An Indian settled in Canada has secured a license to run an FM radio station, which would go on air early next year with programmes for at least 15 ethnic communities in this city.
Kulwinder Sanghera, a Punjabi who arrived in Canada in 1979, clinched the license from Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission to launch his FM station CFMW.
The new station will broadcast in 15 languages for at least 15 ethnic groups. The programmes from Monday to Friday will be done in six languages while the others are slotted for weekend shows, the Canada.Com reported.
Almost 70 per cent of the content would be music programmes, targeting the youth, while talk shows and news will share the rest of the air time, it said.
Sanghera, who is delighted over his new venture, is no novice in the field as he already owns a recording and video production studio named 'Music Waves' and had produced several national and regional television shows.
Music Waves roped in Indian musicians, especially Punjabi Bhangra artists, from the UK to play on their recordings, but radio stations here refused to play the music, prompting Sanghera to think about launching his own radio channel.
{{/usCountry}}Music Waves roped in Indian musicians, especially Punjabi Bhangra artists, from the UK to play on their recordings, but radio stations here refused to play the music, prompting Sanghera to think about launching his own radio channel.
{{/usCountry}}"The US and Canada have been very, very good markets for South Asian music. But we never got any airplay," he was quoted as saying in the report.
However, there may be one more hurdle that he will need to clear prior to going on air as a compatriot of his, who had failed to secure the license, is planning to lodge an appeal before the CRTC, the report said.