ARCHIVED - Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2013-69
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Route reference: Part 1 application posted on 12 September 2012
Ottawa, 20 February 2013
Native Communication Inc.
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Application 2012-1125-0
CIUR-FM Winnipeg – Amendment to a condition of licence
The Commission denies an application by Native Communication Inc. to reduce the minimum level of Canadian popular musical selections broadcast by the English- and Aboriginal-language Native Type B radio station CIUR-FM Winnipeg from 40% to 35%.
The application
1. The Commission received an application by Native Communication Inc. (NCI) to reduce the minimum level of Canadian musical selections in content category 2 (Popular Music) broadcast by the English- and Aboriginal-language Native Type B radio programming undertaking CIUR-FM Winnipeg during each broadcast week from 40% to 35%.
2. To do this, the applicant proposed to amend condition of licence 1,1 which currently reads as follows:
Effective 1 September of the third year of operation, the licensee shall devote, in each broadcast week, a minimum of 40% of its musical selections from content category 2 (Popular Music) to Canadian selections broadcast in their entirety.
For the purposes of this condition, the terms “broadcast week,” “Canadian selection,” “content category” and “musical selection” shall have the same meaning as that set out in the Radio Regulations, 1986.
3. NCI submitted that there are not enough Canadian urban musical selections to support a 40% level of Canadian music so the station has been rotating Canadian selections to a level where listeners tire of them. NCI further noted that the Canadian urban music scene is small compared to that of other countries including the United States. It submitted that in many instances Canadian urban music is not intended for radio but rather for personal and club use, and that the lyrics in hip-hop music often include inappropriate language. As a result, many urban selections are not suitable for airplay.
4. The Commission did not receive any interventions in connection with this application.
Commission’s analysis and decisions
5. NCI received the licence for CIUR-FM as part of a competitive process in which the Commission considered four applications for new radio stations to serve Winnipeg. In Broadcasting Decision 2008-195, the Commission approved applications by NCI and Evanov Communications Inc., on behalf of a corporation to be incorporated, while denying two other applications.
6. In paragraph 19 of Broadcasting Decision 2008-195, the Commission addressed NCI’s Canadian music commitment as follows:
Native radio stations are required to devote a minimum of 35% of all weekly musical selections from category 2 (Popular Music) to Canadian selections. NCI made a commitment to exceed this requirement indicating that, beginning in the station’s third year of operation, 40% of all category 2 musical selections aired in the broadcast week will be Canadian. A condition of licence to that effect is set out in Appendix 2 to this decision. NCI also stated that approximately 50% of Canadian content category 2 music will be performed by Aboriginal talent and approximately 5% will be in an Aboriginal language.
7. The commitment to broadcast a 40% minimum level of Canadian music in content category 2 was an important consideration in the Commission’s decision to award a licence to NCI. The Commission considers that it is inappropriate to reduce this important commitment, especially given that the station is still in its first term of licence. As well, given that CIUR-FM’s third year of operation started on 1 September 2011 and the application was posted in September 2012, the Commission considers that NCI did not allow sufficient time to assess the impact of a 40% level of Canadian music before applying for a reduction. In this regard, the Commission notes that NCI does not have a condition of licence that limits its musical offering and therefore has the flexibility to play the required minimum level of Canadian musical selections.
8. In light of all of the above, the Commission denies the application by Native Communication Inc. to reduce the minimum level of Canadian musical selections in content category 2 broadcast by the English- and Aboriginal-language Native Type B radio programming undertaking CIUR-FM Winnipeg during each broadcast week from 40% to 35%.
Secretary General
Related document
- Licensing of new radio stations to serve Winnipeg, Manitoba, Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2008-195, 21 August 2008
- Date modified: