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ARCHIVED - Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2008-199

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Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2008-199

  Ottawa, 22 August 2008
  CTV Television Inc.
 Across Canada
  Application 2008-0757-1, received 2 June 2008
Broadcasting Public Notice CRTC 2008-55
20 June 2008
 

CTV Newsnet - Licence amendment

1.

The Commission approves the application by CTV Television Inc. to amend the broadcasting licence for the national, English-language specialty television programming undertaking known as CTV Newsnet to allow the service to be made available for distribution in high definition (HD) format.

2.

The Commission received a comment on this application questioning the value of offering an HD version of this service, especially in light of concerns about channel capacity on broadcasting distribution undertakings (BDUs). However, given that the carriage of CTV Newsnet is at the discretion of BDUs, the Commission is satisfied that approval of this application will not have an undue impact on their channel capacity.

3.

In Broadcasting Public Notices 2003-61 and 2006-74, the Commission stated that it would authorize the licensee of a Canadian pay or specialty service to make available an upgraded version of its service by means of an amendment to the licence of the existing service. This authority would be in effect for a term of three years.

4.

The Commission notes, however, that the current licence for the undertaking expires 31 August 2010.

5.

The Commission further stated in Broadcasting Public Notice 2006-74:
 

Those services that are authorized to offer HD programming by way of licence amendment will remain subject to the requirement initially imposed in Public Notice 2003-61 that the programming on the analog or SD [standard definition] service and on the upgraded service be comparable, that is, not less than 95% of the video and audio components must be the same. Further, the Commission will require that all of the programming making up the 5% allowance be provided in HD.

6.

Accordingly, by condition of licence, the licensee is authorized to make available for distribution, until the end of its current licence term, a version of CTV Newsnet in HD format, provided that not less than 95% of the video and audio components of the upgraded and standard definition versions of the service are the same, exclusive of commercial messages and of any part of the service carried on a subsidiary signal. Further, all of the programming making up the 5% allowance shall be provided in HD.
  Secretary General
 

Related documents

 
  • Regulatory framework for the licensing and distribution of high definition pay and specialty services, Broadcasting Public Notice CRTC 2006-74, 15 June 2006
 
  • The regulatory framework for the distribution of digital television signals, Broadcasting Public Notice CRTC 2003-61, 11 November 2003
  This decision is to be appended to the licence. It is available in alternative format upon request, and may also be examined in PDF format or in HTML at the following Internet site: www.crtc.gc.ca.

Date Modified: 2008-08-22

Date modified: