ARCHIVED -  Decision CRTC 95-105

Decision

Ottawa, 24 March 1995

Decision CRTC 95-105

CFCF Inc.

Montréal, Quebec - 940682800

Renewal of licence for CFCF-TV Montréal

Following a Public Hearing in Montréal beginning on 11 October 1994, the Commission renews the broadcasting licence for CFCF-TV 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.

CFCF Inc., a publicly-traded company effectively controlled by members of the J.A. Pouliot family of Montréal, is also the licensee of CFJP-TV Montréal, CFAP-TV Quebec City and CJPC-TV Rimouski, and of the French-language independent television network Quatre-Saisons which consists of these and a number of other French-language television stations in the province. Further, CFCF Inc. owns CF Cable Inc., licensee of the cable television undertaking serving parts of Montréal and Laval, as well as Laurentien Câble TV Inc., which serves Hull, Aylmer, Gatineau, Buckingham, Masson and Angers, Quebec, and Rockland, Ontario. The licensee also owns Sudbury Cable Services Limited, licensee of the cable system serving Sudbury, and Northern Cable Holdings Limited, which operates several other smaller cable companies in Ontario.

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 notes the commitment made by the licensee in its renewal application to broadcast a minimum weekly average of 14 hours and 50 minutes of original local news; it expects the licensee to adhere to this commitment throughout the licence term.

The Commission also notes CFCF-TV's excellent performance over the current licence term in producing local programming that reflects the interests and concerns of area viewers, including such programs as the weekday magazine program "Montréal AM Live" and the consumer advocacy program "Fighting Back". The Commission expects the licensee to continue this practice during the new term of licence.

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 annual revenues are being offered the option of either adhering to a condition of licence on Canadian programming expenditures similar to the existing condition of licence (Condition of licence A), 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) or variety programming (category 9) during the evening broadcast period for each year of the new licence term (Condition of licence B). The options and the Commission's policy rationale are described more fully in that public notice.

In general, the condition of licence under which licensees would be required to meet minimum expenditure levels is based on a formula retained from the previous licence term.

As a part of this application however, the licensee requested the Commission to establish, as the base amount for the formula, a figure that would be $2.1 million less than its required expenditure level for 1994/95. The licensee's request is based in large part on its contention that CFCF-TV has much higher staff costs than other television stations in the country, but is currently involved in a process of lowering those costs. The licensee contends that such a reduction in costs should be reflected in reduced expenditure requirements.

The Commission, based upon all the information available to it, is not convinced that such a reduction is justified, and the request is accordingly denied. Should the licensee select Condition of licence A for the coming licence term, therefore, the minimum amount for the first year expenditures, based on a continuation of the existing formula (on a year-over-year basis), will be $16.7 million.

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.

With respect to the exhibition of Canadian programming, the Commission notes that the licensee has made a commitment to broadcast, in each year of the new licence term, 26 original episodes of a series that will showcase the work of Canadian independent producers.

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 financial contributions to script and concept development, amounting to $1.74 million over the licence term.

The Commission also notes that the licensee has its own guidelines on the use of these funds which conform with the Commission's own guidelines. The Commission requires that the licensee continue to file with the Commission annual reports detailing expenditures on script and concept development at the conclusion of each broadcast year.

Children's Programming

With respect to programming directed to children, the Commission notes the licensee's commitment to produce and broadcast a one-hour special each year devoted to the musical talents of local children aged 2-11. The Commission also notes the licensee's commitment to launch, in the first year of the new licence term, a news program directed to youth aged 12-17, using the talents of Montréal area students having a particular interest in communications and broadcast journalism. In the first four years of the new licence term, the licensee will broadcast 4.5 hours per week of programming for children and 1.5 hours per week of programming directed to youth. The Commission further notes the licensee's commitment to add to the CFCF-TV weekly schedule, in the fifth year of the licence term, two, one-half hour programs, one directed to children aged 2-11 and one of interest to youths aged 12-17, bringing the totals to 5 hours and 2 hours per week respectively for the remainder of the licence term. These totals are in addition to children's programming received from the CTV network.

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.

The Commission notes that the licensee has not provided the Commission with statistics related to employment at CFCF-TV of the four groups designated in employment equity policies. The Commission requires that this information be filed with the Commission within three months of the date of this decision.

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 all scripted portions of newscasts are currently captioned, as is 75% of CFCF-TV's total programming, and 95% of its prime time schedule.

Consistent with the Commission's policy approach outlined 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 CFCF-TV, 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.

The Commission acknowledges and has considered the interventions submitted regarding the application for the renewal of CFCF-TV's licence.

Allan J. Darling
Secretary General

APPENDIX / ANNEXE

Conditions of licence for CFCF-TV Montreal

1. The licensee shall operate this broadcasting undertaking as part of the network operated by CTV Television Network Ltd.

2. 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 licensee 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 year ending 31 August 1995;

(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 previous year ending 31 August;

(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 paragraph (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 overexpendi- ture 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 purposes 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.

3. 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).

4. 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.

5. 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.