OTTAWA – The Canadian Association of Broadcasters will close its doors permanently this June.
CAB board chair Elmer Hildebrand confirmed the news to Cartt.ca after notifying members on Wednesday.
With the majority of the group’s television membership already planning to leave the association when he was appointed in December, Hildebrand said that he focused on trying to remake the organization into one that represented radio broadcasters only.
“That, for a variety or reasons, both practical and legal, didn’t work, and so it was decided to close the organization as it exists today”, he told Cartt.ca in a telephone interview. “Simultaneously, I’m working on starting up a parallel organization that will serve radio broadcasters in Canada.”
Hildebrand said that it was too early to say whether the 14 existing CAB staff members would join his new, yet unnamed, association. While short on details about the new group, he said that support from the radio community has been strong.
“The majority of the radio broadcasters in Canada are on-side to have an association that speaks for and represents the radio industry”, Hildebrand added.
The CAB downsized dramatically in January 2009, cutting 14 staff and cancelling its annual convention. The 84 year old organization was one of Canada’s foremost professional industry associations, representing more than 600 private radio stations, television stations, and specialty, pay and pay-per-view television services across the country.
