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Ottawa, 30 September 1986
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Decision CRTC 86-977
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Télé-Capitale Inc.
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Quebec City, Quebec - 860778000
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Following a Public Hearing in Sainte-Foy, Quebec on 16 June 1986, the Commission renews the broadcasting licence for CFCM-TV Quebec City from 1 October 1986 to 30 September 1990, subject to the conditions of licence specified in this decision and in the licence to be issued.
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CFCM-TV is one of the most important private television stations in the Province of Quebec and, as such, has at its disposal significant human, technical and financial resources.
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Although in its new Promise of Performance, the licensee proposes to reduce its local production from 30 hours to 21 hours per week, it emphasizes that it will improve the quality of its programs and maintain the budgets allocated to the production of local programs. In addition to these 21 hours of locally-produced programs, there will be 10 hours of programming of regional interest which will be produced by CHLT-TV Sherbrooke and rebroadcast by CFCM-TV within the context of the Réseau Pathonic, approved in Decision CRTC 86-976, of today's date.
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Interventions opposing the present application were presented jointly at the hearing by the Association des réalisateurs de Télé-Capitale Inc., the Canadian Union of Public Employees, the Syndicats des employés de CFER Rimouski et de Télé-Capitale and the Syndicat des réalisateurs de Télé-7 Sherbrooke, and by the Association féminine d'éducation et d'action sociale (AFEAS) de Québec, the Association coopérative d'économie familiale de Québec, the Comité pour la promotion et la défense de la télévision régionale and by Mr. Daniel Pelletier. In addition, the Rassemblement populaire offered its comments at the hearing and written intereventions were submitted by the Canadian Institute of Adult Education, the National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians, the Pont-Rouge AFEAS and by Mr. René Cloutier. In general, the interveners expressed concern about any reduction in local service and the necessity of at least maintaining these services at their current level.
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The spokesman for the employees' unions stated in part: [TRANSLATION] "We maintain that the requests which are before you will not result in an increase in quality nor do they provide any guarantee to this end. Instead, we observe a deterioration and an erosion in terms of the quality and quantity of service to the community". For its part, the Comité pour la promotion et la défense de la télévision régionale said: [TRANSLATION] "We oppose all of the applications presented by Pathonic and we request that the Commission require that the present level of local progamming be maintained and that the programming content be improved." In reply to these interventions, the licensee undertook to maintain its involvement at the local level, stating: [TRANSLATION] "As for the involvement of Télé-4 in its community, from Monday to Friday Télé-4 will produce a little more than 2 hours per day of coverage of local events of interest to the Quebec City region..." It added: [TRANSLATION] "...the role of Télé-4 must focus on information and social involvement in the community" and [TRANSLATION] "The local role of the newscast will remain of primary importance".
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Having taken into consideration the licensee's arguments as well as the concerns of the interveners, the Commission is prepared to approve the requested reduction in local production at CFCM-TV, primarily because the proposed level of 21 hours is a minimum commitment which is comparable to that of other television stations in similar markets. Further, the licensee has promised to maintain the budgets allocated for local production and the hours that will be eliminated will, in part, be compensated for by some nine hours of programs of regional interest which will originate at CHLT-TV Sherbrooke through the auspices of the Réseau Pathonic.
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Nevertheless, the Commission reminds the licensee that the major responsibility of each broadcaster that is authorized to provide local programs is to serve its local audience, not only in terms of news and information but also in broadcasting programs that permit interested parties to express themselves on matters of community concern and to develop for a wider public the artistic and creative resources of the region. Accordingly, the Commission expects the licensee to reflect accurately the interests and activities of the entire population of Quebec City and the surrounding area. Moreover, as CFCM-TV is the only private television station holding a licence to broadcast in Quebec City in French, it has a particular responsibility to ensure that its local audience has adequate courage and a complete service.
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Accordingly, it is a condition of licence that the licensee broadcast at least 21 hours of local programs per week, not including repeats. The licence is also subject to the condition that programming expenditures conform to the estimates provided in the application, which increase from $3.7 million in 1986 to $4.2 million in 1990.
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The Commission notes that local programs will include 8 hours 24 minutes of news (category 1), 1 hour of public affairs (category 3), 1 hour 15 minutes of popular and dance music (category 6), 45 minutes of variety and music hall (category 9) and 1 hour 15 minutes of sports (category 14). In addition, the licensee proposes to offer co-productions qualifying as local programming under the provisions of Public Notice CRTC 1985-58 dated 20 March 1985 and entitled "Introducing Flexibility into the Concept of Local Television Programming". The Commission also notes that CFCM-TV will produce a certain number of programs for the Réseau Pathonic, including 3 hours 20 minutes of news broadasts (category 1). During the licence renewal period, the Commission will monitor closely the licensee's compliance with its commitments with regard to budget, content and participation at the local and regional levels in the Réseau Pathonic and it expects the licensee to submit a report in this regard before the start of each fall/winter program season.
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The Commission also requires the licensee to honour its commitment to produce a weekly public affairs program of at least 30 minutes duration for the TVA network, in addition to regular contributions to TVA news and specials on an occasional basis. The Commission strongly encourages the licensee to increase its contributions to the TVA network and it will monitor closely the station's activities in this regard.
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The licensee proposes to make CFCM-TV the flagship of the Réseau Pathonic and the cornerstone of a major French-language television production centre, capable of producing programs that are competitive at both the national and international levels. In this regard, the Commission notes that the licensee currently produces a quality children's series through Pathonic International Inc. which is broadcast throughout the Province. The Commission congratulates the licensee on its initiative and encourages it to continue with such endeavours, while ensuring that its international intiatives benefit French-language television broadcasting in Quebec and in Canada and do not interfere with its commitments to local production.
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The Commission attaches particular importance to the development of Canadian talent and it notes with interest the licensee's commitments in this respect, in particular through the broadcast of a new half-hour weekly program featuring aspiring artists in the fields of classical, semi-classical and popular music, the best of whom will be eligible to win substantial prizes at the conclusion of this competition. The Commission has also taken note of the licensee's plans for major productions through Pathonic International Inc. and its contributions to the Quebec recording industry through the production at no charge of videos featuring francophone artists. The Commission requires the licensee, within twelve months of the date of this decision, to submit a detailed report on these and other activities and related financial commitments to be undertaken in support of Canadian talent during the new licence term.
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Fernand Bélisle
Secretary General
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