ARCHIVED - Decision CRTC 2000-80
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Decision CRTC 2000-80 |
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| Ottawa, 20 March 2000 | |
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Crossroads Television System Hamilton, Burlington, St. Catharines and Toronto, Ontario - 199907482 |
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Application processed by Public Notice CRTC 1999-190 dated 24 November 1999 |
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| Summary | |
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The Commission denies the application by Crossroads Television System (Crossroads) to amend the broadcasting licence of CITS-TV Hamilton. |
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CITS-TV, a television station devoted to religious programming, was licensed in April 1998 and went on air in September 1998. It is required by condition of licence to broadcast 20 hours each week of programming that exposes its audiences to different points of view on religion (balance programming). Twelve hours must be broadcast between 6 p.m. and 11 p.m., the evening broadcast period. Crossroads requested an amendment to this condition that would allow it to schedule these 12 hours between 6 p.m. and midnight. |
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The scheduling of balance programming during the evening broadcast period when the largest audiences are available was a key element in the Commission's decision to award Crossroads a licence following a competitive process. The Commission considers that Crossroads did not offer any compelling reasons to amend a fundamental condition of licence less than two years after CITS-TV's launch. Moreover, approval of this application would be contrary to the Commission's previous decisions in which it noted the absence of balance programs during the evening broadcast period as part of its rationale for denying applications for new religious television services. |
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Background |
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The Commission's Religious Broadcasting Policy (Public Notice CRTC 1993-78)calls for licensees who broadcast religious programming to expose their audiences to different points of view on religion itself (balance programming). The Commission's expectation regarding balance in religious programming stems from the requirement contained in the Broadcasting Act that the programming offered by the Canadian broadcasting system should provide a reasonable opportunity for the public to be exposed to the expression of differing views on matters of public concern. |
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In April 1998, following a competitive hearing, the Commission awarded Crossroads a licence for a new over-the-air television station devoted to religious programming (Decision CRTC 98-123). At that time, the Commission imposed a condition of licence, based on commitments made in Crossroads' application, that the new station broadcast 20 hours of balance programming each week of which 18 must be original. The condition stipulated that 12 hours of balance programming be broadcast between 6 p.m. and 11 p.m., the evening broadcast period when the largest audiences are available. |
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The application |
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Crossroads requested an amendment to its condition of licence that would allow it to extend to midnight the period when it must broadcast 12 of its 20 hours of balance programming each week. The licensee planned to broadcast until 11:30 p.m. a balance program that currently runs until 11 p.m. It intended to schedule 25% of its balance programming between 11 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. |
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Crossroads stated that CITS-TV's balance programming has generated a positive response from its viewers. It noted, however, that members of faith communities that hold religious services at sunset, typically between 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. throughout the year, cannot view programming in the early evening. |
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Interventions |
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Friends of Canadian Broadcasting (Friends) and Heenan Blaikie on behalf of Vision TV: Canada's Faith Network (Vision) submitted interventions opposing this application. The interveners argued that, if approved, the proposed amendment would allow Crossroads to reduce the amount of balance programming scheduled during the 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. evening broadcast period. |
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Vision pointed out that in Crossroads' original licence application it committed to broadcast at least 12 hours of balance programming each week during the evening broadcast period. The intervener argued that scheduling of balance programs during the peak evening broadcast period is an important element in determining the effectiveness of a licensee's overall balance offering. It claimed that Crossroads did not provide any evidence that audiences would adjust their viewing patterns to move to the 11 p.m. to midnight hour. According to Vision, CITS-TV's program schedule for the week of 19 December 1999 revealed that the station had broadcast only nine hours of balance programming between 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. |
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Crossroads responded that it is abiding by its condition of licence to broadcast 20 hours of balance programming each week of which 18 hours are original. It argued that the proposed amendment would allow it to better serve its viewers because, on some occasions, CITS-TV's audiences after 11 p.m. equalled or exceeded those before that hour. Crossroads would accept a condition limiting the amount of balance programming scheduled between 11 p.m. and midnight to three hours each week. |
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The Commission's findings |
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Crossroads' commitment to schedule 12 hours each week of balance programming during the evening broadcast period was a key element in the Commission's decision to award it a licence following a competitive process. The Commission considers that Crossroads has failed to offer any compelling reasons to amend a fundamental condition less than two years after CITS-TV's launch. In addition, approval would be contrary to previous CRTC decisions in which the Commission cited the absence of balance programs during the evening broadcast period when the largest potential audiences are available as part of its rationale for denying applications for new religious television services. For these reasons, the Commission denies Crossroads' application to amend its condition of licence. |
Related CRTC documents
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Secretary General
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This decision 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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- Date modified: