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Ottawa, 3 December 1986
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Decision CRTC 86-1175
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Ontario Educational Communications Authority (TVOntario)
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Toronto and 169 other communities, Ontario - 861242600 - 861241800
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Following a Public Hearing in Toronto on 23 September 1986, the Commission renews the broadcasting licences issued to the Ontario Educational Communications Authority (TVOntario) for its English-language educational television network and for CICA-TV Toronto and its rebroadcasting stations (as listed in the Appendix to this decision) from 1 October 1987 to 31 August 1992, subject to the conditions of licence specified in this decision and in the licences to be issued.
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The Commission commends TVOntario's achievements over the past sixteen years in developing an educational television service of high quality that is tailored to meet the educational, social, linguistic and cultural needs of the residents of Ontario and provides a distinct alternative to the television services offered by other broadcasters.
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Introduction
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The 23 September hearing was the first opportunity since 1981 for the Commission to discuss with TVOntario its past performance and future plans within the context of its applications for licence renewal.
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TVOntario operates as a non-commercial educational broadcaster established by provincial legislation. The TVOntario television programming service is distributed via satellite to a network of transmitters throughout the province and is currently receivable by 95% of the population of Ontario. Its reach will also increase as a consequence of the Commission's approval of eight applications by TVOntario to extend its service by means of low-power transmitters, which are the subject of another decision (CRTC 86-1147 dated 27 November 1986). Additional applications of this nature will be scheduled for public hearing soon.
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Role and Mandate
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At its licence renewal hearing in 1981, in describing its programming service TVOntario noted that each of its programs is designed to serve a dual purpose: to entertain and informally enlighten home viewers and to serve the needs of educational institutions.
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At the September 1986 hearing Mr. Bernard Ostry, Chairman of TVOntario, described the philosophy and mandate of this undertaking which makes it distinctively different from other Canadian broadcasters. He submitted that TVOntario's television programs are developed as significant components of complex "learning systems", which are complemented by research to assess their effectiveness and to determine the learning needs of TVOntario's audiences. He also noted that TVOntario has pioneered new formats in television programming, particularly through the development of interactive, self-directed part-time learning courses.
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In the past five years TVOntario has produced more than 2,100 hours of new Canadian programming and invested more than $5.5 million in co-productions with a total production value of more than $26 million. It has established an impressive and sophisticated network of more than 4,500 volunteers who serve as members of regional and program advisory committees and as television resource teachers. This enables TVOntario to communicate on an ongoing basis with its audiences and the general public which permits valuable feedback on its programming. TVOntario also co-ordinates Canadian input to international research studies on the use of technologies in education. It has recently been authorized to broadcast the proceedings of the Ontario Legislative Assembly (Decision CRTC 86-596 dated 23 June 1986).
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TVOntario has extended its service to the most remote communities of Ontario by means of low-power rebroadcasting transmitters, including 27 located in native communities in northwestern Ontario. It also distributes the native-language radio service of the Wawatay Native Communications Society to the Society's affiliated radio stations via a subcarrier on its satellite transponder channel and, commencing this fall, will equip with a switching device the TVOntario satellite receiving facilities in the 27 native communities enabling them to substitute Wawatay television programming. In 1986/87, one half-hour per week of native-language television programming will be broadcast.
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In this respect, the Commission expects the Society to apply for a television network licence, similar to that which it has obtained for its affiliated radio stations, for the 27 community stations to which this program service will be provided.
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Program Content
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The Commission commends TVOntario for its diverse schedule of quality programming designed for school use, its special efforts to prepare and acquire program material for preschool children, and the variety and innovation of its "informal" educational and part-time learning programs for adults.
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Since its inception in 1970, the licensee has made extensive use of new developments in education and technology for which it has received wide international recognition. As such, it has served and continues to function as a model educational broadcaster. The loyalty and respect it commands from its primary users, Ontarians of all ages and educators at every level of the provincial instructional system, and the acknowledged success of its programming as evidenced by program sales to more than 40 countries, as well as numerous prestigious awards in international competitions, demonstrate the value of this unique and distinctive television service.
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During the upcoming licence term TVOntario proposes to broadcast 120 hours 30 minutes per week of English-and French-language programming. The licensee divides its schedule into blocks of programs to accommodate the learning needs of viewers at times most appropriate for them.
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In the intervals between programs, rather than scheduling revenue-generating advertisements, TVOntario broadcasts information about its television programs, registration details for those wishing to enroll in credit courses and many short Canadian films purchased from independent producers. Approximately 22 hours of this filler material were broadcast in 1985/86.
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The Commission notes that approximately 17% of the TVOntario schedule will continue to be devoted to French-language programming. TVOntario's policy with respect to the provision of some French-language programming on the English service and of English-language programming on the new French-language educational television network is addressed in detail in Decision 86-1176 of today's date.
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During the first part of its current licence term, the licensee was advised by the Commission of minor shortfalls in Canadian content. In a letter dated 28 August 1984, TVOntario informed the Commission that it attributed the problem to tabulation errors and gave its assurance that in future such errors would not recur. The Commission acknowledges that in the past two years TVOntario has exceeded the required Canadian content levels, both over the entire broadcast day and in evening viewing hours.
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For the period of October to March during the upcoming licence term, TVOntario has proposed to broadcast 63% Canadian content over the broadcast day and 52% from 6:00 p.m. to midnight; from April to September, it proposed Canadian programming percentages of 65 and 57 respectively. The Television Broadcasting Regulations require licensees to broadcast at least 60% Canadian content overall and 50% from 6:00 p.m. to midnight.
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TVOntario described at some length its objectives for achieving higher Canadian content levels in future, emphasizing that TVOntario intended to maintain, as a minimum, the quality and quantity of its Canadian programming, which is "to be improved upon if possible." Mr. Ostry added:
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... while as an educational broadcaster we could not, in fairness to our audiences and the subject matter we are trying to address, produce percentage goals like 100% Canadian content ... in the process of serving our clients whether it is in the curriculum or [to] the more general audiences in the evening, we would assume a responsibility, as an educational broadcaster, not to lock out the rest of the world either in terms of the quality of the things they do ... or in an approach they might take ...
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In response to questioning at the hearing on the greater efforts the Commission is expecting from television broadcasting licensees with respect to Canadian programming in view of existing incentives from various funding sources, Mr. Ostry promised to submit revised Canadian content commitments for the upcoming licence term following consultation with the TVOntario Board of Directors.
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Consequently, in a letter to the Commission dated 20 October 1986, Mr. Ostry clarified TVOntario's position with respect to its Canadian content initiatives:
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... we concur that, given the changing environment in Canadian broadcasting, it is incumbent upon each Canadian undertaking to ... ensure that the quality and quantity of Canadian programming increase over the next few years ... that maintaining the status quo in terms of satisfying minimum regulatory requirements is not enough.
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The letter elaborated further on how, by virtue of its mandate as "a provincial entity with specific educational and narrower learning responsibilities, and not financed through advertising revenues, [TVOntario is] 'distinctively different' from [other] licensees."
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... our expenditures on Canadian content include print materials and computer software, telephone tie-ins, and community animation activities that we provide in association with and inherent in our learning systems. These Canadian cultural products are not currently included in your calculations of our percentages of Canadian content.
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Further to the undertakings made at the hearing, the TVOntario Board has stated its commitment to improve upon its achievements during the current licence period: to produce more than the 2,100 hours of new Canadian programming broadcast over the past five years, to spend more money on programming, and to increase its Canadian content. The licensee plans to make greater use of co-productions, to reduce its repeat factor and to garner additional programming funds from government. Specifically, TVOntario "will endeavour to reach the 70th percentile [for Canadian programs] by the end of fiscal year 1990-91."
