ARCHIVED - Public Notice CRTC 1997-17
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Public Notice |
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Ottawa, 19 February 1997
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Public Notice CRTC 1997-17
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CALL FOR COMMENTS ON REQUESTS BY SPONSORS TO ADD NON-CANADIAN SATELLITE SERVICES TO THE LISTS OF ELIGIBLE SATELLITE SERVICES
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I Requests by Sponsors
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In Public Notice CRTC 1996-122 dated 4 September 1996, the Commission announced that it was prepared to consider requests from Canadian "sponsors" to add non-Canadian satellite services to the lists of eligible satellite services ("the lists").
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In its notice, the Commission stated that such requests should be accompanied by evidence that the non-Canadian service has agreed to be sponsored by the Canadian party filing the request, and should include a statement from the service provider that it has obtained all of the necessary Canadian distribution rights for its programming. Sponsors were also directed to provide a brief description of the service, a copy of the current program schedule, and evidence of discussions with distributors with respect to potential demand for the service. Further, they were asked to specify which list(s) and, if appropriate, to which section of the list the sponsor wishes the non-Canadian service to be added.
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In response to its notice, the Commission received submissions from 11 separate Canadian sponsors requesting that 28 non-Canadian satellite services (as identified in the appendix to this notice) either be added to the lists or that current restrictions concerning their distribution be amended or removed.
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The appendix contains a brief description of each of the services, the name and address of the Canadian sponsor, and the list(s) and, where applicable, the section of the list to which the sponsor has requested the non-Canadian service be added.
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II Call for Comments
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As stated in Public Notice CRTC 1996-122, the Commission intends to assess all requests for amendments to the lists in the context of the Commission's general policy, which, among other things, precludes the addition of new non-Canadian satellite services that can be considered either totally or partially competitive with Canadian specialty or pay television services.
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In applying this policy, the Commission will take into account all existing Canadian specialty and pay television programming undertakings, as well as those whose applications were approved on 4 September 1996 in decisions introduced by Public Notice CRTC 1996-120 of that date. These include the new specialty services undertakings that will not be subject to the Access Rules until 1 September 1999.
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In addition, in Public Notice CRTC 1993-78 entitled "Religious Broadcasting Policy", the Commission stated that:
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At the appropriate time, the Commission intends to establish a list of eligible foreign religious services to be linked exclusively with Canadian single or limited point-of-view discretionary religious services. Linkage with a foreign religious service will be at the discretion of the licensee of the Canadian programming undertaking.
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It should be noted however, that there are not, as yet, any licensed Canadian single or limited point-of-view discretionary religious services.
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The Commission hereby invites comments from interested parties on the requests by sponsors described in the appendix. Interested parties must follow the process outlined in the "Public Participation" section of this notice.
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As part of this public process, those parties named in the appendix to this notice as having filed requests will have an opportunity to submit written responses to comments filed by interested parties.
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III Other Matters
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The Commission notes that some of the requests raise certain policy issues, as discussed below.
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a) Placement of Services on the Lists
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Currently, the Part II list contains satellite services authorized for distribution on a discretionary basis by a licensee holding a Class 1 licence (6,000 or more subscribers) or a Class 2 licence for an undertaking having 2,000 or more, but fewer than 6,000 subscribers. It is divided into Sections "A" and "B". Non-Canadian satellite services in Section "A" may be packaged with either Canadian pay television or specialty services. Non-Canadian satellite services in Section "B" may be packaged only with a Canadian pay television service.
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The Part III list contains satellite services authorized for distribution by Part III licensees or licensees holding a Class 2 licence for an undertaking that has fewer than 2,000 subscribers.
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In addition to their specific requests, ACCESS - Learning & Skills Television of Alberta Limited (ACCESS) and the Canadian Cable Television Association (CCTA) have proposed new options with respect to where additional non-Canadian services could be placed on the lists. ACCESS suggested that:
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...it may be appropriate to consider a modified B list or the addition of a C list to the existing Part II services that would specify eligible services that could be added primarily as digital services, but with the option of analog.
