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Decision
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Ottawa, 26 July 1988
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Decision CRTC 88-475
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François Labbé, representing a company to be incorporated
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Thetford Mines, Victoriaville and Lac Mégantic, Quebec -871627600 -871631800
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Following a public hearing in the National Capital Region on 12 April 1988, the Commission approves the applications by François Labbé, representing a company to be incorporated (François Labbé), for a licence to operate a joint French-language FM radio station at Thetford Mines, with an auxiliary studio at Victoriaville, and for a licence for a rebroadcasting undertaking at Lac Mégantic.
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The Commission will issue licences expiring 31 August 1991, subject to the conditions specified in this decision and in the licences to be issued. This term will enable the Commission to consider the renewal of these licences at the same time as that of other radio stations in the area.
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This authority will only be effective and the licences will only be issued at such time as the Commission receives documentation establishing that the company has been incorporated in accordance with the applications in all material respects.
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François Labbé currently operates six AM stations in the Appalachian region under the name "Réseau des Appalaches". In response to a call for applications to provide FM radio service in the Thetford Mines, Victoriaville, Lac Mégantic region (Public Notice CRTC 1987-238 dated 2 November 1987), Mr. Labbé proposed to operate an FM station on a joint basis with his existing AM station at Thetford Mines (CKLD) from a main transmitter at Vianney, with production studios in Thetford Mines and Victoriaville. He intends to provide listeners in the area with a service that complements existing AM services by offering alternative music, programs and news coverage. The applicant pointed out that [TRANSLATION] "our proposal is targetted to young adults, specifically those between the ages of 18 and 34, a group which now listens to FM stations located outside the area".
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In considering the present applications, the Commission has taken into account the financial resources available to the applicant, his experience in broadcasting in the area, the fact that there is at present no private regional FM service in either the Bois-Francs or the Amiante area and that a very large portion of the radio audience in the region served by the applicant's AM stations tunes to stations in Quebec City or Sherbrooke. The Commission is satisfied that the proposed FM service will complement the range of radio services already available in the area and will enable François Labbé to consolidate his position in the market.
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The Commission notes that the programs will [TRANSLATION] "be divided more or less evenly" between the Thetford Mines and Victoriaville studios. In addition, the applicant plans, at a future date, to broadcast some local programs from the Lac Mégantic rebroadcaster.
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The sound of the stations will be [TRANSLATION] "quite dynamic ... we want to be softer-rock oriented during the day and harder-rock oriented in the evening". The station will be operated in the Group IV music format, with 60% of the popular music from subcategory 51 (rock -softer) and 40% from subcategory 52 (rock -harder). In this regard, the Commission urges the applicant to broadcast some popular music selections that are not hits in order for the new FM service to complement FM services receivable from outside the area, in particular those in Montreal, Quebec City, Sherbrooke and Trois-Rivières.
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With regard to programming, the applicant proposes to broadcast 25 hours 45 minutes of foreground format programs per week, including "Le magazine des Appalaches" to be broadcast on weekday afternoons, "Autour de nos clochers", a one-hour program on the region's history, as well as a program consisting of a countdown of current hits which will be braodcast for two hours each week night. The applicant stated at the hearing that [TRANSLATION] "the magazine programs ... will be of truly local and regional interest, and the enrichment material will first and foremost be coming from our areas". He added that the magazine program to be broadcast on the FM stations will be general and cultural in nature, while that broadcast by the AM stations will cover public affairs and feature people in the news. The Commission expects the applicant to ensure that the content of the magazine program proposed for the FM service is different from and complements that broadcast by his AM stations.
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In terms of news, the applicant proposes to broadcast just 1 hour 13 minutes of local and regional news per week, consisting of three five-minute newscasts each weekday, which represents 25% of the total news programming proposed. There are no plans to broadcast any local and regional news items on weekends. Ac-cording to the applicant: [TRANSLA-TION] "The news broadcast on the FM stations will be rewritten and enhanced ... it will be much more detailed." In view of the regional orientation proposed for this service, the Commission expects the applicant to increase the percentage of news devoted to local and regional events, to ensure that all of the necessary human and physical resources are allocated to the news service of the future FM stations, and that the news programming reflects what is happening in the area.
