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Public Notice CRTC 1984-3
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Pay Television Network Regulations
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Pursuant to subsection 16(2) of the Broadcasting Act, the Commission hereby issues proposed Regulations Respecting Pay Television Broadcasting Undertakings for the purpose of obtaining comments and representations from interested persons.
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The proposed Regulations, set out in the appendix attached to this Public Notice, reflect several important revisions from the initial proposed regulations which were issued by the Commission for public comment on 4 November 1982 in Public Notice CRTC 1982-123. These changes, which have taken into account the representations received during the latter part of 1982 and first part of 1983, would now permit billboard announcements and production credits while retaining the ban on commercial advertising by pay television licensees. In addition, in view of the economic realities governing production and post-production of programming in Canada, the proposed regulations would now allow licensees, or associated companies, to furnish, on a commercial basis, facilities or technical personnel in respect of production or post-production of programs while maintaining the integrity of the outright prohibition against in-house production by licensees of programming to be shown on their pay television networks.
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These changes have also been influenced by the experience gained by the Commission during the first year of actual operation of pay television in Canada, and are intended to impose even fewer restrictions upon pay television licensees than originally thought necessary. Licensees will still, however, be required to maintain program logs and accounts in respect of programming expenditures so that the conditions of licence governing Canadian program exhibition and expenditure may be effectively enforced.
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The Commission has given consideration to a further change relating to the inclusion of a prohibition against the distribution of any program containing comments or pictorial representations which, when taken in context, would be abusive of any race, religion or creed, or of either sex. In accordance with the requirements of the Statutory Instruments Act, the proposed regulations were forwarded to the Department of Justice for review. This review is still in progress.
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The proposals set out in this public notice would, in the Commission's view, impose the minimum regulatory environment necessary to ensure that the objectives of the Commission in the licensing of pay television are met.
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All interested persons wishing to comment on the proposed regulations should submit their views in writing to the Secretary General, CRTC, Ottawa, le 1 February 1984 .
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J.G. Patenaude
Secretary General
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DRAFT
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REGULATIONS RESPECTING PAY TELEVISION BROADCASTING UNDERTAKINGS
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Short Title
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1. These Regulations may be cited as the Pay Television Regulations.
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Interpretation
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2. In these Regulations,
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"Act" means the Broadcasting Act; (Loi) "associate", where it pertains to a person, includes
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(a) a partner of that person whether or not the partner is acting on behalf of the partnership, (b) a trust or estate in which that person has a substantial beneficial interest or in respect of which that person serves as a trustee or in a similar capacity,
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(c) a spouse, son, daughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law of that person, or other relative of that person or of his spouse who resides with that person, (d) a person with whom that person has entered into an arrangement, understanding or agreement as to the voting of securities of a corporation that is an associate of that person,
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(e) a corporation of which that person, either alone or together with one or more associates as described in any of paragraphs (a) to (d) and (f), has, directly or indirectly, control of not less than 20 per cent of the issued voting securities thereof, and
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(f) a corporation of which one or more associates as described in any of paragraphs (a) to (e) has, directly or indirectly, control of not less than 50 per cent of the issued voting securities thereof; (associé)
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"commercial message" means any commercial announcement that mentions an advertiser or any product or service of an advertiser, including any such mention in a list of prizes, but does not include any (a) public service announcement,
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(b) advertisement for programs distributed by a Canadian pay television undertaking, or
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(c) identification of a pay television undertaking, or
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(d) production credit; (message commercial)
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"Commission" means the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission; (Conseil)
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"control", with reference to any securities means
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(a) ownership or beneficial ownership thereof, and
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(b) an arrangement, understanding or agreement as to the manner in which such securities are to be voted; (contrôle)
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"date of authorization" means the date of publication in the Canada Gazette of the decision of the Commission granting a licence; (date d'autorisation)
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"filler programming" means programming, in no case longer than 15 minutes in duration, the purpose of which is to fill in the time between the presentation of the major programs distributed by the licensee, and includes material that promotes the programs or services provided by the licensee; (matériel d'intermède)
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"licence" means a licence issued by the Commission to carry on a pay television network; (licence)
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"licensee" means the person who holds a valid licence; (titulaire d'une licence ou titulaire)
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"production credit" means a display or an announcement, or a display and an announcement, appearing at the commencement or end of a program and included as an integral part of the program as supplied to a licensee which
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(a) where it appears at the commencement of the program, identifies a person who has contributed to the production of the program without indication of any product or service of that person; or
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(b) where it appears at the end of the program, identifies a person who has contributed to the production of the program with or without a specification of the nature of such contribution; (générique)
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"program" means the presentation of sound or visual matter, or sound and visual matter designed to inform, enlighten or entertain but does not include network identification or public service announcements; (émission)
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"programming" means everything distributed by a licensee on its undertaking; (programmation)
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"semester" means a period of six consecutive months ending on the last day of June or December in each year; (semestre)
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Program Logs
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3.(1) A licensee shall maintain a program log in a form acceptable to the Commission.