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The CCTA indicated that its first preference would be to have all authorized non-Canadian services available for packaging with any of the Canadian pay or specialty services. It suggested, however, that, given possible concerns about available channel capacity in the short term, an alternative would be to add new non-Canadian services both to the Part III list and to Section "B" of the Part II list. Under this alternative, the scope of Section "B" would be expanded so that non-Canadian services placed on it would be available for packaging with either pay television services or any of the specialty services licensed on 4 September 1996.
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As a third option, the CCTA suggested that new non-Canadian services, other than those authorized for packaging with pay television services, could be authorized for packaging only with the services licensed on 4 September 1996, but which do not become subject to the Commission's Access Rules until September 1999.
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The Commission seeks the views of interested parties on these or other possible options with respect to the placement of additional non-Canadian services on the lists.
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b) CCTA's Request concerning the "DTH Superstation Rule"
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The CCTA requested that distribution undertakings be granted the same flexibility now accorded to licensed DTH distribution undertakings, namely the flexibility to designate one of the authorized U.S. superstations and package the signal of that superstation with Canadian specialty services on a 1:1 linkage basis.
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The CCTA acknowledged that it had also put forward this request in its submission to the Commission in the context of the proceeding concerning a new regulatory framework for broadcasting distribution undertakings. Given that a decision on this issue is now pending, the Commission does not seek comment on the CCTA's request as part of this process. A public notice announcing the Commission's new regulatory framework will be issued in the near future.
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IV Public Participation
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PLEASE NOTE THAT AT THE PRESENT TIME THE COMMISSION CANNOT ACCEPT COMMENTS SENT BY ELECTRONIC MAIL
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IN ORDER FOR YOUR COMMENTS TO BE CONSIDERED BY THE COMMISSION AND PLACED ON THE PUBLIC FILE,
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· submit the original of your written comments on the sponsored non-Canadian service or services listed in the appendix to the Secretary General of the Commission (CRTC, Ottawa, K1A 0N2). A true copy MUST be sent to the appropriate Canadian sponsor, or sponsors if there is more than one for a given service, at the addresses provided in the appendix. Proof of such sending must accompany the original of the comments sent to the Commission;
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· comments must be received by the CRTC and by the Canadian sponsors ON OR BEFORE Monday, 7 April 1997. The Commission cannot be held responsible for postal delays;
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· comments should clearly identify the request or requests to which they apply. They should also indicate whether you support, oppose, or propose changes to the requests, and should be accompanied by the facts and grounds therefor.
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Your comments will be considered by the Commission and will form part of the public record of the proceeding without further notification to you, provided the procedure set out above has been followed. You will be contacted only if your submission raises procedural questions.
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Parties who are identified in the appendix as sponsors of requests filed pursuant to Public Notice CRTC 1996-122 may file a written reply to any comments received concerning their requests. Such replies should be filed with the Commission, and a copy sent to the person who submitted the comments by no later than Monday, 21 April 1997.
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All material filed with respect to this proceeding will be available for public examination at the following offices of the Commission during normal office hours:
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CRTC Head Office
1 Promenade du Portage Hull, Quebec |
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Halifax Regional Office
Bank of Commerce Building 1809 Barrington Street Suite 1007 Halifax, Nova Scotia |
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Montreal Regional Office
Place Montréal Trust 1800 McGill College Avenue Suite 1920 Montréal, Quebec |
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Winnipeg Regional Office
275 Portage Avenue Suite 1810 Winnipeg, Manitoba |
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Vancouver Regional Office
530 -580 Hornby Street Vancouver, British Columbia |
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Allan J. Darling
Secretary General |
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APPENDIX
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1. America's Health Network
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Description of Service:
Consumer health and medical information |
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Location on List:
Part II (A) and Part III |
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Sponsor name and address:
Canadian Cable Television Association (CCTA) Suite 1010 360 Albert St. Ottawa, Ontario K1R 7X7 FAX (613) 232-2137 |
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2. American Movie Classics
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Description of Service:
Movies from the 30's to 70's and specials |
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Location on List:
Part II (B) and Part III |
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Sponsor name and address:
TMN Networks Inc. BCE Place, 181 Bay St. P.O. Box 787, Suite 100 Toronto, Ontario M5J 2T3 FAX: (416) 956-2012 |
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3. ART America
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Description of Service:
Drama, travel, magazines, sports, feature films, music, history, cuisine and children's programming in Arabic languages |
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Location on List:
Part II (A) and Part III |
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Sponsor name and address:
CCTA (See above for address) |
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4. BBC World
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Description of Service:
News and Information |
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Location on List:
Part II and Part III |
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Sponsor name and address:
ACCESS - Learning & Skills TV of Alberta Limited 3720-76 Avenue Edmonton, Alberta T6B 2N9 FAX: (403) 440-8899 |
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5. Black Entertainment Television
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Description of Service:
News, entertainment and specials aimed primarily at Black Americans |
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Location on List:
Request to move the service from Part II (B) to Part II (A) |
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Sponsor name and address:
CCTA (See above for address) |
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6. Bloomberg Information Television
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Description of Service:
Business News and Information |
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Location on List:
Part II (A) and Part III |
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Sponsor name and address:
CCTA (See above for address) |
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7. Consumer News and Business Channel (CNBC)
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Description of Service:
Entertainment, information and variety programming on weekends and during the evenings on weekdays; business and financial programming during the daytime on weekdays |
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Location on List:
This service is currently included on the Part II (A) and Part III lists. The request is for the removal of the present restriction that limits distribution of this service to the hours between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. weekdays |
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Sponsor name and address:
CCTA (See above for address) |
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8. Cornerstone TeleVision
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Description of Service:
Interdenominational Christian programming |
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Location on List:
Part II (B) |
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Sponsor name and address:
Allarcom Pay Television Limited Suite 200 5324 Calgary Trail Edmonton, Alberta T6H 4J8 FAX: (403) 437-3188 |
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9. Court TV
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Description of Service:
Courtroom proceedings and legal news |
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Location on List:
Part II (B) (Allarcom) Part II (A) and Part III (CCTA) |
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Sponsors names and addresses (separate requests):
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Allarcom Pay Television Limited)
(See above for address) |
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CCTA
(See above for address) |
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10. Deutsche Welle
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Description of Service:
News, magazines, features and documentaries from Germany |
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Location on List:
Part II (B) and Part III (Mascon) Part II (B) (Allarcom) Part II (A) and Part III (CCTA) |
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Sponsors names and addresses (separate requests):
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Mascon Communications Corp.
P.O. Box 3386 4901 Auto Road S.E. Salmon Arm, British Columbia V1E 4S2 FAX: (604) 832-5575 |
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Allarcom Pay Television
(See above for address) |
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CCTA
(See above for address) |
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11. Eternal Word Television Network
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Description of Service:
Catholic Religious |
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Location on List:
Part II (A) (Cable Regina) Part II (A) and Part III (CCTA and Access Cable Television) |
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Sponsors names and addresses (separate requests):
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Cable Regina
2250 Park Street Regina, Saskatchewan S4N 7K7 FAX: (306) 565-5395 |
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CCTA
(See above for address) |
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Access Cable Television Limited
190 Victoria Road P.O. Box 404 Dartmouth, Nova Scotia B2Y 3Y5 FAX: (902) 466-0543 |
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12. The Filipino Channel
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Description of Service:
Comedies, variety shows, drama, sports, news, talk shows, movies from the Philippines |
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Location on List:
Part II (A) and Part III |
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Sponsor name and address:
CCTA (See above for address) |
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13. Fit TV
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Description of Service:
Fitness instruction and information |
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Location on List:
Part II (A) and Part III |
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Sponsor name and address:
CCTA (See above for address) |
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14. Game Show Network
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Description of Service:
Game shows |
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Location on List:
Part II (B) |
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Sponsor name and address:
The Family Channel BCE Place, 181 Bay Street P.O. Box 787 Toronto, Ontario M5J 2T3 FAX: (416) 956-2035 |
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15. The Golf Channel
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Description of Service:
Tournaments and information on golf |
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Location on List:
Part II (A) and Part III |
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Sponsor name and address:
The Canadian Cable Systems Alliance (CCSA) 1 Gondola Point Road Unit 1 Rothesay, New Brunswick E2E 5J6 FAX: (506) 849-1338 |
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16. The Inspirational Network
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Description of Service:
Religious programming from Christian denominations |
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Location on List:
Part II (B) |
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Sponsor name and address:
Allarcom Pay Television (See above for address) |
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17. KWGN (Denver)
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Description of Service:
U.S. commercial independent superstation |
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Location on List:
Part II (B) and Part III |
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Sponsor name and address:
CCTA (See above for address) |
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18. Newsworld International
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Description of Service:
News |
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Location on List:
Part II (A) and Part III |
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Sponsor name and address:
3264777 Canada Inc. 79 Wellington Street West Suite 2810 Toronto, Ontario M5K 1J5 FAX: (416) 367-7023 |
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19. Playboy TV
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Description of Service:
Adult entertainment featuring movies, series and live events |
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Location on List:
Part II (B) |
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Sponsor name and address:
Allarcom Pay Television (See above for address) |
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20. The Popcorn Channel
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Description of Service:
Movie listings, previews and interviews |
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Location on List:
Part II (A) and Part III |
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Sponsor name and address:
CCTA (See above for address) |
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21. Prime Time 24
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Description of Service:
WNBC (NBC) New York, WJLA (ABC) Washington, WRAL (CBS) Raleigh, PBS Network (National), FOX Network (National), KNBC (NBC) Los Angeles, KOMO (ABC) Seattle, KPIX (CBS) San Francisco |
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Location on List:
Part II (A) and Part III |
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Sponsors names and addresses (joint request):
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CCSA
(See above for address) |
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Star Choice Television Network Inc.
205 St. David Street P.O. Box 424 Lindsay, Ontario K9V 4S5 FAX: (705) 324-7428 |
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22. Speedvision
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Description of Service:
Automotive, aviation and marine information and entertainment |
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Location on List:
Part II (A) and Part III |
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Sponsor name and address:
CCTA (See above for address) |
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23. Three Angels Broadcasting Network
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Description of Service:
Child/family development and educational, children's programming, health, music and preaching |
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Location on List:
Part II (B) |
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Sponsor name and address:
Allarcom Pay Television (See above for address) |
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24. Turner Classic Movies
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Description of Service:
Movies from the 20's to 80's and specials |
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Location on List:
Part II (B) |
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Sponsor name and address:
The Family Channel (See above for address) |
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25. TV Food Network
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Description of Service:
Food preparation and presentation |
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Location on List:
Part II (A) and Part III |
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Sponsor name and address:
CCTA (See above for address) |
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26. TV Japan
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Description of Service:
News, drama, variety, music, documentaries, educational and sports from Japan |
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Location on List:
Part II (A) and Part III |
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Sponsor name and address:
CCTA (See above for address) |
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27. TV Polonia
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Description of Service:
Films, news, documentaries, children's programs and sports from Poland |
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Location on List:
Part II (A) and Part III |
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Sponsor name and address:
CCTA (See above for address) |
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28. WMNB-TV: Russian-American Broadcasting Company
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Description of Service:
Russian-language series, information/news, and movies |
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Location on List:
Part II (A) and Part III |
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Sponsor name and address:
CCTA (See above for address) |
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- Date modified: