ARCHIVED -  Decision CRTC 95-113

Decision

Ottawa, 24 March 1995

Decision CRTC 95-113

Okanagan Skeena Group Limited

Terrace and Prince Rupert, British Columbia - 941058000

Licence renewal for CFTK-TV Terrace and its transmitter

Following a Public Hearing held in Vancouver beginning on 1 November 1994, the Commission renews the broadcasting licence for the television programming undertaking consisting of CFTK-TV Terrace and its transmitter CFTK-TV-1 Prince Rupert, from 1 September 1995 to 31 August 2002, subject to the conditions in effect under the current licence and to those specified in the appendix to this decision and in the licence to be issued.

The licensee operates CFTK-TV as an affiliate of the CBC's English-language television network.

Okanagan Skeena Group Limited is a publicly-traded company wherein no clear-cut control is
exercised.

Local reflection

In Public Notice CRTC 1995-48 of today's date introducing the decisions renewing this and other privately-owned English-language television stations, 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.

(i) Local news

At the time of CFTK-TV's last licence renewal, approved in Decision CRTC 89-109 dated 6 April 1989, the licensee made a commitment to broadcast a minimum average of 6:00 hours of original local news each week. According to the Commission's monitoring of CFTK-TV's programming logs, the station broadcast an average of only 3 hours 30 minutes of original local news each week in the 1991-1992 broadcast year and dropped to an average of 3 original hours per week in the 1992-1993 broadcast year.

When asked to explain the shortfall during these years, the licensee explained that a decline in audiences and revenues forced it to reassess its approach to CFTK-TV's local news programming. As a result, the licensee reduced the international and national content of its local news and introduced a shorter, local news telecast scheduled at 5:30 p.m. Monday to Friday, that focuses on regional news and public affairs. The licensee claimed that this new strategy has generated larger audiences and greater advertising revenues for this time period. In addition, the licensee broadcasts local news briefs scheduled in prime-time, Monday to Friday.

The Commission expects the licensee to adhere to the commitment made in its licence renewal application to broadcast, at a minimum, an average of 3 hours 31 minutes of original local news each week during the new licence term. In addition, the Commission encourages the licensee to expand its local news coverage by introducing, in the first year of the new licence term, additional local news programming broadcast during the weekend. The Commission expects the licensee to advise the Commission when it begins broadcasting additional local news programming on the weekends, and to inform the Commission of any other changes in the scheduling of CFTK-TV's local news programming during the new licence term.

(ii) Other local programming

The Commission notes that, during the new licence term, the licensee will continue to produce its local public affairs program "Skeena Journal" which is telecast in the evening during the week and repeated on Saturday afternoon. In addition, the licensee will continue to broadcast "Kids Biz", two-minute information segments produced with local students and aimed at students throughout CFTK-TV's coverage area.

Expenditures on Canadian programming

In Public Notice CRTC 1989-27 dated 6 April 1989, the Commission stated that licensees of private, English-language television stations earning $10 million or less in total advertising revenues and network payments annually would be expected to adhere to their projected first-year expenditures for Canadian programming, at a minimum, and adjust such expenditures in subsequent years in accordance with the prescribed formula linked to the station's advertising revenues.

As stated today in Public Notice CRTC 1995-48, the Commission shall continue to expect such licensees to expend on Canadian programming in accordance with the formula. The Commission will continue to apply this expectation in a seamless fashion moving from the current into the new licence term without consideration of any overexpenditures or underexpenditures from prior years. All policies pertaining to the formula as set out in Public Notices CRTC 1989-27, 1992-28, 1992-89, 1993-93 and 1993-174 will continue to apply, with the clarification that licensees will not be permitted to credit any overexpenditure made in the previous licence term towards Canadian programming expenditures in any year or years of the upcoming licence term.

Accordingly, inasmuch as the licensee's advertising revenues and network payments in the broadcast year ending 31 August 1994 were less than $10 million, the Commission expects the licensee to expend, in the first year of the new licence term, at a minimum, an amount of $418,000 increased or decreased in accordance with the prescribed formula linked to the station's advertising revenues and network payments. In each subsequent year of the licence term, the Commission expects the licensee's Canadian programming expenditures to be adjusted in accordance with the Commission's prescribed formula.

In accordance with the provisions contained in Public Notice CRTC 1995-48, the Commission expects the licensee to adhere to the same three-year averaging mechanism throughout the new licence term as was applicable in the current 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. The Commission notes that the licensee will continue to make annual financial contributions to program development.

Service to the deaf and hard of hearing

(i) Captioning

In Decision CRTC 89-109, the Commission encouraged the licensee to provide its deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers, at a minimum, with access to local news headlines through captions (open or closed) or signing. To date, the licensee has not implemented captioning or signing of local news headlines, nor did it propose in its renewal application to provide locally-originated captioning during the new licence term.

Consistent with its policy approach for closed captioning announced in Public Notice 1995-48, the Commission encourages the licensee, by the end of the new licence term, to caption all local news programming, including live segments, using either real-time captioning or another method capable of captioning live programming.

The Commission also encourages the licensee to close caption at least 90% of all programming during the broadcast day by the end of the licence term.

(ii) Telecommunication Device for the Deaf (TDD)

The Commission notes that, to date, the licensee has not acquired nor has it installed a TDD despite the expectation set out in Decision CRTC 89-102 that the licensee do so during the first year of the current licence term. The Commission reminds the licensee that it must abide by the expectations imposed by the Commission within their established timeframe. The Commission expects the licensee to provide a TDD device to its deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers within three months of the date of this decision.

Employment equity

In Public Notice CRTC 1992-59 dated 1 September 1992 and entitled "Implementation of an Employment Equity Policy", the Commission announced that the employment equity practices of broadcasters would be subject to examination by the Commission. In this regard, the Commission encourages the licensee to consider employment equity issues in its hiring practices and in all other aspects of its management of human resources.

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

Allan J. Darling
Secretary General

APPENDIX / ANNEXE

Conditions of licence for CFTK-TV Terrace and its transmitter, CFTK-TV-1 Prince Rupert

1. The licensee shall operate this broadcasting undertaking as an affiliate of the English-language television network operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

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.