ARCHIVED - Broadcasting Notice of Consultation CRTC 2012-182-1

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Route reference: 2012-182

Ottawa, 1 May 2012

Notice of application received

Fredericton and surrounding areas, Moncton and Saint John, New Brunswick; St John’s, Paradise and Mount Pearl, Newfoundland and Labrador; and Halifax, Dartmouth, Bedford and Sackville, Nova Scotia

New information added to the public record of Item 1

Deadline for submission of interventions/comments/answers on the new information only: 31 May 2012

Deadline for submission of a reply to interventions/comments received in regard to the new information only: 11 June 2012

[Submit an intervention/comment/answer or view related documents]

Further to Broadcasting Notice of Consultation 2012-182, the Commission announces the following:

New information relating to Item 1 has been added to the public record.

Interested persons and parties may file comments on this new information only by no later than 31 May 2012. The applicant may file a reply to any comments received in regard to this new information by no later than 11 June 2012.

Item 1

Fredericton and surrounding areas, Moncton and Saint John, New Brunswick; St John’s, Paradise and Mount Pearl, Newfoundland and Labrador; and Halifax, Dartmouth, Bedford and Sackville, Nova Scotia
Application 2012-0114-4

Application by Bell Aliant Regional Communications Inc., (the general partner), as well as limited partner with 6583458 Canada Inc. (the limited partners), carrying on business as Bell Aliant Regional Communications, Limited Partnership (Bell Aliant) to renew the regional broadcasting licence for its terrestrial broadcasting distribution undertakings (BDUs) serving the above-noted locations, expiring 31 August 2012.

Bell Aliant requests further amendments to its current conditions of licence to allow it the flexibility to allocate a portion of its contributions to local expression to the broadcast of community programming over the Internet.

Bell Aliant noted that in Community television policy, Broadcasting Regulatory Policy CRTC 2010-622, 26 August 2010, the Commission stated that it would consider, at licence renewal, proposals by BDUs to allocate a portion of their local expression to community programming to new media.

The amended conditions of licence would read as follows (changes in bold):

1)      The licensee may provide an outlet for community expression using its video-on-demand service and/or its Internet-based online portal.

2)      As an exception to the requirements set out in section 34 of the Broadcasting Distribution Regulations, as may be amended from time to time:

a)  If the licensee does not distribute its own community programming, or does not produce community programming to be made available on its video-on-demand (VOD) undertaking or its Internet-based online portal, and if a community programming undertaking is licensed in the licensed area, the licensee shall make, in each broadcast year, a contribution of 3% of its gross revenues derived from broadcasting activities in the broadcast year to Canadian programming and a contribution of 2% of its gross revenues derived from broadcasting activities to the community programming undertaking.

b) If the licensee does not distribute its own community programming, or does not produce community programming to be made available on its VOD undertaking or its Internet-based online portal, and if no community programming undertaking is licensed in the licensed area, the licensee shall make, in each broadcast year, a contribution of 5% of its gross revenues derived from broadcasting activities in the broadcast year to Canadian programming.

c)  If the licensee distributes its own community programming, or produces community programming made available on its VOD undertaking and/or its Internet-based online portal, the licensee shall make, in each broadcast year, a contribution to Canadian programming that is equal to the greater of:

i.   5% of its gross revenues derived from broadcasting activities in the broadcast year, less any contribution to local expression made by the licensee in that broadcast year; and

ii.  3% of its gross revenues derived from broadcasting activities in the broadcast year.

Licensee’s address:

1505 Barrington Street
Halifax, Nova Scotia
B3J 2W3
Fax: 613-594-4628
E-mail: regulatory@bellaliant.ca
Website to view application:
http://productsandservice.bellaliant.net/PS/ns/english/common/hearings_applications.jsp

Secretary General

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