ARCHIVED - Decision CRTC 2000-43
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Decision CRTC 2000-43
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Ottawa, 17 February 2000 |
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The Haliburton Broadcasting Group Inc. Bancroft, Ontario – 199910914 |
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6 December 1999 Public Hearing National Capital Region |
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| Acquisition of the assets of CJNH | |
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The Commission approves the application for authority to acquire the assets of CJNH Bancroft from Quinte Broadcasting Company, Limited (Quinte), and for a broadcasting licence to continue the operation of this undertaking. |
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The Commission will issue a licence to The Haliburton Broadcasting Group Inc., expiring 31 August 2005, the current expiry date, upon surrender of the current licence. The licence will be subject to the conditions specified in the licence to be issued. |
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The purchase price relating to this transaction is $250,000. Based on the evidence filed with the application, the Commission has no concerns with respect to the availability or the adequacy of the required financing. |
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CJNH currently operates as a part-time service producing 20 hours of local programming each week. It receives the rest of its programming from Quinte's stations in Trenton and Belleville. As part of the intangible benefits of this transaction, the applicant made a commitment to increase the amount of local programming broadcast on CJNH by 12 to 15 hours each week. In addition, the applicant will offer programming received from its station, CFBG-FM Bracebridge. |
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According to the benefits test outlined in the Commercial Radio Policy, 1998 (Public Notice CRTC 1998-41), an applicant who is buying a profitable station must offer tangible benefits representing at least 6% of the transaction's value. Such an applicant is also required to direct 3% of its benefit expenditures to a new Canadian music marketing and promotion fund, 2% to FACTOR and 1% to eligible third parties or other Canadian talent development initiatives. |
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In this case, CJNH is profitable and the transaction's value is $250,000. Under the Commission's policy, the applicant would be required to spend at least $15,000 in quantifiable benefits that are acceptable to the Commission and allocate them according to the guidelines set out in Public Notice CRTC 1998-41. |
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The Commission notes, however, that the $15,000 level of tangible benefits required by its policy exceeds CJNH's accumulated profits over the past three years. Furthermore, given that CJNH is a small, stand-alone AM service in a small community, the Commission finds the intangible benefit of increasing the level of local programming to be significant. In the circumstances, the Commission considers that an exception to its policy is warranted. |
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The applicant proposed a tangible benefits package totalling $74,500. The Commission considers, however, that the applicant's proposal to spend $67,500 for a student apprenticeship program would serve CJNH as much as it would help the students involved. The Commission, therefore, does not accept this proposal as a clear and unequivocal quantifiable benefit of this transaction. Accordingly, the accepted tangible benefits amount to $7,000. |
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The Commission accepts the reduced quantifiable benefits package of $7,000 combined with the intangible benefit of increasing local programming broadcast on CJNH as clear and unequivocal benefits and has, therefore, approved this application. |
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The applicant's tangible benefits package includes: |
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The 1.4% contribution which is to be allocated to the Canadian Music Marketing and Promotion Fund must be directed to the Canadian Association of Broadcasters which will hold all contributions in trust pending the creation of this fund. These commitments are over and above CJNH's existing commitments and conditions of licence. |
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The Commission notes that the applicant is subject to the Employment Equity Act that came into effect on 24 October 1996 (1996 EEA), and therefore files reports concerning employment equity with Human Resources Development Canada. As a result of a consequential amendment to the Broadcasting Act, the Commission no longer has the authority to apply its employment equity policy to any undertaking that is subject to the 1996 EEA. |
Related CRTC document
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Secretary General |
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This decision is to be appended to the licence. It is available in alternative format upon request, and may also be viewed at the following Internet site: www.crtc.gc.ca |
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