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Conditions of Licence and Expectations
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The Commission's evaluation of TVOntario's proposals and commitment to new Canadian programming has taken into account the considerations and developments noted above.
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Accordingly:
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It is a condition of licence that, in each of the twelve-month periods commencing on 1 September 1990 and on 1 September 1991, TVOntario broadcast a minimum of 70% Canadian content over the broadcast year.
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With regard to this condition, the Commission has noted the licensee's commitments to increase the quantity and quality of Canadian programming, particularly in terms of new Canadian productions and through greater use of co-productions. In this respect, the Commission encourages TVOntario to co-operate with independent Canadian producers in order that they may access the Broadcast Program Development Fund administered by Telefilm Canada and to make increased efforts to co-operate with other educational broadcasters, particularly with Radio-Quebec which has a comparable programming budget, in the production of Canadian programs that will be of interest to viewers in their own and other provinces. Further, the Commission notes that in its application TVOntario has proposed to spend $9.75 million (approximately 22% of its total revenues) for Canadian productions. The Commission considers this to be a reasonable amount and expects the licensee to maintain this level of expenditure on Canadian programming, whether this material is produced by TVOntario itself, co-produced or acquired.
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TVOntario has assured the Commission that the underwriting of a portion of its programming by private sector corporations and foundations has not interfered with the content or scheduling of such material. Although to date such contributions have been modest, representing less than 2% of the operating budget, representatives of TVOntario have described this type of funding as "sponsorship" and stated that it attempts to match this funding with ongoing projects. The licensee has reiterated its intention to maintain its current "Guidelines for Underwriting and Project Financing" as outlined in Decision CRTC 81-727 and not to broadcast commercial messages, other than those promoting its own programs and related activities. The Commission expects TVOntario to abide by these commitments.
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The Commission is pleased to acknowledge TVOntario's statement that because of the development and project research that goes into each program it produces, it has had no complaints with regard to sex-role stereotyping.
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TVOntario also stated that it would have no problem adhering to the Canadian Association of Broadcasters' (CAB) voluntary guidelines on sexrole stereotyping if such adherence were to be made a condition of licence. In this respect, the Commission notes that in its letter of support for these applications, the CAB mentioned that "TVOntario is currently in the process of becoming an associate-member". Consistent with the licensee's undertaking at the hearing, the Commission imposes the following condition of licence:
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It is a condition of licence that TVOntario adhere to the CAB self-regulatory guidelines on sex-role stereotyping, as amended from time to time and accepted by the Commission.
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Interventions
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The Commission received interventions from the Ontario Closed Captioned Consumers (OCCC), the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACRTA), the Canadian Association for Adult Education, the Canadian Conference of the Arts, Dr. E.V. Stiliadis and Community Access Network as well as 21 letters of support.
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The OCCC acknowledged the efforts TVOntario has made to provide closed captioning on some of its television programs and strongly encouraged the licensee to allocate a higher proportion of its grant and project specific funding in order to provide more such programming. The intervener also suggested that the licensee should include hearing-impaired representatives on its advisory committees, be more accessible to the hearing-impaired by installing a Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD) in its offices, and identify captioned programming in television guides and on the closed captioned teletext channel.
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At the hearing, TVOntario admitted that although it had exceeded its target of 46.5 hours of captioned programs this year by 22.25 hours, it felt that its progress in this area was "slow and still inadequate". The 68.75 hours of closed captioning that is provided in 1986/87 will translate into more than 200 hours because of repeats. In addition, the licensee broadcasts a number of programs each year with subtitles. It is now TVOntario policy to acquire closed captioned versions of programs when available and a requirement that co-productions financed with Telefilm funding be captioned. For the 1987/ 88 fiscal year, the licensee is seeking an additional $50,000 from the Ministry of Citizenship and Culture in order to bring to $225,000 the amount allocated for this purpose.
