View source for KVRI

{{short description|Radio station in Blaine, Washington, serving Vancouver, British Columbia}}
{{Infobox radio station
| name             = KVRI
| logo             =
| city             = [[Blaine, Washington]]
| area             = [[Metro Vancouver]]
| frequency        = 1600 [[kHz]] ([[AM broadcasting|AM band]])<BR>177 [[kHz]] ([[Longwave]])
| translator       = {{Radio Relay|105.3|K287CI|Blaine}}
| branding         = Radio Punjab
| format           = [[South Asian]] ([[Hindi language|Hindi]], [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]] and other languages)
| airdate          = {{Start date and age|2001|1|1}}
| power            = 50,000 [[watt]]s day<br>10,000 watts night
| class            = B
| facility_id      = 5350
| callsign_meaning = '''K''' '''V'''ancouver '''R'''adio '''I'''ndia (previous format)
| owner            = [[Multicultural Broadcasting]]
| licensee         = Way Broadcasting Licensee, LLC
| webcast          =
| website          = [http://www.radiopunjab.com/ radiopunjab.com]
| sister_stations  = [[KARI (AM)|KARI]], [[KXPA]]
| licensing_authority= [[Federal Communications Commission|FCC]]
}}
'''KVRI''' (1600 [[AM broadcasting|AM]]) (branded as Radio Punjab) is a [[commercial radio|commercial]] [[radio station]] [[city of license|licensed]] to [[Blaine, Washington]], [[United States]], and serving [[Greater Vancouver]] in [[British Columbia]], [[Canada]].  It airs a [[radio format]] of [[Bollywood music]], [[talk radio|news and talk]] in [[Hindi language|Hindi]], [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]] and other [[South Asian]] [[languages of India|languages]].  It is owned by [[Multicultural Broadcasting]].
By day, KVRI transmits 50,000 [[watt]]s (the maximum for commercial AM stations), but to protect other stations on [[1600 AM]] from interference, at night power is reduced to 10,000 watts.  KVRI uses a [[directional antenna]] with a six-[[tower array]], directing the signal to the northwest to cover Greater Vancouver.  The [[transmitter]] is on Tracy Place in [[Birch Bay, Washington]], about {{convert|4|miles|km|sp=us}} from the [[Canada–United States border|Canada–US border]].<ref>[https://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/finder?sr=Y&s=C&call=Kvri&nav=home Radio-Locator.com/KVRI]</ref>  Programming is also heard on [[FM translator]] '''K287CI''' on 105.3 [[Hertz|MHz]] in [[Blaine, Washington|Blaine]].<ref>[https://radio-locator.com/info/K287CI-FX Radio-Locator.com/K287CI]</ref>
==History==
The station [[sign-on|signed on]] the air on {{Start date and age|2001|1|1}}.<ref>[https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-YB/2005/Radio-All-2005-BC-YB.pdf ''Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2005'' page D-545]</ref>  The station has always had the [[call sign]] KVRI and has always been owned by Multicultural Broadcasting, headed by broadcasting executive Arthur Liu.  The original studios were on Lincoln Road in Blaine.
For many years, the station was operated by '''Radio India Ltd.''', a radio service with its offices in [[Surrey, British Columbia|Surrey]], a city in [[Greater Vancouver]].  Maninder S. Gill serves as the managing director.<ref>"[http://radioindia.ca/mgmt.htm Management] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150219041451/http://radioindia.ca/mgmt.htm |date=2015-02-19 }}" ([https://web.archive.org/web/20150219041451/http://radioindia.ca/mgmt.htm Archive]). Radio India. Retrieved on April 14, 2015. "Address: #201, 12830-80 Ave, Surrey, B.C. V3S3M6, Canada"</ref> His sister, Baljit Bains, is the owner.<ref name=OneilRadioPirates>O'Neil, Peter. "[https://vancouversun.com/news/Surrey+Radio+India+cease+broadcasting/10292771/story.html Surrey's Radio India to cease broadcasting]" ([https://web.archive.org/web/20150119031428/http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Surrey+Radio+India+cease+broadcasting/10292771/story.html Archive]). ''[[Vancouver Sun]]''. October 15, 2014. Retrieved on April 13, 2015.</ref> Maninder Gill is the brother of the mother-in-law of Tom Gill, a Surrey city councillor.<ref name=MatasDefam>Matas, Robert. "[https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/defamation-suit-pulls-surrey-councillor-into-feud-dividing-sikh-community/article562328/ Defamation suit pulls Surrey councillor into feud dividing Sikh community]." ''[[The Globe and Mail]]''. Sunday November 21, 2010. Updated on Thursday August 23, 2012. Retrieved on April 14, 2015.</ref>  Robert Matas of ''[[The Globe and Mail]]'' described Maninder Gill as "a prominent figure" of Vancouver's [[Indo-Canadian]] community.<ref>Matas, Robert. "[https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/prominent-indo-canadian-and-his-family-victims-of-drive-by-shooting/article1442978/ Prominent Indo-Canadian and his family victims of drive-by shooting ]." ''[[The Globe and Mail]]''. Monday September 20, 2010. Updated Thursday August 23, 2012. Retrieved on April 14, 2015.</ref>
