ARCHIVED - Decision CRTC 2001-733

Decision CRTC 2001-733

Ottawa, 29 November 2001

2953285 Canada Inc. "The Discovery Channel"
Across Canada 2001-0218-7

19 June 2001 Public Hearing
National Capital Region

Licence renewal for The Discovery Channel

The licence for "The Discovery Channel" is renewed for a full term. The current condition of licence on the nature of service is amended by including a brief description of the programming and adding program categories 1 (news) and 11 (general entertainment and human interest).

The Commission renews the broadcasting licence issued to 2953285 Canada Inc. for the national English-language specialty television service known as "The Discovery Channel", from 1 December 2001 to 31 August 2008, subject to the conditions specified in the appendix to this decision and in the licence to be issued.

The Commission has no concerns with respect to the licensee's compliance with its conditions of licence during the current licence term.

As announced in Notice of Public Hearing 2001-5, the licensee, in its licence renewal application, proposed several amendments to its conditions of licence. The licensee subsequently indicated that the only changes it wished to pursue were the addition of program categories 1 (news) and 11 (general entertainment and human interest) to its condition of licence on the nature of service. These proposed amendments are discussed below.

Nature of service

4.

In its original licence, The Discovery Channel's condition on the nature of service listed the program categories from which the licensee could choose its programming, but did not include a brief description of the service. In response to a request by the Commission to provide such a description, the licensee suggested the following:

Discovery Channel is a national English-language specialty service devoted to the exploration of science and technology, nature and the environment and adventure.

5.

The Commission considers that the proposed wording clarifies The Discovery Channel's nature of service and has therefore added it to the condition of licence set out in the appendix.

6.

In its licence renewal application, the licensee confirmed that it does not plan to change the programming offered by The Discovery Channel. It argued that including categories 1 and 11 in its nature of service condition would fully respond to the new category definitions established by the Commission and more accurately represent the nature of certain programs it already airs. For example, the licensee considered that its flagship daily science program "@discovery.ca" more appropriately falls under category 1 than category 2a (Analysis and interpretation), and that other programs such as "Harrowsmith" and "The Lynette Jennings Series" would be more correctly categorized under category 11 than category 5b (informal education/recreation and leisure).

7.

In an opposing intervention, Global Television Network claimed that the proposed amendments would significantly change The Discovery Channel's nature of service and allow it to compete with conventional services.

8.

The licensee responded by reiterating that it will not alter the nature of The Discovery Channel's service in any manner. It emphasized that all of the programming broadcast by the service will reflect themes of nature and the environment, science and technology, adventure and people and places.

9.

The Commission agrees with the licensee that the proposed amendments will not significantly change The Discovery Channel's existing nature of service and has, accordingly, added categories 1 and 11 to the condition set out in the appendix. The Commission reminds the licensee that, during the new licence term, it must continue to offer programming that complies with the description of the nature of service now defined in its condition of licence.

Cultural diversity

10.

The Commission expects The Discovery Channel and all other specialty and pay television licensees to contribute to a broadcasting system that accurately reflects the presence in Canada of cultural and racial minorities and Aboriginal peoples. The Commission further expects licensees to ensure that their on-screen portrayal of all such groups is accurate, fair and free of stereotypes. These expectations are fully in keeping with section 3(1)(d)(iii) of the Broadcasting Act, which states that the Canadian broadcasting system should, "through its programming and the employment opportunities arising out of its operations, serve the needs and interests, and reflect the circumstances and aspirations, of Canadian men, women and children, including equal rights, the linguistic duality and multicultural and multiracial nature of Canadian society and the special place of Aboriginal peoples within that society."

11.

In Public Notice CRTC 2001-88, Representation of cultural diversity on television - Creation of an industry/community task force, the Commission called upon the Canadian Association of Broadcasters to develop an action plan for a joint industry/community task force. The role of this task force is to sponsor research, identify "best practices", and help define the issues and present practical solutions to ensure that the Canadian broadcasting system reflects all Canadians. In its notice, the Commission emphasized the importance of having the participation of all sectors of the broadcasting industry, including specialty services.

12.

The Discovery Channel is indirectly controlled by CTV Inc. In Decision CRTC 2001-457 dated 2 August 2001, which renewed the licences for the television stations controlled by CTV, the Commission indicated that it expects CTV to participate in the work of the task force and to support it financially. The Commission expects CTV to represent its specialty as well as its conventional interests in this regard.

13.

The Commission notes that CTV has included its specialty services in its corporate plan on cultural diversity submitted to the Commission on 2 November 2001 in accordance with Decision CRTC 2001-457.

On-air presence

14.

The Commission reminds the licensee that the expectations set out above with respect to cultural diversity are over and above the longstanding and more general expectations concerning employment equity in on-air presence. Specifically, the Commission expects the licensee to ensure that the on-air presence of members of the four designated groups (women, Aboriginal persons, disabled persons and members of visible minorities) is reflective of Canadian society, and that members of these groups are presented fairly and accurately.