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TVOntario undertook to continue to co-operate with the Canadian Captioning Development Agency with a view to increasing the availability of captioned programs. It stated that all captioned programs are clearly indicated in its program schedule and that it will soon be starting a teletext channel. A senior officer of policy and planning at TVOntario is in touch with interested groups regarding closed captioning on a continuing basis.
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The licensee also stated that it plans to purchase the telephone equipment recommended by the intervener in order to facilitate communications in audience-related matters with the deaf and hard of hearing.
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The Commission has taken note of these important commitments with respect to captioning and expects to be kept informed of the licensee's progress in implementing these plans.
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In its intervention, ACTRA, while generally supportive of this public educational service whose "programs have set the standard for North American educational production", expressed concern that TVOntario has reduced the volume of original production and that the repeat factor is too high. In reply, TVOntario explained that as the "size and responsibilities of the enterprise have grown over the past five years", its capital and operating costs have also increased. It provided figures indicating that TVOntario expenditures for production services have increased significantly from $834,937 in 1981 to $1,499,385 in 1985 despite a small slippage in the number of English-language hours of programming produced by the licensee between 1983/84 (415 hours) and 1984/85 (386 hours).
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Fernand Bélisle
Secretary General
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APPENDIX/ANNEXE
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TORONTO, Ontario TORONTO (Ontario)
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REBROADCASTING STATIONS/STATIONS RÉÉMETTRICES
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CICA-TV-6 North Bay
CICA-TV-7 Timmins
CICO-TV-9 Thunder Bay
CICA-TV-12 Owen Sound
CICA-TV-13 Huntsville
CICO-TV-18 London
CICO-TV-19 Sudbury
CICO-TV-20 Sault Ste. Marie
CICO-TV-24 Ottawa
CICO-TV-28 Paris-Kitchener
CICO-TV-32 Windsor
CICA-TV-51 Penetanguishene
CICO-TV-59 Chatham
CICO-TV-38 Kingston
CICO-TV-53 Belleville
NCS-TV Peterborough
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Low-Power Rebroadcasting Stations/Stations Réémettrices de faible puissance
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CICA-TV-8 Deer Lake
CICA-TV-9 Iron Bridge
CICA-TV-10 Joques
CICA-TV-11 Ear Falls
CICA-TV-14 Harris Township
CICA-TV-15 Hudson Township
CICA-TV-16 Kagawong
CICA-TV-17 King Kirkland
CICA-TV-18 Sheguiandah
CICA-TV-20 Constance Lake
CICA-TV-21 Gore Bay
CICA-TV-22 Little Current
