ARCHIVED -  Decision CRTC 97-673

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Decision

Ottawa, 17 December 1997
Decision CRTC 97-673
Westman Media Co-operative Ltd.
Brandon, Manitoba - 199706313
Addition of CBWT
1. Following Public Notice CRTC 1997-116 dated 3 September 1997, the Commission approves the application for authority to distribute CBWT (CBC) Winnipeg, a distant Canadian signal, as part of the basic service of the cable distribution undertaking serving Brandon.
2. The licensee is authorized to receive this signal over the air, or from any licensed or exempted Canadian broadcasting distribution undertaking authorized to provide signals to other broadcasting distribution undertakings. The Commission notes that the applicant plans to receive the CBWT signal via landlink.
3. In assessing this application, the Commission has examined whether the distribution of CBWT is consistent with the guidelines on the cable distribution of distant Canadian television signals first set out in Public Notice CRTC 1985-61 and reiterated in Public Notices CRTC 1993-74 and 1997-84.
4. The Commission's guidelines require that the originating (distant) station whose signal is to be carried not oppose such carriage, that the distant station not solicit local advertising in the local market where its signal is to be distributed and that it abide by its local programming commitments with respect to the market it has been licensed to serve. In a letter dated 19 June 1997, the CBC, licensee of CBWT, advised the applicant that it does not object to CBWT's proposed carriage on basic service at Brandon. The letter also confirmed the CBC's intention not to solicit local advertising in the Brandon market and to adhere to its local programming commitments in the Winnipeg market.
5. The Commission's guidelines also require that the distant station should enhance the diversity of Canadian programming available in the market. Unlike CBWT which carries the entire CBC network schedule, the local CBC affiliate, CKX Brandon, broadcasts most of the network's "flagship" programs, but does not include other CBC programs. Approval of this application will, therefore, give Brandon residents access to CBC programs currently not available to them. Further, because some of the CBC's network programs are time-shifted, the addition of CBWT at Brandon will offer residents alternative viewing times. As well, Brandon viewers will gain access to regional news and current affairs packages produced by CBWT. Accordingly, the Commission is satisfied that the distribution of CBWT will add some diversity to Canadian programming available in the Brandon market.
6. The Commission notes that CKX is the only local broadcaster licensed to serve Brandon and area. While CKX has been profitable over the previous six years, its level of profitability does not suggest that the market would be able to support another local television service in the near future.
7. Craig Broadcast Systems Inc., licensee of CKX, and CanWest Global Communications Corp., licensee of CKND-TV Winnipeg, submitted opposing interventions expressing concern that, given the availability of CKX on basic cable at Brandon, adding CBWT to that basic cable service would not increase the diversity of programming offered to the community. The interveners also claimed that approval of this application would have a negative impact on the audience share and advertising revenues of both CKX and CKND-TV.
8. In response, the applicant stated, among other things, that subscribers have requested that CBWT be added to their cable service. The applicant also claimed that it relies on its local and regional station offerings to diffentiate its service from that of potential competitors such as direct-to-home distribution undertakings.
9. The Commission has assessed the degree of the impact that the carriage of the distant signal, CBWT, may have on the local station, CKX, and on its ability to meet its programming commitments. In its assessment, the Commission examined markets, similar in size to Brandon, where both a local CBC affiliate and an out-of-market CBC owned and operated station are distributed on basic cable. The Commission found that the out-of-market CBC owned and operated stations attract little audience share relative to the local CBC affiliate stations.
10. The Commission notes that statistics from the Bureau of Broadcast Measurement's fall 1996 report indicate that a relatively small amount of CKX's total viewing is from residents of Brandon, with the remainder of its viewers coming from the town's outlying areas. Since the applicant's proposal to distribute CBWT is restricted to the town of Brandon, the potential for audience fragmentation will be restricted to CKX's audience base in the town of Brandon.
11. The Commission considers that CBWT distributed on basic cable at Brandon should attract a small portion of the overall viewing in the Brandon extended market and will, therefore, not have a significant impact on CKX.
12. Based on all of the foregoing, the Commission is satisfied that the proposed distribution of CBWT on basic cable at Brandon complies with the Commission's guidelines on the cable distribution of distant Canadian television signals.
13. The Commission has also evaluated the potential impact of approval of this application on CKND-TV and is not convinced that the addition of CBWT on basic cable service at Brandon would have an undue negative impact on this station.
14. The Commission acknowledges the intervention submitted in support of this application.
This decision is to be appended to the licence.
Laura M. Talbot-Allan
Secretary General
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