Closed captioning

15.

The Commission is committed to improving service to television viewers who are deaf or hearing impaired. Over the period since the Commission announced its policy on closed captioning in Public Notice CRTC 1995-48, it has consistently encouraged broadcasters to increase the amount of captioned programming they provide. The Commission now requires the licensees of conventional television, specialty and pay television undertakings to achieve a minimum level of captioned programming appropriate to the nature of the service that each provides. Generally, the specified minimum requirement is 90% of all programming.

16.

In the case of this service, the licensee indicated that it was prepared to provide captions for 90% of all of its programming beginning in year five.

17.

Consistent with this commitment and with the Commission's general approach, it expects the licensee to gradually increase the level of captioning it provides and requires the licensee, by condition of licence, to achieve a minimum captioning level of 90% for all programming aired during the broadcast day, beginning not later than 1 September 2006 and continuing throughout the remainder of the licence term.

18.

The 90% obligation is based on the recognition that requiring 100% captioning at all times may not be reasonable or appropriate. Thus, the obligation is designed to provide some flexibility to cover unforeseen circumstances (such as late delivery of captions, technical malfunctions, or the lack of availability of captions for programs acquired outside North America), or programming where captioning may not be feasible, such as third language programming.

19.

The Commission expects the licensee to focus on improving the quality, reliability and accuracy of its closed captioning, and to work with representatives of the deaf and hard of hearing community to ensure that captioning continues to meet their needs.

Service to the visually impaired

20.

In decisions issued last December, the Commission encouraged the licensees of new Category 1 specialty services, over their licence terms, to provide increasing amounts of programming accompanied by audio or video description. More recently, in decisions issued in the summer of this year renewing the licences for the television stations owned by CanWest Global and CTV, the Commission imposed conditions of licence regarding the provision of increasing amounts of such programming.

21.

"Audio description" and "video description" or "described video" are methods of improving the service that television broadcasters provide to people who are visually impaired. Audio description involves the provision of basic voice-overs of textual or graphic information displayed on the screen. A broadcaster providing audio description will, for example, not simply display sports scores on the screen, but also read them aloud so that people who are visually impaired can receive the information.

22.

Video description, or described video as it is also known, consists of narrative descriptions of a program's key visual elements so that people who are visually impaired are able to form a mental picture of what is occurring on the screen. These descriptions can be provided on the Secondary Audio Programming (SAP) channel. Not all broadcasters are currently equipped to deliver a SAP signal. Thus, the introduction of described video via the SAP channel could require significant capital expenditures to upgrade a licensee's transmission facilities.

23.

The Commission notes the increasing amount of described programming available for acquisition, particularly from U.S. sources. It notes as well the encouragement given to the operators of the new Category 1 specialty services and the requirements it has placed on the television stations operated by CTV, Global and TVA concerning the provision of such programming. In correspondence with The Discovery Channel, the Commission requested the licensee's views on implementing audio description, video description or described video. The Commission considers it reasonable to expect the operators of the pay and specialty services whose licences are being renewed at this time to take steps to respond to the needs of viewers who are visually impaired.

24.

Accordingly, the Commission expects the licensee to:

· provide audio description (defined as the provision of basic voice-overs of textual or graphic information displayed on screen) wherever appropriate;

· undertake the necessary upgrades to permit the broadcast of described programming (for example, via the SAP channel);

· acquire and broadcast the described versions of a program wherever possible; and

· take the necessary steps to ensure that its customer service responds to the needs of visually impaired viewers.

25.

In addition, and consistent with the approach adopted for the new Category 1 services, the Commission encourages the licensee to provide, at a minimum, one hour per month of described programming in the period between 1 December 2001 and 31 August 2002, and to increase this monthly minimum by at least one hour in each subsequent broadcast year of the new licence term.

Interventions

26.

The Commission acknowledges all of the interventions submitted with regard to this application and has noted the licensee's response to the concerns expressed in some submissions.

Related CRTC documents

Secretary General

Appendix to Decision CRTC 2001-733

Conditions of licence for The Discovery Channel

(i) from the minimum required expenditure for the next year of the licence term, an amount not exceeding the amount of the previous year's overexpenditure; and

(ii) from the minimum required expenditure for any subsequent year of the licence term, an amount not exceeding the difference between the overexpenditure and any amount deducted under paragraph (i) above.

For the purpose of these conditions, the terms "broadcast day", "broadcast month", "broadcast year," "clock hour" and "evening broadcast period" shall have the same meanings as those set out in the Television Broadcasting Regulations, 1987; and "paid national advertising" shall mean advertising that is purchased at a national rate and receives national distribution on the service.