ARCHIVED - Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2010-774
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Route reference: 2010-295
Ottawa, 20 October 2010
High Fidelity HDTV Inc., on behalf of a corporation to be incorporated
Across Canada
Application 2009-1603-3, received 26 November 2009
Public Hearing in the National Capital Region
19 July 2010
The Wedding Channel – Category 2 specialty service
The Commission approves an application for a broadcasting licence to operate a new Category 2 specialty service.
The application
1. High Fidelity HDTV Inc. (High Fidelity), on behalf of a corporation to be incorporated, filed an application for a broadcasting licence to operate The Wedding Channel, a national, English-language Category 2 specialty programming undertaking devoted to marriage, weddings, wedding themes and wedding-related programming. The service would offer feature films, documentaries, shorts, series and other programs that focus on providing unique insights to viewers concerning marriage and wedding themes.
2. The corporation to be incorporated will be wholly owned and controlled by High Fidelity, which is controlled by Mr. John S. Panikkar, Mr. Kenneth B. Murphy, Mr. David T. Patterson, Mr. Paul de Haas, Mr. Gary Townsend, C. A. Bancorp. Inc. and Sentry Select Total Strategy Fund pursuant to the terms of an Amended and Restated Unanimous Shareholders’ Agreement dated 13 December 2007.
3. The applicant proposed to draw programming for the proposed service from the following program categories set out in Item 6 of Schedule I to the Specialty Services Regulations, 1990, as amended from time to time: 1, 2(a), 2(b), 3, 4, 5(b), 7(a), 7(b), 7(c), 7(d), 7(e), 7(f), 7(g), 10, 11, 12 and 14.
4. In regard to the programming to be broadcast, the applicant proposed to accept the following as conditions of licence for the proposed service:
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No more than 30% of all programming broadcast in each broadcast week shall be devoted to programs drawn from category 7.
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All programming drawn from category 7 shall have a theme or subject related exclusively to weddings and marriage.
5. The Commission received an intervention in opposition to this application from an individual. After examining the intervention, the Commission determines that it does not raise any substantive issues relating to the present application. The intervention can be found on the Commission’s website at www.crtc.gc.ca under “Public Proceedings.”
Commission’s determination
6. The Commission is satisfied that the application complies with the frameworks set out in Public Notice 2000-6 and Broadcasting Public Notice 2008-100, with the approaches set out in Broadcasting Public Notices 2003-61 and 2006-74, and with all applicable terms and conditions set out in Public Notice 2000-171-1. Accordingly, the Commission approves the application by High Fidelity HDTV Inc., on behalf of a corporation to be incorporated, for a broadcasting licence to operate the national, English-language Category 2 specialty programming undertaking, The Wedding Channel. The terms and conditions of licence are set out in the appendix to this decision.
Reminder
7. The Commission reminds the applicant that the distribution of this service is subject to the applicable distribution rules set out in Broadcasting Public Notice 2008-100.
Secretary General
Related documents
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Regulatory frameworks for broadcasting distribution undertakings and discretionary programming services – Regulatory policy, Broadcasting Public Notice CRTC 2008-100, 30 October 2008
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Regulatory framework for the licensing and distribution of high definition pay and specialty services, Broadcasting Public Notice CRTC 2006-74, 15 June 2006
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The regulatory framework for the distribution of digital television signals, Broadcasting Public Notice CRTC 2003-61, 11 November 2003
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Introductory statement – Licensing of new digital pay and specialty services – Corrected Appendix 2, Public Notice CRTC 2000-171-1, 6 March 2001
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Licensing framework policy for new digital pay and specialty services, Public Notice CRTC 2000-6, 13 January 2000
* This decision is to be appended to the licence.
Appendix to Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2010-774
Terms and conditions of licence for the Category 2 specialty programming undertaking The Wedding Channel
Terms
A licence will be issued once the applicant has satisfied the Commission, with supporting documentation, that the following requirements have been met:
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an eligible Canadian corporation has been incorporated in accordance with the application in all material respects;
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the applicant has entered into a distribution agreement with at least one licensed distributor; and
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the applicant has informed the Commission in writing that it is prepared to commence operations. The undertaking must be operational at the earliest possible date and in any event no later than 36 months from the date of this decision, unless a request for an extension of time is approved by the Commission before 20 October 2013. In order to ensure that such a request is processed in a timely manner, it should be submitted at least 60 days before that date.
The licence will expire 31 August 2017.
Conditions of licence
1. The licence will be subject to the conditions set out in Introductory statement – Licensing of new digital pay and specialty services – Corrected Appendix 2, Public Notice CRTC 2000-171-1, 6 March 2001.
2. The licence will be subject to the conditions set out in Implementation of the Accessibility Policy with respect to new Category 2 pay and specialty services, Broadcasting Regulatory Policy CRTC 2010-355, 8 June 2010.
3. The licensee shall provide a national, English-language Category 2 specialty service devoted to marriage, weddings, wedding themes and wedding-related programming. The service will offer feature films, documentaries, shorts, series and other programs that focus on providing unique insights to viewers concerning marriage and wedding themes.
4. The programming shall be drawn exclusively from the following program categories set out in Item 6 of Schedule I to the Specialty Services Regulations, 1990, as amended from time to time:
1 News
2 (a) Analysis and interpretation
(b) Long-form documentary
3 Reporting and actualities
4 Religion
5 (b) Informal education/Recreation and leisure
7 Drama and comedy
(a) Ongoing drama series
(b) Ongoing comedy series (sitcoms)
(c) Specials, mini-series or made-for-TV feature films
(d) Theatrical feature films aired on TV
(e) Animated television programs and films
(f) Programs of comedy sketches, improvisations, unscripted works, stand-up comedy
(g) Other drama
10 Game shows
11 General entertainment and human interest
12 Interstitials
14 Infomercials, promotional and corporate videos
5. No more than 30% of all programming broadcast in each broadcast week shall be devoted to programming drawn from program category 7.
6. All programming drawn from program category 7 shall have a theme or subject related exclusively to weddings and marriage.
7. In order to ensure that the licensee complies at all times with the Direction to the CRTC (Ineligibility of non-Canadians), P.C. 1997-486, 8 April 1997, as amended by P.C. 1998-1268, 15 July 1998, the licensee shall file, for the Commission’s prior review, a copy of any programming supply agreement and/or licence trademark agreement it intends to enter into with a non-Canadian party.
8. Where the licensee broadcasts religious programming as defined in Religious Broadcasting Policy, Public Notice CRTC 1993-78, 3 June 1993, the licensee shall adhere to the guidelines set out in sections III.B.2.a) and IV of that public notice with respect to the provision of balance and ethics in religious programming, as amended from time to time.
9. The licensee is authorized to make available for distribution a version of its service in high definition (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.
For the purposes of the conditions of this licence, including condition of licence 1, broadcast day refers to the 24-hour period beginning each day at 6 a.m., or any other period approved by the Commission.
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