CICA-TV-23 Spring Bay
CICA-TV-24 Foleyet
CICA-TV-25 Port Hope
CICA-TV-26 Ignace
CICA-TV-27 Kasabonika
CICA-TV-28 Webequie
CICA-TV-29 Wunnumin Lake
CICA-TV-30 Cat Lake
CICA-TV-31 Coleman
CICA-TV-32 Collins
CICA-TV-33 Dobie
CICA-TV-34 Earlton
CICA-TV-35 Elk Lake
CICA-TV-36 Englehart
CICA-TV-37 Gowganda
CICA-TV-38 Larder Lake
CICA-TV-39 Latchford
CICA-TV-40 Belle Vallee
CICA-TV-41 Hanbury
CICA-TV-42 Whitefish Bay
CICA-TV-43 Bruce Mines
CICA-TV-44 Manitowaning
CICA-TV-45 Sultan
CICA-TV-46 Thessalon
CICA-TV-47 Bearskin Lake
CICA-TV-48 Dorion
CICA-TV-49 Redditt
CICA-TV-50 Sachigo Lake
CICA-TV-52 Sandy Lake
CICA-TV-53 Massey
CICA-TV-54 Mindemoya
CICA-TV-55 Whitefish Falls
CICA-TV-56 Alberton
CICA-TV-57 Barwick
CICA-TV-58 Fort Albany
CICA-TV-59 Fort Severn
CICA-TV-60 Marten Falls
CICA-TV-61 Matachewan
CICA-TV-62 Devlin
CICA-TV-63 Savant Lake
CICA-TV-64 Morson
CICA-TV-65 Mine Centre
CICA-TV-66 Big Trout Lake
CICA-TV-67 Eva Lake
CICA-TV-68 Kingfisher Lake
CICA-TV-69 Oba
CICA-TV-70 Pikangikum
CICA-TV-71 Longlac
CICA-TV-72 Caramat
CICA-TV-73 Stratton
CICA-TV-74 Winisk
CICA-TV-75 Pickle Lake
CICA-TV-76 Emo
CICA-TV-77 Rainy River
CICA-TV-78 Sioux Narrows
CICA-TV-79 Nestor Falls
CICA-TV-80 Nakina
CICA-TV-81 Jellicoe
CICA-TV-82 Beardmore
CICA-TV-83 MacDiarmid
CICA-TV-84 Bergland
CICA-TV-85 Sioux Lookout
CICA-TV-86 Pinewood
CICA-TV-87 Vermilion Bay
CICA-TV-88 Eagle River
CICA-TV-89 Hudson
CICA-TV-90 Attawapiskat
CICA-TV-91 Moosonee
CICA-TV-92 Fauquier
CICA-TV-93 Harty
CICA-TV-94 Mattice
CICA-TV-95 Moonbeam
CICA-TV-96 Opasatika
CICA-TV-97 Val Rita
CICA-TV-98 Virginiatown
CICA-TV-99 Weagamow
CICO-TV-1 Kerns Township
CICO-TV-2 Lac Ste. Therese
CICO-TV-3 Laird
CICO-TV-4 MacLeod
CICO-TV-5 Nairn
CICO-TV-6 New Osnaburgh
CICO-TV-7 Ryland
CICO-TV-8 Searchmont
CICO-TV-10 Silver Water
CICO-TV-11 Tehkummah
CICO-TV-12 Temagami North
CICO-TV-13 Thornloe
CICO-TV-14 Val Cote
CICO-TV-15 West Bay
CICO-TV-16 Wharncliffe
CICO-TV-17 Barclay
CICO-TV-21 Charlton
CICO-TV-22 Hawk Junction
CICO-TV-23 Heron Bay
CICO-TV-25 Lansdowne House
CICO-TV-26 Providence Bay
CICO-TV-27 Shoal Lake
CICO-TV-29 Wabigoon
CICO-TV-44 Walford
CICO-TV-45 Watten
CICO-TV-46 Eton Rugby
CICO-TV-47 Gull Bay
CICO-TV-48 Shebandowan
CICO-TV-49 Valora
CICO-TV-50 Lake Helen
CICO-TV-51 Pic Mobert
CICO-TV-52 Red Lake Road
CICO-TV-54 Minaki
CICO-TV-55 Algoma Mills
CICO-TV-56 Pearl
CICO-TV-57 Rainy Lake Reserve I.R. #26A
CICO-TV-58 Rossport
CICO-TV-60 Savard
CICO-TV-61 Serpent River
CICO-TV-62 Spragge
CICO-TV-63 Wikwemikong
NCS-TV Britt
NCS-TV Dack Township
NSC-TV Desbarats
NCS-TV Evanturel Township
NCS-TV Hallam
NCS-TV Kenabeek
NCS-TV Kenogami Lake
NCS-TV Lee Valley
NCS-TV Missanabie
NCS-TV Rainy Lake I.R.
NCS-TV Aroland
NCS-TV Cartier
NCS-TV Hallebourg
NCS-TV Hilliardton
NCS-TV Hilton Beach
NCS-TV Kitigan
NCS-TV Temagami
NCS-TV Richard's Landing
NCS-TV Duck Lake
NCS-TV Goulais River
NCS-TV Kashabowie
NCS-TV North Branch
NCS-TV Quibell
NCS-TV Summer Beaver
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