ARCHIVED -  Decision CRTC 98-486

Decision

Ottawa, 23 October 1998

Decision CRTC 98-486

CJRT-FM Inc.

Toronto, Ontario - 199801999

Application processed by
Public Notice CRTC 1998-64
dated 10 July 1998

Summary

The Commission approves the application by CJRT-FM Inc. for an amendment to the condition of its licence respecting advertising. The effect of this amendment is to remove the present requirement that it broadcast no more than 20 minutes of restricted advertising per broadcast week. Instead, CJRT-FM Inc. may now broadcast up to 504 minutes of advertising per broadcast week, with a maximum of four minutes in any hour. Of the 504 minutes, a maximum of 126 minutes may be devoted to conventional advertising. The remainder must conform to the definition of restricted advertising (simple statements of sponsorship) contained in the condition.

Discussion and interventions

1. CJRT-FM Inc., licensee of CJRT-FM Toronto, is a not-for-profit corporation that broadcasts from studios located at Ryerson Polytechnic University. The station operates in the specialty format, as defined in Public Notice CRTC 1995-60, and offers programming consisting predominantly of classical and jazz music. CJRT-FM Inc. recorded a financial loss in 1997, coincident with the termination of provincial funding. According to the licensee, the station's financial survival is now dependent on it earning more revenue from corporate sponsors and from advertising than it is able to generate under the existing licence condition.

2. The Commission accepts CJRT-FM Inc.'s argument that the proposed amendment is necessary to maintain its financial viability. The increased revenues expected as a consequence of the amendment should not create undue economic hardship for existing or potential commercial stations serving the Toronto market.

3. The Commission received 41 interventions in response to its public notice announcing this application. Of these, 38 were in support of the proposal, while three were opposed. The interventions and the licensee's replies have all been considered by the Commission in reaching its decision.

4. The opposing interventions were filed by Trumar Communications Inc. (Trumar), Milestone Communications Inc. (Milestone), and the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB). Trumar is licensee of the commercial, classical music radio programming undertaking CFMX-FM-1 Toronto and CFMX-FM Cobourg. Milestone is a company that has announced its intention to apply to the CRTC for a licence to carry on a new commercial FM station in the Toronto market. The CAB is the industry association that represents the views and interests of most commercial radio and television licensees across Canada.

5. In its intervention, Trumar stated that "CFMX-FM has just started to realize a modest profit after fifteen years of losses." It argued that the additional advertising revenues CJRT-FM Inc. projects it will earn as a consequence of the proposed amendment "...would to a large degree be dollars derived from our clients." Milestone, from its perspective as a potential applicant, voiced concern that approval of the proposed amendment would "...reduce the pool of commercial advertising revenue [available to] future players in the radio broadcasting marketplace." In its intervention, the CAB urged that the application only be approved "...if the ownership and programming [of CJRT-FM Inc.] are clearly in compliance with the Broadcasting Regulations for Campus Radio Stations."

6. With respect to the comments of the first two interveners quoted above, the Commission notes that advertising revenues in the Toronto radio market increased by 12 % to more than $133 million in 1997. It also notes that the availabilities for conventional advertising messages open to the applicant following this approval, and hence its advertising revenue potential, will remain at levels far below those of commercial radio stations. Given these considerations, and in light of the relatively small audience share attracted to CJRT-FM, the Commission considers that the interveners' concerns have been overstated.

7. Regarding the comments contained in the CAB intervention, the Commission is unaware of any evidence that CJRT-FM Inc. is in non-compliance with the Radio Regulations, 1986, either with respect to its ownership or programming. As for the suggestion that the applicant must comply with the Commission's policies for campus radio stations, the Commission notes that CJRT-FM is not licensed as a campus radio station. Like campus radio stations, however, it does operate on a not-for-profit basis. In the Commission's view, this parallel, coupled with the concerns addressed above having to do with the station's ongoing financial viability, justify allowing CJRT-FM Inc. to air the same amount and type of advertising material that campus radio stations have been permitted to broadcast, under the Commission's policies, for several years.

Text of the existing and amended conditions of licence

Existing condition

8. The Commission authorizes the licensee, by condition of licence, to broadcast a maximum of 20 minutes per week of restricted advertising, as defined in Public Notice CRTC 1992-38.

Amended condition

9. The licensee may broadcast a maximum of 504 minutes of advertising per broadcast week with a maximum of 4 minutes of advertising in any hour. Of the 504 minutes, a maximum of 126 minutes of conventional advertising per broadcast week may be broadcast. The remainder of advertising broadcast must conform to the following definition of restricted advertising:

Restricted advertising means simple statements of sponsorship that identify the sponsors of a program or of the station. Such statements may incorporate the names of the sponsor, the business address, hours of business and a brief general description of the types of services or products that the sponsor provides, including the price, name and brand name of the product. Such statements must not contain references to convenience, durability and desirability or contain other comparative or competitive references.

Secretary General

This decision is to be appended to the licence.
This document is available in alternative format upon request, and may also be viewed at the following Internet site: www.crtc.gc.ca