ARCHIVED - Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2011-749

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Route reference: Part 1 application posted on 9 September 2011

Ottawa, 6 December 2011

Shaw Cablesystems Limited
Thunder Bay, Ontario

Application 2011-1258-1

Terrestrial broadcasting distribution undertaking serving Thunder Bay – Licence amendment

1.      The Commission approves the application by Shaw Cablesystems Limited to amend the broadcasting licence for its terrestrial broadcasting distribution undertaking serving Thunder Bay, Ontario in order to be authorized to distribute the U.S. 4+1 signals[1] from Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Commission received a number of interventions in support of the application.

2.      Specifically, the following condition of licence:

The licensee is authorized to distribute, at its option, WXYZ (ABC), WWJ-TV (CBS), WDIV (NBC) and WTVS (PBS) Detroit, Michigan, and WUHF (FOX) Rochester, New York, as part of the basic service.

is replaced with:

The licensee is authorized to distribute WCCO-TV (CBS), KARE (NBC), KSTP-TV (ABC), KMSP-TV (FOX) and KTCI-TV (PBS) Minneapolis, Minnesota as part of the basic service, or alternatively for each signal, the signal of a different affiliate of the same network located in the same time zone and included in the List of non-Canadian programming services authorized for distribution, as amended from time to time.

3.      In its application, Shaw stated that there are currently no major market U.S. 4+1 signals operating in the same time zone as Thunder Bay that share a community of interest with Thunder Bay. It argued that changing the source of the U.S. network signals to Minneapolis is appropriate given that there is a community of interest between Thunder Bay and Minneapolis; that the Minneapolis signals offer greater programming relevance; that there is significant demand from customers for those signals; and that the impact on Canadian broadcasters will be minimal. In support of its application, Shaw also provided the results of a customer survey that demonstates that its Thunder Bay customers would prefer to receive the U.S. network signals from Minneapolis rather than those from Detroit.

Secretary General

*This decision is to be appended to the licence.

Footnote

[1] This refers to the set of signals that provide the programming of the four U.S. commercial networks (CBS, NBC, ABC, FOX) and the non-commercial PBS network.

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