Radio India has a clientele of first and second generation Indo-Canadians. Its shows discuss the culture, politics, and religions of India.<ref>Nayar, Kamala Elizabeth. ''[[The Sikh Diaspora in Vancouver: Three Generations Amid Tradition, Modernity, and Multiculturalism]]''. [[University of Toronto Press]], 2004. {{ISBN|0802086314}}, 9780802086310. CITED: p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=NShXfaNbRyEC&pg=PA192 192].</ref> In 2014, Gill stated that the annual advertising revenue was $2 million to $3 million.<ref name="VancouverDesiCRTC">O'Neil, Peter. "[http://www.vancouverdesi.com/bccanada/surrey/crtc-issues-mandatory-order-to-surreys-radio-india-to-cease-operations/812059/ CRTC orders Surrey's Radio India to cease operations by midnight]" ([https://web.archive.org/web/20141129075754/http://www.vancouverdesi.com/bccanada/surrey/crtc-issues-mandatory-order-to-surreys-radio-india-to-cease-operations/812059/ Archive]). ''[[Vancouver Desi]]''. Retrieved on April 13, 2015.</ref>
[[File:KVRI.png|thumb|Logo as Radio India]]
On August 3, 2010,<ref name=Youssefturns>Youssef, Marten. "[https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/radio-india-managing-director-faces-five-charges-after-shooting/article1442979/ Radio India managing director faces five charges after shooting]." ''[[The Globe and Mail]]''. Monday August 30, 2010. Updated Friday November 12, 2010. Retrieved on April 14, 2015.</ref> building contractor Harjit Atwal and two associates of Harjit Atwal,<ref name=Youssefturns/> Jaspal Atwal and Harkirat Kular,<ref>Matas, Robert. "[https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/indo-canadian-radio-hosts-life-threatened/article1442977/ Indo-Canadian radio host's life threatened]." ''[[The Globe and Mail]]''. Tuesday September 21, 2010. Updated Thursday August 23, 2012. Retrieved on April 14, 2015.</ref> filed a lawsuit against Maninder Gill, 11 other employees, and the radio firm itself, accusing the channel of having defamatory material about them on a Punjabi-language broadcast aired on Radio India in May of that year.<ref name=Youssefturns/> This lawsuit was filed in the [[British Columbia Supreme Court]].<ref name="CherylChan">Chan, Cheryl. "[http://www.vancouverdesi.com/bccanada/surrey/bullets-rain-on-home-of-radio-india-manager-maninder-gill-says-hes-worried-for-the-safety-of-his-family/773536/ Bullets rain on home of Radio India manager; Maninder Gill says he's worried for the safety of his family]" ([https://web.archive.org/web/20220311214418/http://www.vancouverdesi.com/bccanada/surrey/bullets-rain-on-home-of-radio-india-manager-maninder-gill-says-hes-worried-for-the-safety-of-his-family/773536/ Archive]). ''[[The Province]]'' in ''[[Vancouver Desi]]''. Retrieved on April 14, 2015.</ref>
Violent altercations involving the lawsuit and disputes occurred in August and September of that year.<ref name=MatasDefam/> Maninder Gill faced five criminal charges after Harjit Atwal sustained gunshot injuries to his leg during a wedding held at the Guru Nanak Sikh Temple in Surrey; the police accused Gill of being responsible for the shooting.<ref name=Youssefturns/> A [[drive-by shooting]] occurred at Maninder Gill's residence the following month.<ref name=CherylChan/> Maninder Gill stated that the conflict resulted from political differences regarding the [[Khalistan movement]].<ref name=MatasDefam/>
The station was operating under a LMA with Radio India, Ltd., and was broadcasting from its studios in [[Surrey, British Columbia]] until November 13, 2014, when the CRTC forced Radio India to end the LMA due to rules that prohibit a Canadian company from operating, leasing, or owning, a radio or television property in the United States solely for broadcasting to Canadians, and for operating without a license within Canada.
For years, Radio India operated as a "[[pirate radio]]" station which did not get a license from the [[Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission]] (CRTC); therefore it avoided paying copyright tariffs and license fees and complying with rules regarding the station's content.<ref name=OneilRadioPirates/> The CRTC decided to act against the pirate stations in 2014.<ref name=VancouverDesiCRTC/> Radio India initially stated that it had political connections; Managing director Maninder Gill had mailed photographs of himself socializing with Canadian politicians. In a presentation in October of that year, Maninder Gill said that the station was going to be shut down and asked the CRTC to give him 120 days to make the shutdown; he mentioned the connections to politicians in the same presentation.<ref name=OneilRadioPirates/> The CRTC ultimately decided that the deadline to close Radio India was Midnight Pacific time on November 14, 2014.<ref name=VancouverDesiCRTC/>
==See also==
* [[Indo-Canadians in Greater Vancouver]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
*{{Official website|http://www.radiopunjab.com}}
{{AM station data|5350|KVRI}}
{{Northern Washington Radio}}
{{Vancouver Radio}}
{{Multicultural Broadcasting}}
{{coord|48|57|15|N|122|44|36|W|type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC|display=title}}
[[Category:Radio stations in Washington (state)|VRI]]
[[Category:Multicultural Broadcasting stations]]