ARCHIVED - Decision CRTC 2001-270

Decision CRTC 2001-270

Ottawa, 18 May 2001

Fairchild Television Ltd.
Across Canada 2000-1154-4

Application processed by Public Notice
CRTC 2000-138 dated 29 September 2000

Talentvision becomes national service

The primarily Mandarin language programming of Talentvision, currently available only in British Columbia, will become available on a digital basis in other parts of Canada, in communities with sizeable ethnic populations

1. 9;

The Commission approves an application by Fairchild Television Ltd. (Fairchild), licensee of the regional ethnic specialty programming undertaking known as Talentvision, to amend its broadcasting licence in order to authorize the distribution of its service across Canada. Talentvision currently operates only in British Columbia, providing programming in the Mandarin, Vietnamese and Korean languages.

2. 9;

In addition to Talentvision, Fairchild is also the licensee of the national ethnic specialty television service Fairchild TV, which offers a service primarily in the Cantonese language. The licensee also has ownership interests in a number of radio stations in British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario.

3. 9;

As part of its application, Fairchild proposed to incorporate material from the Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese communities outside of British Columbia into its news and information programming. No other changes to programming were proposed.

4. 9;

In support of its application, the licensee stated that it plans to offer complementary national Chinese language service, with Talentvision offering primarily Mandarin-language programming, and Fairchild TV continuing to offer programming mostly in Cantonese.

5. 9;

Interventions were submitted by the Canadian Cable Television Association (CCTA) and Rogers Broadcasting Limited (Rogers), licensee of CFMT-TV, an ethnic television station serving Toronto, Ottawa and London, Ontario. Both interveners offered conditional support for the proposal.

6. 9;

The CCTA expressed a concern with Fairchild's proposal for analog carriage of Talentvision, stating that the access rights set out in Section 18(5)(c) of the Broadcasting Distribution Regulations (the regulations) do not specifically require the provision of Talentvision's national service on an analog channel. The CCTA is of the opinion that, in any market where a service has an access right, the specific form of carriage should be determined by negotiations between the service and the distributor.

7. 9;

In response to the CCTA's concerns, Fairchild stated that it does not propose any access rights for Talentvision beyond those provided in the regulations. It recognizes that digital distribution may be an option under those regulations, and expects that Talentvision would be distributed mainly on a digital basis outside of British Columbia.

8. 9;

In its intervention, Rogers stated its concern that the introduction of Talentvision as a second predominantly Chinese-language specialty television service in the Greater Toronto Area would further increase the amount of Chinese-language advertising that Fairchild controls, resulting in potential negative consequences for CFMT-TV. Rogers would, however, support the current application if Talentvision offered a single national programming schedule, and if it was prohibited from expanding the number of languages beyond those noted in its current application. Rogers also raised a concern related to Fairchild's operation of its national service Fairchild TV. The Commission has addressed that matter in a separate decision, also published today (Decision CRTC 2001-271).

9. 9;

In response to the Rogers intervention, Fairchild stated that it has no plans to alter Talentvision's programming orientation, and will continue to offer predominantly Mandarin language programs, complemented by programs in both Vietnamese and Korean languages. Fairchild, however, opposed Rogers' suggestion that a condition of licence be imposed to prevent any alteration to the language groups served, stating that that would hinder Talentvision's ability to ".best respond to the needs of the ethnic communities we serve."

10. 9;

The Commission acknowledges the positions of the licensee and the concerns expressed by the interveners. It notes that, under section 18(5) of the regulations, all Class 1 distribution undertakings are required to distribute all licensed Canadian specialty services appropriate to their market, subject to available channel capacity. Under section 18(5)(c), ethnic services have carriage rights where the service area covers any community where more than 10% of the population is of one or a combination of the ethnic origins to which the service is directed.

11. 9;

The Commission is satisfied that the introduction of a dedicated national Chinese-language service offering Mandarin, Vietnamese and Korean programming to audiences outside of British Columbia will serve to complement Fairchild's existing Cantonese programming on Fairchild TV. To ensure that Talentvision and Fairchild TV will remain separate and complementary services, the Commission imposes the following condition of licence on Talentvision's licence:

The licensee shall ensure that 100% of the Type A ethnic programming distributed on Talentvision is limited to programs in Mandarin, Vietnamese and Korean languages.

12. 9;

The Commission notes the concerns raised by the CCTA in its intervention regarding analog carriage rights for Talentvision. The Commission also notes that its current approach to specialty services strongly favours digital distribution (PN 2000-6). With very limited exceptions, the Commission has only considered applications for digital specialty services since 1997.

13. 9;

In light of the above-noted concerns and issues, Talentvision's original condition of licence #2, which limited the distribution of Talentvision to the province of British Columbia, is deleted, effective 90 days from the date of this decision. Distributors affected by Talentvision's new national status, which pursuant to S.18(5)(c) of the regulations gives Talentvision analog carriage rights were the 10% threshold is reached, may file applications for authority to distribute Talentvision on a digital only basis. Such applications will be dealt with on an expedited basis.

14. 9;

The Commission reminds the licensee that Talentvision's authority to be distributed on an national basis is based on the provision of a single feed.

Related CRTC documents

• Decision 99-506 - Flexibility to broadcast infomercials for specialty services

• Decision 97-534 - Licence renewal of Talentvision

• Public Notice 2000-6 - Licensing framework policy for new digital pay and services

Secretary General

This decision is to be appended to the licence. It is available in alternative format upon request, and may also be examined at the following Internet site: www.crtc.gc.ca