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Ottawa, 3 December 1986
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Decision CRTC 86-1176
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The Ontario Educational Communications Authority
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Toronto, Ontario - 861359800
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Following a Public Hearing in Toronto on 23 September 1986, the Commission approves the application by The Ontario Educational Communications Authority (TVOntario) for a broadcasting licence to carry on a French-language educational television network operation. The Commission will issue a network licence expiring 30 September 1991, subject to the conditions specified in the licence to be issued.
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The Commission acknowledges 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. In particular, it commends the licensee for its efforts to expand the range of French-language programming and welcomes this important initiative to provide the residents of Ontario with a distinct French-language network service.
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Mandate and Funding
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TVOntario operates as a non-commercial educational broadcaster, established by provincial legislation. Since its inception, TVOntario has operated on the principle that its service should be available in both official languages. With only 5% of its schedule initially in French, TVOntario has expanded the range of its French-language programming to 17%, including 15.5 hours per week scheduled from noon to midnight on Sunday, as well as 7:00 to 8:00 a.m. Thursday and 4:00 to 4:30 p.m. Monday to Friday.
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The new French-language network is the result of a joint initiative of the governments of Canada and Ontario which have committed $30 million for its establishment and operation, with the federal Department of Communications and the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Culture each contributing $15 million. This is in addition to the $8.6 million that TVOntario has allocated for Frenchlanguage programming in the projections it submitted with the application for the renewal of the Englishlanguage television network service, which is the subject of a separate decision.
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Over a period of five fiscal years beginning 1 April 1986, TVOntario has budgeted $29.3 million for operating expenditures and a further $3.7 million for capital costs. According to the application, the new network will draw on TVOntario's existing programming, technical and administrative facilities, and will be distributed via satellite to cable systems throughout the province. These arrangements have made the new network a feasible proposition with minimal start-up costs.
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The major portion of the operating budget will be allocated to programming. Over the five years, of an estimated operating budget of $73.8 million, TVOntario proposes to spend approximately $39.5 million on programming. Of this amount, TVOntario estimates that 90% will be directed towards productions made or co-produced by the licensee, with 10% for acquisitions. In each year, a total of 3,700 hours will be broadcast in French. The program day will consist of a mix of "new" programs and repeats. During each year of the licence term, TVOntario projects that it will need between 521 and 799 hours of new material.
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Consistent with its mandate to provide viewers with "learning opportunities", the new network will make use of techniques and practices that have proven successful on the existing service:
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We shall design learning systems, considering our viewers as active participants in the educational process. The programming...will be complemented by a range of other resources, including print materials, computer software and teaching packages... Utilization is one of the cornerstones of TVO's approach, and will be essential to the new service.
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Programming
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This French-language service will offer a weekly schedule of programs for children, youth and adults that includes 7 hours 30 minutes of formal in-school instructional programming; 4 hours of non-formal educational programming, designed to involve viewers in interactive part-time learning courses; and 71 hours of informal, non-structural learning with particular emphasis on Franco-Ontarian interests and concerns. The network will build from an inventory of programs that the French service has already established through TVOntario's Sunday schedule. It proposes that acquired and originally produced Canadian material will make up 67.5% of the broadcast day between 7:00 a.m. and 12:30 a.m., while 59.5% of the programming scheduled from 6 p.m. to midnight will be Canadian.
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TVOntario considers its entire schedule to be "prime-time" viewing, intended for different audiences throughout the broadcast day and offered at times most convenient for them: to students in the classroom during the day, to children and youth at home between 5:00 and 7:00 p.m., and to a wider public during the later evening. During the afternoon and evening hours there will be informal educational programs as well as "télécours" and "téléateliers" for those interested in part-time learning.
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In applying for this greatly expanded French-language service, the licensee said that it
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seeks to abolish the marginality of French-language learning opportunities, and entrench them in the ongoing life of the province.
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TVOntario claims that the target audience for the new service includes the 5.5% of Ontarians whose mother tongue is French, as well as half a million other French-speaking Ontarians. In addition, those who have developed or are developing an ability in French will be able to use the service to reinforce their linguistic skills.
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Distribution of the Service
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The Commission notes with respect to the proposed satellite distribution that the Cable Television Regulations, 1986 require all Class 1 and 2 cable systems in Ontario to distribute both the English- and Frenchlanguage educational programming services of TVOntario on the basic band on a priority basis. The licensee estimates that of the approximately 1.5 million Ontarians to whom the French-language service is targeted, more than two-thirds already subscribe to cable, while a further 17% have access to it. As a means of supplementing the cable-distributed service, TVOntario also plans to establish television transmitting undertakings in areas where the francophone population is sufficiently large and has allocated six per cent of the total approved funding for the French service ($1.8 million) for this purpose. The designated areas include Ottawa, Cornwall, Windsor, Sudbury and Hawkesbury/Rockland. The licensee advised the Commission at the hearing that it would soon submit applications for licences to establish retransmitters to serve the latter two regions.
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While the new service will be available to all cable systems in the province, TVOntario has identified a number of areas each having a large francophone population; these areas have been designated as being "priorities in terms of basic band carriage as distinct from carriage on basic service". Conversely, in areas where there is a low density of francophones, TVOntario suggested that it would not object to cable systems applying to distribute the French-language network on the basic service as opposed to the basic band.
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When questioned about this at the hearing, Sandra Birkenmeyer, Senior Managing Director for External Relations for TVOntario, explained:
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It was always our intention that we wanted the service carried on basic cable in every system in the province. Where we differentiate in our application, which -- you are quite correct -- was made before the cable [regulations] were finalized, was that we were prepared to accept carriage on channels 2 to 13, the basic band in designated areas, with converter carriage in other areas if that was a more acceptable proposition.
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The Commission notes that under the cable regulations, Part III cable licensees, are not required to distribute satellite-distributed network services. The Commission encourages TVOntario to establish rebroadcasting transmitters wherever the francophone population is sufficiently large to warrant their construction. Moreover, the Commission strongly encourages Part III cable licensees in "core market" communities with a high concentration of francophone population to distribute this satellite service.
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As for Class 1 and 2 cable licensees, the Commission notes that in light of the mandatory priority carriage required by the regulations, those wishing to distribute the TVOntario French-language television signal on a channel not on the basic band will have to apply to the Commission to be relieved, by condition of licence, from the requirement that the service be carried on the basic band. Any such application should provide reasons to justify such a request and evidence that TVOntario has no objection to the proposed means of distribution.
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As proposed by TVOntario, the programming of the new French-language educational service will contain a weekly twelve-hour block of English-language material. In its presentation at the hearing, the licensee justified this in the following words:
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Since the new French network will be distributed primarily through cable systems, its reach will be limited, at least intially. For the time being, it will be necessary to maintain French-language programming on the existing network. Some English programming will continue on the new French network to maintain an overall language balance.
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Upon being questioned as to whether the licensee intended eventually to broadcast only French-language programming on the French network, Mr. Bernard Ostry, Chairman of TVOntario, replied:
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At the end of the year we will review the policy. And on the basis of the research...see whether we have, in fact, held people...If [viewer reaction is positive], I have no doubt that the Board will want to maintain the existing policy...
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The intention, philosophically, as is indicated in the [application], is to try to maintain the other language on each service.
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In this regard, the Commission reiterates its view as expressed at the Public Hearing as to the positive mutual contribution that will result.
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The Commission expects the licensee to file, by 31 March 1988, a report on its findings as to audience reaction to the English/French program mix on the two television services.
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Interventions
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The Commission received more than 65 letters of support from educational, community, youth and cultural groups in response to this application. Two interveners, Théâtre Action, an organization dedicated to the promotion of Franco-Ontario theatre, and the Association canadienne-française de l'Ontario (the ACFO), appeared at the hearing.
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Théâtre Action considers that while the new French service will provide opportunities for the promotion of Franco-Ontarian culture, it would like TVOntario to allocate some of its funds for training purposes and to give priority to Ontario actors, writers and producers.
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In response, the licensee stated that it intended to do whatever it could in terms of creativity and training, and mentioned two programs, "Le grand rendez-vous" and "Coup de coeur", which offered performance opportunities to Franco-Ontarian artists. As well, with respect to French-language vocal music, TVOntario stated its intention [TRANSLATION]: "as far as possible to offer opportunities for Franco-Ontarian musicians to appear on the French-language network." In terms of additional staff for the new service, TVOntario stated that it intended to more than double the full-time staff of the French service and that, in addition to the fifty or so freelance staff now under contract, it intended to hire another twenty people.
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ACFO enthusiastically endorsed the application for a French-language educational service but raised a number of concerns. Among these were opposition to the English-language Sunday segment, and suggestions that TVOntario consider diminishing the proportion of acquired programming and that it designate certain of its Directors to represent the needs of the Franco-Ontarian community.
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The Commission notes TVOntario's policy with respect to the scheduling of English programming on the French service, as set out above, and acknowledges the licensee's reply to the intervener: "We feel there is an advantage to everyone in this province that we maintain an integrated service to assist the two autonomous services."
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TVOntario had elaborated at the hearing on its consultation and research procedures and the means by which its various advisory groups function in terms of policy formulation and program planning. The Commission strongly encourages the licensee to continue to monitor the needs of the francophone community through consultation with FrancoOntarian organizations such as the ACFO. It recommends that TVOntario develop and establish means of ensuring ongoing representation that will more closely match the advisory/ consultation mechanism that has been put in place on the English service.
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The Commission has noted in Decision 86-1175 of today's date, the response of the licensee to the request of the Ontario Closed Captioned Consumers that TVOntario allocate a larger portion of its funds to the provision of programming that meets the needs of the hearing-impaired, whether they be anglophones or francophones.
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Fernand Bélisle
Secretary General
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