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Ottawa, 20 March 1986
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Decision CRTC 86-237
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Philip Cygan, representing a company to be incorporated
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Toronto, Ontario - 851046300
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Following a Public Hearing in Toronto commencing 3 December 1985, the Commission approves the application by Philip Cygan, representing a company to be incorporated, for a broadcasting licence for a student/community English-language FM radio station at Toronto on the frequency 89.5 MHz, channel 208, with an effective radiated power of 15,000 watts.
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The company to be incorporated is without share capital and will consist of "general members", including the Directors of the Students Administrative Council of the University of Toronto, and "ordinary members", including students and members of the community at large.
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The Commission will issue a Special FM licence-Institutional, expiring 30 September 1990, subject to the conditions specified in this decision and in the licence to be issued.
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This authority will only be effective at such time as the Commission receives documentation establishing that the company has been incorporated in accordance with the application in all material respects.
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As outlined in the Commission's policy statement concerning student radio in 1975 (Decision CRTC 75-247), the purpose of student broadcasting is primarily:
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...to communicate the concerns, interests and activities of the campus as well as of the academic environment to the public, and to offer to the general public innovative and alternative programming fare which makes use of the many resources available at the academic in-stitution. Student radio may also provide basic training for students interested in broadcasting careers.
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In assessing this application, the Commission has taken into consideration the fact that Toronto is already served by CKLN-FM, a station operated by the students of Ryerson Polytechnical Institute. While all applications for student and community FM stations are examined on a case-by-case basis, it is the general policy of the Commission to licence only one student radio station in any given market.
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The Commission was impressed with the innovative community and educational programming proposals outlined in the application and in the excellent presentation at the hearing which reflected an obvious grasp of the FM policy. Furthermore, based on the substantial and broad-based support for the application, expressed in many interventions and letters of support submitted by interested groups and individuals, the Commission is convinced that approval of this application for a second student FM station in Toronto will fill a need and add significantly to the
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diversity and quality of programming currently available to radio listeners in Metropolitan Toronto and surrounding communities within the proposed station's service contours.
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The Commission also notes the applicant's intention to serve a much wider audience than the student population at the University of Toronto, and that the signal of the proposed station will have a much larger coverage than that currently reached by CKLN-FM.
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The applicant indicated that the station would provide "a unique collection of informational, educational, musical and community access programming that is designed in all instances to complement existing services rather than to duplicate or compete with them".
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The Commission notes in this regard the applicant's commitment to provide access to its facilities to interested community groups and to students from other post-secondary educational institutions within its coverage area, and to provide them with training in production techniques.
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The Commission considers that the financial commitment that has been given by the University of Toronto is adequate to cover the capital expenditures required to establish the new FM transmitting facility, and notes the availability to the applicant of other human and material resources from within the university and the community at large.
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The new station will be operated in the "Group IV" music format, and will broadcast a mix of musical selections from category 5 (Music-General) featuring a significant amount of music from lesser-known performers and new, untried material, and from category 6 (Music - Traditional and Special Interest).
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A minimum of 30% of Category 5 selections and 10% of Category 6 selections will be Canadian. The applicant plans to give particular emphasis in its musical foreground programming to a number of specialized music styles such as classical, jazz, folk and various forms of experimental and ethnic music.
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The Commission considers that the applicant's proposed weekly playlist of 340 selections is inconsistent with the FM policy's objective of musical diversity. It notes, however, that the applicant has indicated that program hosts will utilize selections from their personal record collections and that the resources of the Edward Johnson Music Library will be available to the new station. In view of the foregoing, the Commission expects the applicant to revise its Promise of Performance to reflect this.
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The Commission was impressed with the high level (41%) and diversity of the applicant's proposed Spoken Word programming, and its commitment to broadcast 90% of all programming in the foreground and mosaic formats, with a minimum of 40% being foreground.
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The applicant proposes to broadcast more than 30 hours of non-musical foreground programming per week, of which 18 hours and 45 minutes will be devoted to a variety of information and public affairs programs. The applicant indicated that the station will serve "as a practical training ground for aspiring broadcast journalists". Live coverage of university and international amateur sporting events will also be a regular feature of the station's programming.
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Since this proposal for a new student station includes community access and community-oriented programming, the licensee is permitted to engage in a limited amount of "restricted" commercial activity. Accordingly, the Commission authorizes the licensee, as a condition of licence, to broadcast a maximum of 4 minutes per hour of restricted advertising, as defined in Public Notice CRTC 1983-43, dated 3 March 1983, "Policy Statement on the Review of Radio" and subsequently amended in Public Notice CRTC 1985-194 dated 26 August 1985, "The Review of Community Radio".
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The Commission notes the applicant's proposal for an internal advertising code under which there will be no commercial activity during segments featuring community-access or children's programming.
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The Commission also notes that the applicant withdrew its proposal to use a Subsidiary Communications Multiplex Operations (SCMO) channel to distribute ethnic programming.
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It is a condition of this licence that construction of the station be completed and that it be in operation within eighteen months of the date of this decision or such further period as the Commission may, upon receipt of a request for extension before the expiry of the said eighteen months, deem appropriate under the circumstances.
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Fernand Bélisle
Secretary General
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