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ARCHIVED - Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2004-378

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Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2004-378

  Ottawa, 27 August 2004
  Standard Radio Inc.
Terrace and Prince Rupert, British Columbia
  Application 2003-1567-3
Public Hearing in the National Capital Region
7 June 2004
 

CFTK-TV Terrace and its transmitter - Licence renewal

  The Commission renews the broadcasting licence for the television programming undertaking CFTK-TV Terrace and its transmitter CFTK-TV-1 Prince Rupert, from 1 September 2004 to 31 August 2011.
 

The application

1.

The Commission received an application by Standard Radio Inc. (Standard) to renew the broadcasting licence of the television programming undertaking CFTK-TV Terrace and its transmitter, CFTK-TV-1 Prince Rupert. CFTK-TV Terrace is an affiliate of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's (CBC) English-language television network.

2.

The Commission received two interventions in support of this application.
 

Local reflection

3.

In its application, Standard made a commitment to broadcast a weekly average of 3 hours and 31 minutes of original programming that would be reflective of the community. This commitment is unchanged from the commitment made in respect of the current licence term. The licensee indicated that its local reflection programming would consist entirely of news. The Commission expects the licensee to abide by its commitment with regard to the amount of original programming that would be reflective of the community.
 

Priority programming

4.

The licensee made a commitment to broadcast a minimum of 8 hours of priority programming in each broadcast week, averaged over the broadcast year. This programming will originate with the CBC.
 

Service to persons who are deaf or whose hearing is impaired

5.

In Licence renewal of CFTK-TV Terrace and its transmitter, Decision CRTC 95-113, 24 March 1995 (Decision 95-113), the Commission encouraged the licensee to caption all local news programming and at least 90% of all programming during the broadcast day, by 31 August 2002. In Standard acquires the assets of radio stations, radio networks and television stations in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia, Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2002-91, 19 April 2002, the Commission reiterated the encouragements set out in Decision 95-113. The Commission's analysis of CFTK-TV's logs for the 2002-2003 broadcast year revealed that, while 95% of overall programming broadcast on CFTK-TV had been captioned, Standard had captioned only 7% of all local news programming.

6.

The Commission notes that the licensee made no commitment in its licence renewal application to caption all local news programming broadcast on CFTK-TV during the new licence term, despite the fact that nine years have elapsed since the station was encouraged to reach the targets noted above. The Commission considers that the licensee must improve its performance in this area beginning early in the new licence term.

7.

Additionally, in the appendix to this decision, the Commission has imposed a condition of licence requiring the licensee to provide closed captioning for all news programs and not less than 90% of all programs aired during the broadcast day, beginning not later than 1 September 2009.
 

Service to persons who are blind or whose vision is impaired

8.

Section 3(1)(p) of the Broadcasting Act (the Act) states that, as part of the broadcasting policy for Canada, "programming accessible by disabled persons should be provided within the Canadian broadcasting system as resources become available for the purpose." Accordingly, the Commission expects all broadcasters to work toward improving the accessibility of their programming for persons who are blind or whose vision is impaired.

9.

Greater programming accessibility can be achieved through the provision of audio description1 and/or of video description.2 All broadcasters can, and should, provide audio description. The licensee indicated that CFTK-TV will attempt to offer local basic voice over on locally displayed textual and graphic information during the next licence term. Accordingly, the Commission expects the licensee to provide audio description wherever appropriate.

10.

In its last licence renewal, the CBC was encouraged to provide programming with video description. Therefore, over the course of the upcoming CFTK-TV licence term, such programming is likely to be included in the network programming that CFTK-TV broadcasts. Accordingly, the Commission expects the licensee to include the capability to use the SAP channel as part of the station's normal technical upgrades, so that video description associated with programs provided by the CBC may be received by its audience. At the next licence renewal, the licensee will be asked to make specific hourly commitments for described video.
 

Reflection of Canada's diversity

11.

All broadcasting licensees have a responsibility to contribute to the reflection and portrayal of Canada's cultural diversity in furtherance of the policy objectives contained in section 3(1)(d) of the Act. Specifically, broadcasters share responsibility for assisting in the development of a broadcasting system that accurately reflects Canada's ethno-cultural minorities and Aboriginal peoples. Broadcasters must therefore ensure that the portrayal of such groups, through their presence and participation on-screen, is accurate, fair and non-stereotypical.

12.

The Commission encourages Standard to develop a corporate diversity plan, in order to allow the licensee to assess its progress towards meeting the foregoing objectives.

13.

As noted in Introduction to Broadcasting Decisions CRTC 2004-6 to 2004-27 renewing the licences of 22 specialty services,Broadcasting Public Notice CRTC 2004-2, 21 January 2004, the Commission considers that the presence, portrayal and participation of persons with disabilities is also an important matter. The Commission notes that the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) has developed a plan to examine issues surrounding the presence, portrayal and participation of persons with disabilities in television programming. The Commission considers that initiatives designed to make programming more reflective and inclusive of Canada's ethno-cultural diversity can, in many cases, be extended or adapted to also ensure fair, balanced and inclusive reflection and representation of persons with disabilities. Accordingly, the Commission expects the licensee to include persons with disabilities in its corporate planning for cultural diversity.
 

Employment equity and on-air presence

14.

Because this licensee is subject to the Employment Equity Act and files reports with the Department of Human Resources and Skills Development, its employment equity practices are not examined by the Commission.

15.

With respect to on-air presence, the Commission expects the licensee to ensure that its programming is reflective of Canadian society and that members of the four designated groups (women, Aboriginal persons, persons with disabilities and members of visible minorities) are presented fairly and accurately.
 

Conclusion

16.

The Commission is generally satisfied that, during the current licence term, the licensee has adhered to the requirements of the Television Broadcasting Regulations, 1987, and has complied with its conditions of licence and the Commission's expectations, specifically those regarding Canadian programming. Concerns with respect to closed captioning of local news have been addressed earlier in this decision.

17.

On the basis of its review of this licence renewal application, the Commission renews the broadcasting licence for CFTK-TV, Terrace and its transmitter CFTK-TV-1 Prince Rupert, from 1 September 2004 to 31 August 2011. The licence will be subject to the conditions specified therein, and to the conditions set out in the appendix to this decision.

18.

The Commission reminds the licensee that it must fulfil all of the benefits commitments set out in Standard acquires the assets of radio stations, radio networks and television stations in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia, Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2002-91, 19 April 2002, in which the Commission approved the application by Standard Radio Inc. to acquire the assets of CFTK-TV and its transmitter from Telemedia Radio (West) Inc.
  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 
 

Appendix to Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2004-378

 

Conditions of licence

 

1. The licensee shall operate this broadcasting undertaking as an affiliate of the English-language television network operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

 

2. The licensee shall provide closed captioning for all news programs and not less than 90% of all programs aired during the broadcast day, beginning not later than 1 September 2009.

  Footnotes:

[1] Audio description consists of basic voice-over recitations or descriptions of the text or graphic information that is displayed on the screen. Although a measure of sensitivity and creativity on the part of a broadcaster is necessary to ensure the quality and effectiveness of audio description, no special equipment is required.

[2] Video description, or described video, takes the form of a narrative description of a program's key visual elements which permits the audience to create a mental image of what is on the screen. It is generally provided using the secondary audio program (SAP) channel. 

Date Modified: 2004-08-27

Date modified: