ARCHIVED -  Decision CRTC 96-435

Decision

Ottawa, 19 August 1996

Decision CRTC 96-435

CJRN 710 Inc.

Fort Erie and Niagara Falls, Ontario - 199604583 - 199604591

Licence amendments related to contributions to Canadian talent development: CKEY-FM and CJRN

In Public Notice CRTC 1996-63 dated 10 May 1996, the Commission announced applications submitted by various licensees in response to Public Notice CRTC 1995-196 entitled "Contributions by Radio Stations to Canadian Talent Development - A New Approach". In that public notice, the Commission announced that licensees of commercial radio stations could apply for relief from current direct cost commitments for Canadian talent development made as part of their last licence renewal. Licensees could also apply to amend their licences by adding a condition of licence requiring them to make payments to eligible third parties involved in Canadian talent development at the level identified for them in the Canadian Association of Broadcasters' "Distribution Guidelines For Canadian Talent Development" (the CAB Guidelines) and as set out in the notice.

CJRN 710 Inc., licensee of CJRN Niagara Falls and CKEY-FM Fort Erie, submitted applications for relief from the stations' current commitments but proposed to pay, for each station, an amount lower than that identified for these stations under the CAB Guidelines. Under the CAB Guidelines, both CJRN and CKEY-FM were assigned to a market designated as St. Catharines/Niagara. The licensee proposed an amount that it considered to be more appropriate given the size of the immediate communities of Niagara Falls and Fort Erie that the stations serve.

The Commission however does not consider it appropriate to approve exceptions to the CAB Guidelines which would lower the total amount of money raised by the plan. To do so could serve to compromise the goal of ensuring that at least $1.8 million is raised for third parties involved in Canadian talent development. The Commission further notes that it has historically considered Niagara Falls and Fort Erie to include all other stations in the Niagara Peninsula and that the Bureau of Broadcast Measurement does not isolate Fort Erie and Niagara Falls as separate markets.

The Commission notes that CKEY-FM's licence expires 31 August 1996. Consistent with the approach outlined in Public Notice CRTC 1996-114 entitled "Implementation of the New Approach to Canadian Talent Development" stipulating that the new plan will begin with the 1996-97 broadcast year, the Commission denies CKEY-FM's application for relief, for the 1995-96 broadcast year, from the current direct cost commitments for Canadian talent development made as part of the station's last licence renewal.

The appropriate condition of licence requiring payments to eligible third parties involved in Canadian talent development at the level identified for the station in Public Notice CRTC 1995-196 will be included at the time of the renewal of CKEY-FM's licence.

In the case of CJRN, the Commission notes that this station's licence expires 31 August 1998. The Commission approves the licensee's application for relief from current direct costs commitments. The Commission however denies the proposal to replace these commitments with the payment of an amount different from that identified for CJRN under the CAB Guidelines.

Accordingly, for CJRN Niagara Falls and commencing with the 1996-97 broadcast year, the licensee is required, by condition of licence, to make payments to third parties involved in Canadian talent development at the level identified for it in the Canadian Association of Broadcasters' (CAB) "Distribution Guidelines For Canadian Talent Development", as set out in Public Notice CRTC 1995-196 or as amended from time to time and approved by the Commission, and to report the names of the third parties associated with Canadian talent development, together with the amounts paid to each, on its annual return. The payments required under this condition of licence are over and above any outstanding commitments to Canadian talent development offered as benefits in an application to acquire ownership or control of the undertaking.

Given that this condition of CJRN's licence will apply starting with the 1996-97 broadcast year, the Commission requires the licensee's current commitments for Canadian talent development for the 1995-96 broadcast year to be fulfilled.

Allan J. Darling
Secretary General