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In terms of Canadian talent support, the applicant proposes to allocate a yearly budget of $3,500 to broadcast various annual concerts for a total of $17,500 over five years. In addition, in conjunction with the applicant's AM stations, scholarships or grants will be awarded each year to organizations involved in musical or theatrical promotion totalling $47,000 over five years. The amounts to be spent will total $7,000 in the first year of operation and $10,000 in each subsequent year. The total contribution of the AM and FM stations will thus be $64,500. Thus, the introduction of the FM stations will result in an additional contribution of $39,500 as the existing commitment of the AM stations is for $25,000 over five years. The Commission encourages the applicant to make every effort to support, promote and provide on-air exposure for local and regional talent.
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The Commission notes the intervention by the National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians (NABET), which [TRANSLATION] "welcomes the arrival of a new FM station to serve the extensive area covered by the Réseau des Appalaches". NABET nonetheless expressed concern about certain aspects of the applications, notably the programming, the staff to be employed and the technical parameters to be used. The Commission points out that most of the concerns raised by NABET were either discussed at the hearing or are dealt with in this decision.
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Interventions were also submitted by M.-Yves Charron, who expressed concern about the complementarity of the proposed service inasmuch as it is to be provided by an established broadcaster, and by Télécâble Black-Lake-Robertson Inc., a cable operator in the area, who is concerned that the arrival of this new FM service could create technical problems for the television and radio services that it distributes.
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In this regard, the applicant explained at the hearing that [TRANSLATION] "these problems are very often ... inherent in the existing facilities at the head end and in the cable distribution system" and undertook to provide technical assistance should such problems arise after the undertakings commence operation.
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François Labbé proposed to operate the above-mentioned undertakings in accordance with the following technical parameters: the use of the 94.7 MHz frequency (channel 234C) with an effective radiated power of 83,180 watts at Thetford Mines, and of the 101.7 MHz frequency (channel 269A) with an effective radiated power of 409 watts at Lac Mégantic.
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The Notice of Public Hearing referred to a proposed power of 100,000 watts at Thetford Mines, but this was subsequently amended to 83,180 watts in line with the transmitter's apparent average radiated power.
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At the hearing, the applicant explained that these parameters were selected following detailed studies which indicated that because of the hilly terrain, the Bois-Francs and Amiante regions including the Lac Mégantic area could not be adequately served by a single transmitter. The proposed technical parameters specified above would permit him to provide complete coverage in both of these areas. The applicant emphasized that the needs of the Thetford Mines area indicated the use of a Class C1 rather than a Class B frequency.
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The parameters proposed for Thetford Mines/Victoriaville, however, create some difficulties as a Class B channel has been allocated to the Thetford Mines area by the Department of Communications (DOC), while the Class C channel proposed by the applicant is allocated to the Trois-Rivières area. The Class C channel would thus have to be shifted a distance of 77 kilometres, which would not allow sufficient separation between the transmitter sites of the FM stations WHOM Mount Washington, New Hampshire, and CITE-FM-2 Sherbrooke, possibly creating interference for these two stations.
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The Commission has reviewed all of the technical information filed by the applicant and by the DOC as well as the statements made at the hearing, and is not satisfied that the proposed technical parameters constitute the best solution. The Commission is of the opinion that the applicant could make better use of the available frequencies if he were to use a Class B frequency for the main transmitter, to be located at Vianney, in conjunction with a Class A rebroadcaster operating at a higher power at Lac Mégantic to compensate for any loss in coverage resulting from the reduced contours of the main broadcasting station. By this means, the applicant could avoid potential interference with CITE-FM-2 and prevent encroachment of the main station's coverage into the Trois-Rivières, Quebec City and Sherbrooke markets which he is not intending to serve, and the Class C1 frequency originally allocated to the Trois-Rivières area would be maintained as is.
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Accordingly, although the Commission has approved François Labbé's applications, it does not approve the proposed technical parameters. The applicant is requested, following consultation with the DOC and Commission staff, and within three months of the date of this decision, to apply to amend its licences to revise the technical parameters so that they will respond satisfactorily to the concerns set out above. The Commission will consider such applications expeditiously in the interest of ensuring the provision of local FM service at Thetford Mines/Victoriaville and Lac Mégantic at the earliest possible date.
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It is a condition of these licences that construction of the undertakings be completed and that they be in operation within 12 months of the date of Commission authorization of acceptable technical parameters, or, where the applicant applies to the Commission within this period and satisfies the Commission that it cannot complete construction of the stations and commence operation before the expiry of this 12-month period and that an extension of this period is in the public interest, within such further time as is approved in writing by the Commission.
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The licences are subject to the condition that the applicant comply with the CAB's self-regulatory guidelines on sex-role stereotyping as amended from time to time and approved by the Commission.
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Fernand Bélisle
Secretary General
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