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Decision
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Ottawa, 6 April 1989
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Decision CRTC 89-94
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Kawartha Broadcasting Company Limited
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Peterborough and Bancroft, Ontario -881019400
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Following a Public Hearing in Toronto, commencing 3 October 1988, the Commission renews the broadcasting licences for CHEX-TV Peterborough and CHEX-TV-1 Bancroft from 1 September 1989 to 31 August 1994, subject to the conditions specified in the appendix to this decision and in the licences to be issued.
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All of the issued shares of Kawartha Broadcasting Company Limited (Kawartha) are owned by Katenac Holdings Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Power Corporation of Canada (Power). Ultimate control of Power rests with Mr. Paul Desmarais of Westmount, Quebec through associated companies and family trusts. Kawartha is also the licensee of CHEX and CFMP-FM Peterborough, CJOY and CKLA-FM Guelph, CKCB Collingwood, CKBB Barrie and CIAM Cambridge, Ontario. Power's other Ontario-based broadcasting undertakings are held through Frontenac Broadcasting Company Limited licensee of CKWS-TV, CKWS and CFMK-FM Kingston.
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CHEX-TV, which is the only local television station in Peterborough, commenced broadcasting in 1955 and operates as an affiliate of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's English-language television network. The station currently schedules a minimum of 14 hours of original local programming per week and 6 hours of repeats.
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The station concentrates on news and public affairs, offering newscasts at noon on weekdays as well as daily suppertime and late-evening news programs. This programming currently totals 11 hours per week. Within the past two years, CHEX-TV has established a full-time news bureau in Oshawa, and has increased its news staff to 19 full-time and 3 part-time employees. The station also has 12 stringers who report from the outlying regions of its coverage area.
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With respect to the balance of the licensee's locally-produced programming, the Commission notes that Kawartha considers that it has been unable to produce programs, particularly variety programs, to North American standards because of the limitations of its production facilities.
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The Commission notes, however, that a number of noteworthy programs have been produced by CHEX-TV during the current licence term including an award-winning documentary on the environmental problems in the Kawartha Lakes, "The Land of Shining Waters"; a two-hour adaptation of the play "Hard Maple" presented by the Peterborough Theatre Guild; a 13-part series on parapsychology; and programs aimed at children including "The Bean Story" and "The Silver Basketball" series which is being re-edited to 130 half-hour programs. The licensee also produces 44 episodes each year of "Campus Quiz", its weekly "Sports Beat" program and the annual production "Christmas is for Kids".
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Further, the licensee has co-produced with the independent production sector a two-hour made-for-television movie, "The Incident at Purdy's Mills" which resulted from a CHEX-TV script writing contest; a 26-part series "Canadian Characters"; "Weekend with Doug Hall" and "Durham Magazine". It has also made available to independent producers its studios and staff for such programs as the Christmas special "Miracle at Cash Lake", which will be sold to a pay television service, and a full-length feature movie "Bodily Contract" and has funded a Christmas play for children written by a local Peterborough playwright and acted out in the CHEX-TV studios before a live audience. The licensee has also recently produced a one-hour commercial-free program featuring the Peterborough Symphony Orchestra.
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The Commission commends CHEX-TV for its role in the development and creation of a new Canadian dramatic series, "Chestnut Avenue". Mr. Tom Stewart, an independent producer, appeared at the hearing to give details of CHEX-TV's involvement. Mr. Stewart noted that CHEX-TV committed an initial $15,000 to the project and contacted three other stations, CKWS-TV Kingston and CHCH-TV Hamilton, Ontario and CHSJ-TV Saint John, New Brunswick, each of which made a similar monetary commitment to the series. Mr. Stewart reported that there are currently some 10 Canadian television stations involved in funding the series which is also supported by Telefilm Canada. The Commission shares the view expressed by the panel Chairman at the hearing:
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For a station of [this] size, their attitude and their decisive type of approach is surely commendable.
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The Commission acknowledges Kawartha's efforts in the area in the local news and information programming and its above-noted initiatives in the production of drama and children's programming. For these reasons, the Commission is satisfied with the licensee's performance over the current licence term.
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With respect to revenues, Kawartha stated that it will continue to rely on local advertising sales for most of its revenue. The licensee noted that its national advertising revenues have shown no growth in the past two years and that the station has only a marginal presence in the Toronto market, particularly since its relocation in the fall of 1988 from channel 18 to 33 on Toronto cable television undertakings. The licensee anticipates that because of its location in "a secondary market adjacent to Canada's foremost economic centre", CHEX-TV "may be unusually vulnerable and sensitive to a recession", which it predicts may occur in 1990 and 1991.
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According to its financial projections, CHEX-TV will expend $983,000 on Canadian programming in the first year of the new licence term. As stated in the Public Notice introducing this and other television renewal decisions issued today, the Commission expects licensees of television stations that earned less than $10 million in total advertising revenues in 1987/88 to adhere to their projected first-year expenditures for Canadian programming at a minimum, and to adjust such expenditures in subsequent years in accordance with the prescribed formula, which is linked to station advertising revenues. The Commission is satisfied that this approach offers a reasonable and fair means of ensuring that the Canadian program expenditures of each station keep pace with changes in its revenue. Accordingly, inasmuch as CHEX-TV's advertising revenues in 1987/88 were less than $10 million, this expectation applies in respect of this station.
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Kawartha cited as its challenge for the next licence term, "ingenuity, program acquisition and purchase and production". It considers promotion of its locally-produced programs to be a "key component" to developing larger audiences and recognizes the importance of scheduling domestic productions at popular times to attract viewers.
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CHEX-TV has made a commitment to schedule a minimum of 14 hours per week of original local production over the new licence term including "Campus Quiz", "Sportsbeat" and its annual Christmas production, noted earlier in this decision. At the hearing, Kawartha stated that this amount is a minimum commitment and that it intends to increase the amount of local production once its planned capital improvements are completed. The Commission expects Kawartha to abide by its commitment to broadcast a minimum of 14 hours of original local production each week throughout the new licence term.
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During the new licence term, CHEX-TV intends to computerize its newsroom and to introduce a weekend supper-hour newscast beginning in September 1989. At the hearing, Kawartha indicated that additional staff will be hired to meet this commitment. The Commission also notes that CHEX-TV will establish a team of broadcast journalists to produce local public affairs and documentary programs.
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Kawartha has proposed an annual program development commitment of $35,000 in 1989/90, increasing to $43,400 by 1993/94. These funds will be directed primarily to drama and children's programming. It has also proposed to conduct local talent searches to be aired on a quarterly basis. The Commission also expects Kawartha to abide by its promise regarding funds for Canadian program development and refers Kawartha to the guidelines set out in the introductory Public Notice of today's date.
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In association with CKWS-TV and an independent producer, Kawartha is producing "The Country Store" a half-hour variety series for children which, at the time of the hearing, was scheduled for broadcast commencing January 1989.
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The Commission encourages the licensee to continue to exchange programs with CKWS-TV and to undertake co-operative ventures with the station. It notes that Kawartha indicated at the hearing that it would also like to work with other parties in order to have "the larger budgets to make the kind of programs we need". The licensee considers that such a consortium could also co-operate in purchasing non-canadian programming. In this regard, the Commission notes that at the hearing the licensee submitted revised financial forecasts with respect to CHEX-TV's annual expenditure projections for the purchase of non-Canadian programs, partially attributing the projected cost savings in this area to recent collaboration with CHCH-TV Hamilton.
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The licensee has made a commitment to spend approximately $3 million to upgrade its existing studio and associated equipment as well as its master control facilities. Kawartha anticipates that these technical improvements will be completed within the first year of its new licence term and considers that they "will reduce the load on production areas and free them for their primary function". The station, which is now broadcasting some programs in synthesized stereo will convert to true stereo sound.
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In renewing these licences, the Commission also authorizes Kawartha to make use of the Vertical Blanking Interval. The Commission expects Kawartha to adhere to the guidelines set out in Appendix A to Public Notice CRTC 1989-23 dated 23 March 1989 entitled "Services Using the Vertical Blanking Interval (Television) or Subsidiary Communications Multiplex Operation (FM)".
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With respect to services for the deaf and hearing impaired, the Commission notes the licensee's intention to continue with the implementation of its five-year plan to increase program accessibility for this segment of the audience which CHEX-TV estimates at over 6,000 persons within its coverage area. CHEX-TV will continue to broadcast closed captioned CBC network programs and stated that it will purchase equipment to close caption local productions. It intends to begin by providing captioned headlines of its noon hour and early evening newscasts. By the end of the first year of its new licence term it anticipates that its late night and weekend newscasts will also be closed captioned. The Commission expects the licensee to implement these plans and to ensure that at a minimum, the headlines and appropriate scripted portions of its early evening newscast are closed captioned within the first year of the new licence term.
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The Commission also expects CHEX-TV to acquire a telephone device for the deaf (TDD) during the first year of its new licence term and to install it in the master control room or wherever is most appropriate to ensure access to the station by deaf and hearing-impaired viewers throughout the entire broadcast day.
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On the basis of the licensee's commitments to continue to expand its local information programming and its future plans, commitments and projects as specified above, the Commission is satisfied that a full term renewal is justified.
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The Commission acknowledges the eight interventions submitted in respect of this renewal application including the support expressed by Sylvia Sutherland, Mayor of Peterborough, The Arbor Theatre Company and the Chairman of the Peterborough Summer Festival of Lights Board. Support was also expressed by two local independent producers and the Association of Canadian Advertisers Incorporated. The Commission notes that matters raised in the interventions submitted by the Canadian Association of the Deaf, the Ontario Closed Caption Consumers, Inc., and the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists are dealt with in the Public Notice accompanying this television renewal decision.
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Fernand Bélisle
Secretary General
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APPENDIX
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Conditions of licence for CHEX-TV Peterborough and its rebroadcasting undertaking CHEX-TV-1 Bancroft, Ontario
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1. The licensee shall operate these broadcasting undertakings as affiliates of the English-language television network operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
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2. The licensee shall adhere to the Canadian Association of Broadcasters' self-regulatory guidelines on sex-role stereotyping, as amended from time to time and approved by the Commission.
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3. The licensee shall adhere to the provisions of the Broadcast Code for Advertising to Children published by the Canadian Association of Broadcasters as amended from time to time and approved by the Commission.
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