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Public Notice
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Ottawa, 28 April 1988
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Public Notice CRTC 1988-71
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Introductory Statement to CRTC - Notice of Public Hearing 1988-34 and Public Notice CRTC 1988-73
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In CRTC Notice of Public Hearing 1988-24 dated 29 March 1988, the Commission called the licensees of four Toronto FM radio stations to appear at a public hearing in the National Capital Region commencing 12 April 1988 to discuss their apparent failure to meet their commitments with respect to certain important aspects of their Promises of Performance.
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Specifically the Commission called CHUM Limited, licensee of CHUM-FM; Rogers Broadcasting Ltd., licensee of CHFI-FM; Standard Radio Inc., licensee of CKFM-FM; and Westcom Radio Group Limited, licensee of CILQ-FM, to discuss their apparent non-compliance with their respective commitments as to the percentage of hits or Canadian musical selections broadcast.
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The programming of all four stations had been monitored by the Commission on two separate days, one in October 1987 and one in January 1988. On both occasions, each of these stations had apparently failed to meet commitments with respect to certain of the musical usage indicators set out in its Promise of Performance.
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The Promise of Performance was developed in 1976 as part of the Commission's FM Policy, following extensive public consultation. As stated in this Policy, diversity is a critical factor in determining the richness of a society's culture, and, in radio, the size of a record library and the usage patterns of musical recordings within a variety of for mats are among the most important indicators of the diversity of that medium.
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As part of the Policy and to guarantee the widest possible listening choice to the Canadian public, the Commission provided that each FM licensee should set out in a Promise of Performance its own commitments with respect to the content of its programming and specifically to those musical indicators that, in the Commission's view, ensure that FM radio is distinct from AM radio and that FM stations are distinct from each other, particularly within the same market. Adherence to the Promise of Performance would be by condition of licence.
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Since the music programming of AM radio is characterized by a high proportion of songs that are hits, the Commission has encouraged FM licensees to provide listeners with greater diversity in their music programming by limiting the number of hit songs that can be played. As a consequence non-hit selections from new untried musicians, particularly Canadians, as well as older selections that might not have had extensive exposure would be made available.
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A "hit" is defined in the FM licence as any musical selection that has reached one of the Top 40 positions on a chart in a nationally or internationally recognized trade publication.
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The Commission also emphasized that Canadian artists should have access to and exposure on Canadian airwaves. It noted for example that the expansion of FM in Canada must be accompanied by the expansion of imaginative and creative resources and capacity in Canada.
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At first, the Promise of Performance contained a detailed, comprehensive description of the programming to be broadcast. However, after further public consultation, in its 1983 Policy Statement on the Review of Radio (Notice CRTC 83-43), the Commission accepted the recommendation of many broadcasters that the information required in the Promise of Performance should be reduced. Accordingly, the Commission revised the Promise of Performance so as to retain only those elements considered essential to safeguard the objectives of the FM policy. Two such elements are Canadian content in music and the level of hit songs to be played.
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In Notice CRTC 83-43, the Commission reiterated:
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Too heavy a reliance on hit material by FM stations does not contribute to musical diversity. Since the FM policy requires FM stations to provide a breadth and depth of music that is generally absent on AM radio, FM stations will continue to be required to maintain the level of hits below 50%.
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The issue of the ratio of hits to non-hits was further considered in Public Notice CRTC 1986-248 which was issued when the Commission enacted new radio regulations, and once again, following full public consultation and at the industry's request, the Commission decided to maintain its existing policy. The Commission noted that, in general, AM licensees considered that one of their few advantages in facing the challenge of FM stations is the ability of AM radio to broadcast a hit-oriented format. In this notice, the Commission provided clarification of its existing definition of a hit, and set out which music charts of the major trade publications it uses in making this determination.
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As noted in Public Notice CRTC 1986-248, the Commission has lightened the regulatory burden on radiobroadcasters by eliminating all regulatory requirements other than those that are fundamental to its mandate under the Broadcasting Act. The Commission has made it clear that in adopting a more streamlined set of rules, it expects broadcasters to assume a greater individual responsibility in ensuring compliance with the Commission's policies and the remaining regulations. In the Commission's view, those obligations that remain are essential for the fulfillment of the Act's objective that broadcasters provide varied and diversified programming of high standard, using Canadian creative resources.
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The musical indicators that have been developed for FM radio, in particular the percentage of hit songs, like the minimum requirement for Canadian musical selections, are fundamental to a varied and distinctive Canadian radio broadcasting system. In the Commission's view, these elements are essential if the system is to continue to foster artistic diversity and the development of new musical talent, and to stimulate a healthy competitive environment. For this reason, the Commission views with considerable concern any actions by individual broadcasters that undermine the essential components of the system. Should a licensee consider that it is unable to live up to its commitments, it should apply to modify its Promise of Performance.
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The Commission considers that the rules it has developed should apply equally to all FM licensees and that allowing some to disregard these rules would undermine the objectives of the FM Policy and place other broadcasters in an unfair and unequitable competitive situation which ultimately is contrary to the public interest.
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In CRTC - Notice of Public Hearing 1988-34 which follows, the Commission addresses the extent to which CKFM-FM has failed to meet its commitments. The Commission responds to the submissions made at the 12 April 1988 hearing by the licensees of stations CHUM-FM, CHFI-FM and CILQ-FM in Public Notice CRTC 1988-73 which also follows.
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Fernand Bélisle
Secretary General
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