Research & Submissions > 1999 > November 12, 1999

November 12, 1999
Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0N2

Attention: Secretary General

Introduction

The Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) is pleased to have this opportunity to provide its comments with respect to the application by Jan Pachul (199812524) for a broadcasting licence to carry on an English-language low power television programming undertaking at Toronto.

The CAB is the representative of the majority of Canadian programming services – including private television and radio stations, and networks, and specialty television services.

The CAB is opposed to this application on the basis that the application does not conform to the Commission's policies with respect to low power television undertakings or to its definition of community television.

Application is Deficient

The Commission's policy with respect to low power television undertakings is defined in Public Notice CRTC 1987-8 (Regulations Respecting Television Broadcasting). The thrust of the Commission's policy is to promote the extension of television services to remote or underserved communities.

In that policy, the Commission sets out four criteria that define a low power TV undertaking. Those criteria, in summary, are that:

1. the undertaking should serve a community which has no competing local or regional television service;
   
   
2. the community has no local cable community channel(s);
   
   
3. the undertaking be delivered through a low power transmitter; and
   
   
4. the undertaking be characterized by the local nature of its ownership, its programming and the market it is designed to serve.

The applicant appears to only meet one of the criteria that define a low power television undertaking – being delivery through a low power transmitter.

With respect to the first criterion, the applicant is proposing to serve the Toronto metro market, which already has competing local and regional television services. Secondly, the applicant would be serving a substantial market that is already served by cable community channels. It is debatable whether the applicant meets the spirit of the fourth criterion, since the proposed program line up has, with the exception of three of its proposed shows - Public Forum, Sports on TV and Toronto City Hall Coverage, little to do with the community the applicant is proposing to serve.

Role of Community Television

The Commission's objective for community television as described in Public Notice CRTC 1986-176 and further enunciated in the context of its proposed policy framework for community radio (Public Notice 1999-75) is to encourage the development of community broadcasting:

• that is different from and complements that of other stations in the market;
  
  
• that is not-for-profit in nature and whose service is based on community access; and
  
  
• which is owned and controlled by an organization whose membership is made up primarily of citizens of the community.

The proposed service does not sufficiently distinguish itself from some of the program offerings of existing community channels or local broadcasters.

Likewise, the applicant has not put forward any research to demonstrate what the community's level of interest is in receiving such a service or participating in such a service. The applicant has proposed no approach to encouraging or dealing with public access. The applicant has not structured the proposed service to effectively allow for the community to own and actively participate in defining the service.

Conclusion

For all of these reasons, we believe the application is seriously deficient.

While we support the Commission's objective to encourage the development of community-based television services in remote and underserved communities, we do not believe that this application fulfills what is expected of a community-based service and we do not believe that the metro Toronto market can, in any way, be described as underserved. Therefore, we ask that the Commission deny this application.

A copy of this intervention has been provided to the applicant.

Sincerely,

Michael McCabe,
President & CEO.

c.c. Jan Pachul