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Circular No. 425
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Ottawa, 11 September 1997
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TO ALL TELEVISION PROGRAMMING UNDERTAKING LICENSEES
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Changes to Requirements Concerning Relocation of Local Studios and Transmitting Antennas
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The purpose of this circular is to advise licensees of television programming under-takings of changes to the current requirements concerning the relocation of local studios and transmitting antennas.
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Currently, the terms and conditions of each licence issued in respect of a television programming undertaking make specific reference to the location of the undertaking’s local studio and transmitting antenna. As a consequence, changes to either must now receive the Commission’s prior approval.
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LOCAL STUDIO LOCATION
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The rationale for requiring that prior Commission approval be granted before a licensee is permitted to change the site of its local studio is to assure that the licensee remains capable of providing programming of particular relevance to residents of the geographic area it is licensed to serve. The Commission considers that prior approval for a change in studio location within a licensee’s authorized service area (contours of the programming undertaking) continues to be necessary, but that in most instances, applications to affect changes can be dealt with through the administrative route. Currently, such a change requires a public notice, at a minimum. Accordingly, when issuing or renewing a licence for a television programming undertaking, the Commission intends to replace the present condition of licence specifying the site of the local studio with a general condition, under which the Commission’s written approval would be required prior to changing the site of the local studio.
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TRANSMITTING ANTENNA LOCATION
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The underlying purpose of requiring a licensee to seek prior approval to change its antenna site is to allow the Commission to review the potential impact of the change on the size of an undertaking’s coverage area and the orientation of its coverage. In the Commission’s view, this purpose is adequately served by the more fundamental licence requirement, already in place, whereby each licensee must seek prior approval for a change to its technical contours, regardless of the proposed new technical parameters that would bring about the change (eg. a power increase, an increase in the antenna’s height or a change in transmitter location). For this reason, when issuing or renewing a licence for a television programming undertaking, the Commission intends no longer to include among the terms of the licence specific reference to the location of the transmitting antenna.
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The Commission intends to process these changes as part of licence renewal applications of stations concerned. Licensees requiring authorization for such amendments prior to their next licence renewal may wish to take advantage of these changes by filing an application (in a letter form). These applications will be dealt with by public notice.
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The Commission reminds licensees that they must still obtain the prior approval of Industry Canada for amendments to their Broadcasting Certificates. This will ensure adherence to the protection criteria with respect to possible interference to the signals of other undertakings, and the avoidance of unacceptable interference to aeronautical NAV/COM services or of hazards to visual aeronautical navigation.
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Laura M. Talbot-Allan
Secretary General
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This document is available in alternative format upon request.
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