power 92, owned by Toronto’s Corus Entertainment, changed its format from contemporary hit radio (CHR) to a JACK-like format popularized by Rogers, of Toronto. The end result is that the 18-to-24 demo is now somewhat underserved.

‘I’m not sure where that audience is going to go right now,’ says Ferry. ‘Power 92 still has Avril Lavigne on, but they’re also playing Michael Jackson, so it’s quite a big skew.’

Edmonton will get two additional stations within the next 12 months, one Native and one commercial, and the new licences are currently being bid on by a variety of players. Rogers is applying for a JACK format station while Victoria-based O.K. Radio Group wants to implement a ‘young rock’ format similar to that on The Zone in Victoria, B.C. Other applicants include Global, Saskatchewan-based Rawlco, CHUM, Regina’s Harvard Broadcasting and an independent.

Moore isn’t impressed by O.K. Radio’s attempt to rehash an old formula and says existing stations like the Bear and CIRK K-97 already have the rock market sewn up. ‘K-97 is a solid number one in the market. Do they need another rock station? In some ways I think an urban station would fit really well up there.’

Newspapers

The Edmonton Journal and Edmonton Sun continue to dominate the landscape, far ahead of national papers the Globe and Mail and the National Post. The two top papers are locked in promotional battles, but each is doing well. ‘The Journal posted increases in NADbank numbers – they were only one of two Western Canadian papers to do that within the last year,’ notes Moore.

But despite its readership growth, the Journal is attempting to halt the flight of younger readers to Edmonton’s two free arts-and-entertainment weeklies, See and Vu, by launching a special section called ‘Ed.’

Meanwhile the Post seems to be losing a former stronghold. ‘The Post is not experiencing growth,’ says Moore of the number-four paper. ‘They’re flat or a bit down.’