As hearings held by the government’s CRTC continue into the proposed sale of eleven Corus Entertainment stations in Quebec to Cogeco, there is the potential that this deal could come to an abrupt end. Canada’s Wire Report says Cogeco plans to abandon the deal unless Montreal’s popular CKOI-FM (96.9) is a part of the sale. Cogeco VP of Corporate Affairs Yves Mayrand told the commission holding the hearings, “You can’t take a package transaction like this one and say, ‘We’ll take away one of the major assets that largely justifies the transaction and we’ll leave Cogeco … with only unprofitable stations.’ If CKOI-FM can’t be part of this transaction, then sadly there will be no transaction with Corus.” According to Canadian broadcast rules, you cannot own more than two French-language stations (and two same-language AM’s) in any market, including Montreal. Cogeco already owns CFGL-FM (105.7). The Corus sale would add CKOI and CHMP-FM (98.5) in Montreal. Cogeco is seeking an exemption to that rule. As a part of their proposal, Cogoeco proposes the creation of a local news source offering content free of charge to cooperating independent and community stations across Quebec; dedicating a portion of the resources and expertise of the radio stations to be acquired in Montreal to support radio in the regions; and paying an exceptional contribution of 9% of the total transaction value, or $7.2 million, to various stakeholders in the Quebec radio system.