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News release

May 15, 2009

CRTC to issue short-term licences to private conventional television broadcasters

OTTAWA-GATINEAU —The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) today announced its preliminary decisions on matters resulting from the public hearing to renew the licences of most of Canada’s private conventional television broadcasters.

“We are making our initial determinations public to provide a measure of guidance to conventional broadcasters as they prepare for the upcoming broadcast year and embark on program purchases,” said Konrad von Finckenstein, Q.C., Chairman of the CRTC. “In the case of the large networks, we have opted for shorter licence terms to give these broadcasters some flexibility during the current period of economic uncertainty.”

Licence renewal terms
The Commission will grant:

• a 1-year licence renewal term for the television stations operated by CTV Television Inc., Canwest Television GP Inc. and SUN-TV Company, as well as the CITY-TV stations operated by Rogers Broadcasting Limited. This will allow the Commission to consider these stations in the context of group-based licence renewals in spring 2010
• a 2-year licence renewal term for the television stations and discretionary services operated by TVA Group Inc. This will allow the Commission to consider a group-based licence renewal for TVA at the same time as it reviews the licence obligations of TQS Inc., and for the French-language television stations operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
• a 6-year licence renewal term for the OMNI television stations operated by Rogers, and
• 7-year licence renewal terms for the RNC MEDIA Inc. and Télé Inter-Rives ltée television stations.

The new licence terms will take effect on September 1, 2009. The specific licence terms and conditions will be made public in the coming weeks.

Canadian programming expenditures
The Commission has decided that it will not impose a condition on English-language broadcasters requiring a 1-to-1 ratio between Canadian and non-Canadian programming expenditures. Such a condition would not be practical for the upcoming broadcast year, given the sector’s production timelines and the programming commitments that are already in place.

However, the Commission will continue to explore various regulatory measures to ensure that English-language television broadcasters devote an appropriate proportion of their expenditures to Canadian programming.

Follow-up process
The Commission will work with the industry to find a systemic and structural solution to the challenges facing conventional broadcasters. A follow-up proceeding will be launched this summer, culminating in a public hearing in the fall, to address certain unresolved policy questions. The scope of the proceeding will include, among others, the following issues:

• determining the modalities and conditions for group-based licensing to be employed in 2010
• providing revenue support for conventional television stations by: investigating alternative support mechanisms for local programming; protecting the integrity of Canadian broadcaster signals; and exploring a mechanism for establishing, through negotiation, the fair market value for the signals of conventional television stations distributed by cable and satellite companies
• elaborating further details regarding possible models for the digital transition, and
• establishing the appropriate minimum levels of spending on Canadian programming by English-language television broadcasters and the regulatory mechanism to ensure these levels.

A notice of consultation will published shortly to provide further details on a public hearing that will be held in fall 2009.

Broadcasting decision CRTC 2009-279

The CRTC

The CRTC is an independent public authority that regulates and supervises broadcasting and telecommunications in Canada.

Reference document: Broadcasting Notice of Consultation CRTC 2009-113

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