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Decision
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Ottawa, 9 November 1989
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Decision CRTC 89-834
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Radio Ottawa Inc.
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Ottawa, Ontario - 880102900
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Following a Public Hearing in the National Capital Region on 27 June 1989, the Commission approves the application for a broadcasting licence to carry on an English- and French-language FM student radio broadcasting undertaking at Ottawa on a frequency of 89.1 MHz (channel 206C) with an effective radiated power of 3,200 watts. The licence will be subject to the conditions set out in this decision and in the licence to be issued, and will expire on 31 August 1994.
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In accordance with the applicant's proposal, a special student FM radio licence will be issued for this station upon surrender of the licence of CFUO Ottawa, a carrier current student radio station operated by the applicant and serving University of Ottawa residences. CFUO's licence expires on 31 August 1990.
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With the approval of this application, the Ottawa area will be gaining a second student FM station, the other being CKCU-FM, which is operated by the students of Carleton University. The new FM station's programming will be different from that of CKCU-FM in that it will be mainly bilingual. Its weekly program schedule will comprise 59 hours of English-language programming, 59 hours of French-language programming, and 8 hours of ethnic programming. The applicant indicated at the hearing that by providing this service and access to the Francophone population of the area, it will complement the student radio service currently offered by CKCU-FM. The Commission also notes that the application was accompanied by a letter of support from CKCU-FM indicating that the proposed bilingual programming would fill a void in Ottawa.
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Radio Ottawa Inc. is a non-profit corporation without share capital. The corporation is controlled by its board of directors which is elected by its members who are students of the University of Ottawa. The Commission noted the firm and concrete support offered by the Student Federation of the University of Ottawa, which represents more than 20,000 students, and by the University of Ottawa Student Services. During its intervention at the hearing, Student Services said "The administration and Student Services at the University of Ottawa are fully supportive of Radio Ottawa's bid for a wider access FM broadcast licence, as evidenced in the substantial financial contribution for programming and capital expenditures that they have already committed and are prepared to provide in the future".
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The Commission notes in this regard that the University of Ottawa committed to cover all capital costs involved, which are estimated at $171,800, by making a grant of $50,000 and a loan of $121,800. The Commission also notes the generous terms and conditions of the loan, namely, that repayment is waived for the first three years of operation and may be effected through an exchange of services.
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The station's ongoing operations will be funded primarily from three sources, the first two of which are already in place at CFUO: a direct contribution of $5 from each student registered at the university, sponsorship advertising, and an annual fund-raising drive.
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Given the applicant's realistic financial forecast, the broadcasting experience it has acquired with CFUO since 1984, and the existing operating structure, which is based mainly on volunteer services provided by more than 150 individuals from various institutions of higher learning in the Ottawa-Hull area and the community at large, the Commission is convinced that the applicant will have the financial and human resources required to implement its project.
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It is a condition of licence that the licensee retain full control over all decisions concerning the management and programming of this station and that the majority of directors be students. In addition, the Commission reminds the licensee that, in accordance with the requirements of the Direction to the CRTC (Ineligibility to Hold Broadcasting licences), the chairman or other presiding officer and each of the directors or other similar officers of the licensee must be Canadian citizens.
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The Commission authorizes the licensee, as a condition of licence, to broadcast a maximum of 4 minutes per hour of restricted advertising, as defined in Public Notice CRTC 1983-43, and subsequently amended in Public Notice CRTC 1985-194.
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With regard to programming, the applicant said [TRANSLATION] "The programming proposed in this application is now in place, and it will continue to evolve and expand with the additional resources allowed under an FM licence". It pointed out that its programming emphasizes accessibility and diversity and aims to promote and foster dialogue between the university population and the community.
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The Commission generally expects student radio stations to make commitments that go beyond the minimum requirements applicable to commercial stations. At the hearing, the Commission advised the applicant of its concerns regarding the station's limited commitments in the areas of spoken word, news programming and French-language vocal music.
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The applicant proposed a level of 29.8% spoken word (Categories 1 to 4), 20% foreground and 45% combined foreground/mosaic programming. The Commission notes in particular that the 45% commitment to foreground/ mosaic programming is low compared with that of other student radio stations; it is even less than the 50% requirement applicable to joint FM licences. Accordingly, it is a condition of licence that the licensee broadcast at least 50% combined foreground/mosaic programming. The licensee is further expected to exceed this level whenever possible so that the station will exceed the minimum regulatory requirement in this area. Concerning the modest level of news programming proposed, the Commission notes that the applicant intends to offer in-depth coverage of local and regional news through its public affairs programming, thereby offering a service which is different from that provided by the other radio stations in the Ottawa-Hull area.
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The applicant also proposed to broadcast 30% French-language vocal music. The Commission observes in this regard that at the last licence renewal for CFUO, the applicant's proposal to decrease its French-language vocal music content from 35% of all musical selections in category 5 to 30% was denied (Decision CRTC 88-705). In that decision, the Commission pointed out that it should be relatively easy for CFUO to obtain an adequate supply of French-language vocal selections because less than half of its programming is in French, and that student radio stations are expected to exceed the commitments made by conventional broadcasters. For these reasons, and in view of the fact that the applicant is currently playing 35% French-language vocal music (as it confirmed at the hearing) and that it will be able to attain this level with ease within the proposed Group IV musical format, it is a condition of licence that at least 35% of all category 5 selections be in the French-language. In addition, the Commission expects the licensee to gradually increase its French-language vocal music content to 40% by the fifth year of the licence term. With regard to the proposal to broadcast 7 hours 48 minutes of Traditional and Special Interest music (Category 6), the Commission notes the following statement made by the applicant at the hearing: "We certainly would anticipate increasing the percentage of programming time that is devoted to Category 6 programming, particularly in the area of jazz programming and classical music".
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The Commission took into account the interventions in support of this application by the Council for the Arts in Ottawa, CHEZ-FM Inc, Les Éditions l'Interligne, the Saw Video Gallery Club, John Sekerka, Steve McRae and Christian Hyde.
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The Commission authorizes the licensee to use the Subsidiary Communications Multiplex Operation. It expects the licensee to respect the guidelines set out in Appendix A to Public Notice CRTC 1989-23 dated 23 March 1989 entitled Services Using the Vertical Blanking Interval (Television) or Subsidiary Communications Multiplex Operation (FM). This authority may only be implemented when the Department of Communications gives the technical approval required by the Radio Act and regulations made thereunder. It is a condition of licence that the licensee adhere to the Canadian Association of Broadcasters' (CAB) self-regulatory guidelines on sex-role stereotyping, as amended from time to time and approved by the Commission.
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It is also a condition of licence that the licensee adhere to the provisions of the CAB's Broadcast Code for Advertising to Children, as amended from time to time and approved by the Commission.
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The Commission notes that the power of 18,000 watts which had been indicated in the Notice of Public Hearing corresponds to the maximum power proposed by the applicant. According to the usual practice at the Commission, the power of 3,200 watts authorized by this decision corresponds to the average effective radiated power of the transmitter.
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It is a condition of licence that construction of the undertaking be completed and that it be in operation within twelve months of the date of this decision or, where the applicant applies to the Commission within this twelve-month period and satisfies the Commission that it cannot complete the construction and begin the operation of the station before the expiry of this period and that an extension is in the public interest, within such further period of time as is approved in writing by the Commission.
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Fernand Bélisle
Secretary General
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