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(2) Every licensee shall enter in the log referred to in subsection (1), on a daily basis, the following information:
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(a) the date;
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(b) identification of its undertaking or service thereupon;
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(c) the title and a brief description of each program distributed, the time at which each program began and ended and a designation indicating Canadian content classification determined in accordance with the criteria established by the Commission and published on 1 April 1984 in a Notice entitled "Recognition for Canadian Programs".
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(3) A licensee shall present to the Commission, within 7 days after the end of each month, its program log for that month carrying an attestation by or on behalf of the licensee certifying the accuracy of its content.
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Programming
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4.(1) A licensee shall not distribute in its programming any commercial message.
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(2) Subject to subsection (4), a licensee shall not distribute any programming, other than filLer programming, produced after the date of authorization either by itself or by any associate.
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(3) For the purposes of subsection (2), "produced" does not include
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(a) the furnishing, on a commercial basis, of facilities or technical personnel necessary for the production or post-production processing of a program, or
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(b) editing or formatting or other similar measures necessary to enable proper and effective distribution of programming by the licensee.
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(4) Subsection (2) shall not apply in respect of a licensee authorized to provide programming of which not less than 60 percent of the total programming time in each semester is devoted to programming other than in English, French or a native Canadian language.
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5.(1) A licensee shall provide an indication as to the nature of, and audience suitability respecting, any mature program distributed in its programming at the beginning, and in all promotion, of such programs.
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(2) For purposes of subsection (2), a mature program includes any program which is not suitable for an audience other than an adult audience by reason of its subject-matter or treatment thereof, or any characteristic thereof, including its language or depiction of violence or eroticism.
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Returns
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6.(1) A licensee shall keep separate accounts that each set out, for each financial year
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(a) the amounts expended by it in relation to
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(i) script and concept development of Canadian programs,
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(ii) acquisition of Canadian programs or the rights thereto for distribution of such programs in its programming, and
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(iii) investment in Canadian programs to be distributed in its programming,
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(b) the amounts expended by it in relation to acquisition of non-Canadian programs or the rights thereto for distribution in its programming, and
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(c) the amounts received by it
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(i) in respect of subscription to its service,
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(ii) in respect of the sale, assignment or other transfer of rights to a form of exhibition or commercial exploitation of a program or series of programs, and
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(iii) where subparagraph (ii) does not apply, from a person having a direct or indirect interest in a form of exhibition or commercial exploitation of a program or series of programs in respect of which an expenditure to which paragraph (a) applies is or will be claimed by the licensee.
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(2) A licensee shall, upon request by the Commission and in the form specified by it, furnish such information pertaining to its activities as the Commission considers necessary for the proper and effective administration of the Act and these Regulations.
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(3) For purposes of this section, a program is a Canadian program to the extent that it i.s so recognized by the Commission in accordance with the criteria established in the notice published by the Commission on 1 April 1984 and entitled "Recognition for Canadian Programs".
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