ARCHIVED - Public Notice CRTC 2001-65
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Public Notice CRTC 2001-65 |
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Ottawa, 6 June 2001 |
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Call for comments on a proposed amendment to the conditions of licence describing the nature of the services to be provided by Newsnet and Le Canal Nouvelles |
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The Commission proposes to amend the conditions of licence for both of these headline news specialty services by adding the stipulation that, in exceptional circumstances, where the programming departs from the headline news format for the coverage of events, the service must provide a break following no more than 15 minutes of such event coverage, excluding commercial time, to broadcast headline news. This break must provide a minimum of 5 minutes of headline news, excluding commercial time. |
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Background |
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Newsnet and Le Canal Nouvelles (LCN) are specialty services first licensed by the Commission in Decisions CRTC 96-597 and 96-615, respectively. Both services launched in September 1997 and are distributed to subscribers on a modified dual status basis. |
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Except for the language of programming, the conditions of licence defining the nature of service are essentially the same for both licensees and read as follows: |
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(b) The licensee shall maintain a "headline news" format as described in its application presented in a continuously-updated fifteen minute wheel. |
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In its presentation, at the 1996 licensing hearing for new specialty services, Newsnet said that: |
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4. |
For its part, LCN proposed the following in its licence application: |
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Based on the information filed in their respective licence applications, and on the applicants' statements when presenting their proposals at the 6 May 1996 Public Hearing, the Commission was satisfied that the services proposed by Newsnet and LCN would be complementary to, and not competitive with, existing Canadian specialty services. |
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Complaints |
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Following the launch of Newsnet and LCN in September 1997, the Commission received numerous complaints alleging that the licensees had broadcast long-form programming on several occasions, thus contravening the conditions of licence defining the nature of their respective services. |
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On 2 March 1999, the Commission sent letters to the licensees clarifying their nature of service conditions of licence. The Commission, among other things, specified that "Newsnet and LCN must maintain, at all times, a "headline news" format". In addressing the broadcast of long-form programming, the Commission further clarified that "the live broadcast of special events such as press conferences and speeches is not specifically prohibited as long as other headline news items are presented in every 15-minute block." Despite these clarifications, the Commission continued to receive letters of complaint regarding the licensees' programming. |
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The Commission has consistently stressed the importance it places on a licensee's observance of its conditions of licence, and views any non-compliance as a very serious matter. For the licensees of specialty services, the conditions of licence defining the nature of the services they are authorized to provide are essential to the maintenance of diversity in the programming that each offers, as well as to the preservation of complementarity between services. |
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In the present circumstances involving Newsnet and LCN, the Commission considers that there may continue to be some misunderstanding on the part of the licensees concerning the requirements of their nature of service conditions of licence. The Commission is thus of the view that amending these conditions may be an appropriate and necessary measure at this time, to ensure that the services operate within the headline news format for which they were licensed. |
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Proposed amendment to the nature of service licence conditions for Newsnet and LCN |
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Under section 9 of the Broadcasting Act, the Commission may, in furtherance of its objects and on its own motion, amend any condition of licence where five years have expired since the issuance or renewal of the licence. |
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In order to ensure that each of Newsnet and LCN maintain, at all times, a program service that is complementary to existing services, the Commission proposes to amend their nature of service conditions of licence, effective 4 September 2001, by amending section 1.(b) (additional text is indicated by bold font), and by adding a new section 1.(c). The condition would read as follows: |
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(b) Subject to 1.(c), the licensee shall maintain a "headline news" format as described in its application presented in a continuously-updated fifteen minute wheel. |
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(c) In exceptional circumstances, programming may depart from the headline news format for the coverage of events. When this occurs, the service must provide a break following no more than 15 minutes of such event coverage, excluding commercial time, to broadcast "headline news" as defined in 1(b) above. This break must provide a minimum of 5 minutes of "headline news", excluding commercial time. |
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Call for comments |
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The Commission invites comments that address the issues and questions set out in this notice. The Commission will accept comments that it receives on or before 6 July 2001 |
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The Commission will not formally acknowledge comments. It will, however, fully consider all comments and they will form part of the public record of the proceeding, provided that the procedures for filing set out below have been followed. |
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Procedures for filing comments |
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Interested parties can file their comments on paper or electronically. Submissions longer than five pages should include a summary. |
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Parties wishing to file their comments on paper should send them to the Secretary General, CRTC, Ottawa, K1A 0N2. |
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Parties wishing to file electronic versions of their comments can do so by email or on diskette. The Commission's email address is procedure@crtc.gc.ca |
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Electronic submissions should be in the HTML format. As an alternative, those making submissions may use "Microsoft Word" for text and "Microsoft Excel" for spreadsheets. |
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Please number each paragraph of your submission. In addition, please enter the line ***End of document*** following the last paragraph. This will help the Commission verify that the document has not been damaged during transmission. |
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The Commission will make comments filed in electronic form available on its web site at www.crtc.gc.ca in the official language and format in which they are submitted. This will make it easier for members of the public to consult the documents. |
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The Commission also encourages interested parties to monitor the public examination file (and/or the Commission's web site) for additional information that they may find useful when preparing their comments. |
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Examination of public comments and related documents at the following Commission offices during normal business hours |
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Central Building |
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Bank of Commerce Building |
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405 de Maisonneuve Blvd. East |
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55 St. Clair Avenue East |
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Kensington Building |
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Cornwall Professional Building |
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10405 Jasper Avenue |
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530-580 Hornby Street |
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Related CRTC documents |
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Secretary General |
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This document is available in alternate format upon request and may also be examined at the following Internet site: http://www.crtc.gc.ca |
* English-language in the case of Newsnet, and French-language in the case of LCN.
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