ARCHIVED -  Decision CRTC 95-102

Decision

Ottawa, 24 March 1995

Decision CRTC 95-102

CHUM Limited

Toronto and Woodstock, Ontario - 940635600

Renewal of licence for CITY-TV Toronto and CITY-TV-2 Woodstock

Following a Public Hearing in Toronto beginning on 3 October 1994, the Commission renews the broadcasting licence for CITY-TV Toronto and its transmitter CITY-TV-2 Woodstock from 1 September 1995 to 31 August 2002, subject to the conditions in effect under the current licence, as well as to those conditions specified in the appendix to this decision and in the licence to be issued.

CHUM Limited, which is effectively controlled by Mr. Allan Waters of Toronto, is the licensee of numerous radio and television undertakings across Canada, including CHUM and CHUM-FM Toronto. It is the licensee of the Toronto-based English-language music specialty service MuchMusic, and owns 50% of MusiquePlus, the French-language music specialty service. CHUM Limited is also the licensee of the specialty service known as "Bravo!".

Local Reflection

In Public Notice CRTC 1995-48 introducing this and other television licence renewal decisions issued today, the Commission reiterated the importance of the principle of local reflection and reminded television licensees that they have a special responsibility to serve the public within the particular geographic areas they are licensed to serve. In this regard, the Commission expects the licensee to adhere to the commitment made in its renewal application to broadcast a minimum weekly average of 13 hours 36 minutes of original local news throughout the licence term.

Further, the Commission notes the very large number of successful programs of other types produced by the licensee which reflect the community, such as "Breakfast Television" and "Lunch Television".

Requirement for Either Expenditures on or Exhibition of Canadian Programming - At the Licensee's Option

As also announced in Public Notice CRTC 1995-48, the Commission has adopted a policy, according to which the licensees of most private English-language television stations earning over $10 million in total annual advertising revenues and network payments are being offered the option of either adhering to a condition of licence on Canadian programming expenditures similar to the existing condition, or adhering to a condition of licence requiring the licensee to exhibit a specific number of hours per week of Canadian drama (category 7), music (category 8) and variety programming (category 9) during the evening broadcast period for each year of the new licence term. The options and the Commission's policy rationale are described more fully in that public notice.

The licensee must advise the Commission which option it has chosen before the new licence term begins on 1 September 1995. Once the licensee has advised the Commission which option it has chosen to follow, that option becomes the condition of licence in effect throughout the new licence term.

Program Development

The Commission reminds the licensee of the Commission's expectations set out in Public Notice CRTC 1989-27 dated 6 April 1989 and entitled "Overview: Local Television for the 1990s" regarding the important role that local television stations play in program development. In this regard, the Commission notes the licensee's commitment to make annual financial contributions amounting to $150,000 to script and concept development.

Canadian Feature Films

With respect to the exhibition of Canadian feature films, the Commission notes the licensee's continued commitment to broadcast an annual minimum of 100 hours of such features during "prime evening hours".

Service to the Deaf and Hard of Hearing

At the hearing, the Commission discussed with the licensee its performance with respect to providing service to deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers. The Commission notes that the renewal application included a financial commitment of $100,000 in each year of the new licence term for closed captioning, although the number of hours to be captioned with that annual amount was not specified.

Consistent with its policy approach for closed captioning announced in Public Notice CRTC 1995-48, the Commission requires the licensee, from 1 September 1998 to the end of the term of this licence, to caption all locally-produced news programs broadcast on CITY-TV and CITY-TV-2, including live segments, using either real-time captioning or another method capable of captioning live programming. Additionally, the Commission requires the licensee to caption not less than 90% of all programming broadcast throughout the broadcast day, by the end of the licence term.

Employment Equity

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.

Based on the public record, including the reports provided to the Commission by the Department of Human Resources Development, the Commission is pleased to commend the management of CITY-TV on the station's general approach to achieving employment equity. The Commission also commends CHUM Limited for its particular success in representing the designated groups in the CITY-TV on-air staff.

Interventions

An intervention was submitted to this application by the Coalition for the Safety of Our Daughters, expressing several concerns, including an allegation that CITY-TV schedules unedited programs containing graphic scenes of violence at 9:00 p.m.

In response to this concern, the licensee assured the Commission that this is not the case, and stated that it has changed the scheduling of certain films to 11 p.m. in light of the concerns of viewers and the general public.

The Commission is satisfied with the licensee's response to the concerns raised in this instance, and reminds the licensee that as CITY-TV distributes a great deal of contemporary dramatic programming, it should continue to respond in a responsible fashion to concerns raised by viewers.

The Commission also acknowledges and has considered the many other interventions submitted regarding the application for the renewal of CITY-TV and CITY-TV-2's licence.

Allan J. Darling
Secretary General

APPENDIX / ANNEXE

Conditions of licence for CITY-TV Toronto and CITY-TV-2 Woodstock

1. The licensee shall adhere to either condition of licence A or condition of licence B set out below, as chosen by the licensee and communicated to the Commission before 1 September 1995. The license shall adhere to its selection throughout the entire licence term.

Condition of Licence A

The licensee shall expend on Canadian programming, at a minimum,

(i) In the year ending 31 August 1996, the minimum required level of expenditures in the year ending 31 August 1995 (before consideration of any overexpenditures or underexpenditures from prior years), increased (or decreased) by the year-over-year percentage change in the total of the station's annual advertising revenues and network payments, as reported in the relevant Annual Return for the years ending 31 August, averaged over the three previous years;

(ii) In each subsequent year of the licence term an amount calculated in accordance with the following formula: the amount of the previous year's expenditures (before consideration of any overexpenditures or underexpenditures from prior years), increased (or decreased) by the year-over-year percentage change in the total of the station's annual advertising revenues and network payments, as reported in the relevant Annual Return for the years ending 31 August, averaged over the three previous years;

(iii) In any year of the licence term, excluding the final year, the licensee may expend an amount on Canadian programming that is up to five percent (5%) less than the minimum required expenditure for that year as set out or calculated in accordance with paragraphs (i) and/or (ii) above; in such case, the licensee shall expend in the next year of the licence term, in addition to the minimum required expenditure for that year, the full amount of the previous year's underexpenditure;

(iv) In any year of the licence term, excluding the final year, where the licensee expends an amount on Canadian programming that is greater than the minimum required expenditure for that year, as set out or calculated in accordance with paragraphs (i) and/or (ii) above, the licensee may deduct:

  a) from the minimum required expenditure for the next year of the licence term an amount not exceeding the amount of the previous year's overexpenditures; and

  b) from the minimum required expenditure for any subsequent year of the licence term, an amount not exceeding the difference between the overexpenditure and any amount deducted under a) above;

(v) Notwithstanding paragraphs (iii) and (iv) above, during the licence term, the licensee shall expend on Canadian programming at a minimum the total of the minimum required expenditures as set out in or calculated in accordance with paragraphs (i) and/or (ii) above.

For the purposes of the above condition, "expend on Canadian programming" shall have the same meaning as that set out in Public Notices CRTC 1993-93 and 1993-174 dated 22 June and 10 December 1993, respectively.

For the purpose of the above condition, the licensee is not permitted to credit any overexpenditure made in the previous licence term towards Canadian programming expenditures in any year or years of this licence term.

Condition of Licence B

The licensee shall broadcast in the evening broadcast period between 6:00 p.m. and midnight the following average number of hours per week of Canadian drama, music or variety programming in each year of the licence term:

1995-1996 5:30 hours
1996-1997 6:00 hours
1997-1998 6:00 hours
1998-1999 6:00 hours
1999-2000 6:30 hours
2000-2001 6:30 hours
2001-2002 7:00 hours

For the purpose of the above condition, the categories drama, music and variety are defined as set out in Schedule I of the Television Regulations, 1987.

2. The licensee shall 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 accepted by the Commission. The application of the foregoing condition of licence will be suspended as long as the licensee remains a member in good standing of the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC).

3. The licensee shall adhere to the guidelines on the depiction of violence in television programming set out in the CAB's "Voluntary Code Regarding Violence in Television Programming", as amended from time to time and  accepted by the Commission. The application of the foregoing condition of licence will be suspended as long as the licensee remains a member in good standing of the CBSC.

4. The licensee shall adhere to the provisions of the CAB's "Broadcast Code for Advertising to Children", as amended from time to time and accepted by the Commission.

5. The licensee shall not solicit any advertisements from the area served by the Woodstock transmitter.