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Ottawa, 10 June 1993
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Decision CRTC 93-201
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NL Broadcasting Ltd.
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Kamloops, British Columbia - 921947800
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Acquisition of assets
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Following a Public Hearing in the National Capital Region held on 20 April 1993, the Commission approves the application for authority to acquire the assets of radio programming undertaking CHRK-FM Kamloops from NewCap Broadcasting Limited (NewCap), and for a broadcasting licence to continue the operation of this undertaking, under the same terms and conditions as the current licence.
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The Commission will issue a licence to NL Broadcasting Ltd. (NL), expiring 31 August 1996, upon surrender of the current licence. The licence will be subject to the same conditions as those specified in the current licence as well as to any other condition specified in this decision and in the licence to be issued.
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The purchase price relating to this transaction is $925,000. Based on the evidence filed with the application, the Commission has no concerns with respect to the availability or the adequacy of the required financing.
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Because the Commission does not solicit competing applications for authority to transfer effective control of broadcasting undertakings, the onus is on the applicant to demonstrate to the Commission that the application filed is the best possible proposal under the circumstances, taking into account the Commission's general concerns with respect to transactions of this nature. As a first test, the applicant must demonstrate that the proposed transfer will yield significant and unequivocal benefits to the community served by the broadcasting undertaking and to the Canadian broadcasting system as a whole, and that it is in the public interest.As part of this application, NL proposed to increase the amount of news on CHRK-FM from 3 hours and 30 minutes to 5 hours weekly, and to increase the weekly amount of station production from 84 hours to 94 hours. These were offered as non-quantifiable benefits associated with the transaction.
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Subsequent to a public process, Public Notice CRTC 1993-38 dated 19 April 1993 announced the elimination of policy requirements respecting levels of news and spoken word programming and advertising material on commercial FM stations, and provided a means whereby stations could make immediate applications to delete Promise of Performance commitments in these areas. It also introduced a new policy whereby all commercial FM stations in competitive markets would be required to devote at least one-third of their broadcast week to local programming, if they aired local advertising.
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Accordingly, the licence to be issued is subject to the following:
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It is a condition of licence that the licensee refrain from broadcasting local advertising during any broadcast week, when less than one-third of the programming aired qualifies as local programming. Local programming has the meaning set out in Public Notice CRTC 1993-38. The Commission has assessed the various projects and initiatives put forward by NL as being the benefits associated with this transaction. In general, the Commission is satisfied that the benefits package is clear and unequivocal, and that approval of this application is in the public interest.
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The Commission, however, further advises the licensee that the amount allocated for the Canadian Talent Development Co-ordinator has not been accepted as a direct expenditure for Canadian talent initiatives. In the past, this type of initiative has been accepted where the person's duties would be fully dedicated to the administration of a substantial Canadian talent development (CTD) budget. However, in this instance, the remaining CTD budget is less than substantial and involves annual cash grants requiring minimal staff preparation or organization. Administration of the balance of the CTD budget would therefore generally be incorporated into regular staff duties and would not warrant special consideration. Nevertheless, the Commission is satisfied with the remaining budget and initiatives proposed by the licensee.
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It is a condition of licence that the licensee adhere to the guidelines on gender portrayal set out in the Canadian Association of Broadcasters' (CAB) "Sex-Role Portrayal Code for Television and Radio Programming", as amended from time to time and approved by the Commission.
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It is also a condition of licence that the licensee adhere to the provisions of the CAB's "Broadcast Code for Advertising to Children," as amended from time to time and approved by the Commission.
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In Public Notice CRTC 1992-59, the Commission announced implementation of its employment equity policy. It advised licensees that, at the time of licence renewal or upon considering applications for authority to transfer ownership or control, it would review with applicants their practices and plans to ensure equitable employment.
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It encourages the licensee to consider employment equity issues in its hiring practices and in all other aspects of its management of human resources.
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Allan J. Darling
Secretary General
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