ARCHIVED - Decision CRTC 2000-438

Decision CRTC 2000-438

Ottawa, 14 November 2000

CHUM Limited and 3661458 Canada Inc., partners in a general partnership known as Pulse 24 Inc.
Across Canada - 199918182 

Application processed by Public Notice CRTC 2000-89 
dated 28 June 2000

Advertising on Cable Pulse 24

As a result of the approval granted herein, Cable Pulse 24 will be allowed to sell local advertising in the Toronto market.

The Commission approves, by majority vote, an application by CHUM Limited and 3661458 Canada Inc., partners in a general partnership known as Pulse 24 Inc. The application requested an amendment to the licence for Cable Pulse 24 "Pulse 24", which would allow that specialty service to sell local advertising in the Toronto market.

Pulse 24 was licensed in 1996, as a national English-language specialty programming undertaking, offering a 24-hour-a-day service devoted to news and information, with a focus on southern Ontario local and regional news and information. Decision CRTC 96-609 noted that "while Pulse 24 will be a regional service primarily distributed in Ontario, it will be made available via satellite to all broadcasting distribution undertakings across the country."

Pulse 24 is currently authorized to distribute up to 12 minutes of advertising per hour, but all advertising must be national or regional in nature. In its application, Pulse 24 set out a number of reasons for its request to be allowed to sell local advertising in addition to national and regional. These factors included changes to the sources of revenue which fund Pulse 24, changes to the broadcasting landscape in the Greater Toronto area, and demand for local advertising on the service.

At the time of licensing, Pulse 24 projected that only 12.8% of gross revenues would be derived from national and regional advertising. The majority of the service's revenue was expected to be subscriber revenues resulting from discretionary carriage of the service, but to date, significant subscriber revenues have not been realized.

With respect to "changes in the landscape", the applicant contends that "several television services in Southern Ontario, which have competed for local advertising revenue within the GTA, have changed their focus to regional and national advertising".

With respect to demand by advertisers, the applicant indicated that its original projection that Pulse 24 would prove attractive to national and regional advertisers has not been correct. With 84% of total viewing concentrated in the GTA, many local retailers have been expressing a desire to advertise on Pulse 24.

The licensee stated that it provides more than 115 hours per week of locally-produced programming, and contends that its application is consistent with the Commission's policy linking the authority to solicit local advertising with the provision of local programming. The Commission acknowledges the licensee's statements, but notes that the policy referred to above applies only to local conventional television stations, and not to specialty television undertakings such as Pulse 24.

At the same time, in approving this application the Commission has taken into account a number of circumstances unique to this situation and market, including the fact that no intervention in opposition to the proposal was submitted, that the advertising market in the GTA has been healthy, and that Pulse 24's projected impact on the market would be well under 1% of the total local advertising revenue captured by the local conventional television stations in the GTA.

The Commission is of the opinion that the change requested by the licensee may help to strengthen a service that is primarily local to the GTA, is relatively new, creative and useful to many area residents.

In approving this request, the Commission reiterates that Pulse 24 should contribute to the diversity of programming available in the Canadian broadcasting system by "offering a distinctly local and regional news service which will be of primary interest to viewers in the Greater Toronto Area and surrounding communities." It remains unchanged that, by condition of licence, the licensee must provide a regional (Ontario) English-language service, and the Commission therefore expects that the existing orientation of the service will not be altered.

To give effect to this approval, the current condition of licence 3(a) is deleted, and replaced with the following:

Subject to subsection (b) the licensee shall not distribute during each clock hour more than twelve (12) minutes of advertising material.

Related CRTC document

• Decision 96-609 - Licensing of Pulse 24

Secretary General

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