ARCHIVED - Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2013-91
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Route reference: 2012-475
Ottawa, 22 February 2013
Tony Della Penta, on behalf of a corporation to be incorporated
Across Canada
Application 2012-0761-3, received 20 June 2012
Public hearing in the National Capital Region
7 November 2012
The Italian Food and Cooking Channel – Specialty Category B service
The Commission approves an application for a broadcasting licence to operate a new specialty Category B service.
The Commission also approves, with a modification, the applicant’s request relating to the broadcast of local advertising.
The application
1. Tony Della Penta, on behalf of a corporation to be incorporated (the applicant), filed an application for a broadcasting licence to operate The Italian Food and Cooking Channel, a national, niche third-language ethnic specialty Category B service that would provide programming targeting Canadians with origins in Italy or who are of Italian descent and who are from 25 to 54 years of age and older. The service would offer instructional programming that is both entertaining and informative, all while addressing the importance of food and nutrition. It would showcase authentic Italian recipes from Northern Italy to the island of Sicily and would include programming on cooking instruction, preparation and presentation, the process of selecting foods and ingredients, the art of entertaining and food culture. It would also feature recipes from around the world. The Commission received interventions in support of this application.
2. The applicant will be wholly owned and controlled by Tony Della Penta.
3. The applicant proposed to draw programming 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: 2(b), 5(b), 10, 11(a), 11(b), 12, 13 and 14.
4. To ensure that the proposed service would not be directly competitive with existing Category A services, the applicant indicated that no more than 10% of the programming broadcast during the broadcast month would be drawn from program category 2(b).
5. Further, the applicant proposed to broadcast at least 90% of the service’s programming during the broadcast week in the Italian language. In addition, it is seeking authorization to offer both a standard and a high definition version of the proposed service. Finally, the applicant requested that it be authorized to devote up to 10 of the 12 minutes of advertising material permitted during each clock hour to local advertising.[1]
Commission’s analysis and decisions
6. After examining the public record for this application in light of applicable regulations and policies, the Commission considers that the issue it must address relates to the applicant’s request regarding the broadcast of local advertising.
7. In Broadcasting Public Notice 2005-104, the Commission noted that it had generally approved applications by the licensees of ethnic specialty services to broadcast up to six minutes per hour of local advertising. In that public notice, the Commission determined that it would generally continue to permit new services to broadcast up to six minutes per hour of local advertising unless an intervener made a compelling case to the contrary.
8. In its application, the applicant indicated that authorization to broadcast up to ten minutes of local advertising per clock hour would ensure the service’s ability to fulfill its regulatory obligations and help it become profitable in the first three years of operation.
9. The Commission notes that the applicant’s proposal to broadcast up to ten minutes per clock hour of local advertising would represent a substantial departure from Commission policy regarding the broadcast of such advertising. Further, the applicant did not provide sufficient rationale or evidence to justify why such a departure would be warranted in this case. Accordingly, the Commission considers that it would be appropriate to permit the proposed service to broadcast up to six minutes of local advertising per clock hour, in accordance with Broadcasting Public Notice 2005-104.
Conclusion
10. The Commission is satisfied that the application complies with all applicable policies, terms and conditions, including those set out in Public Notice 2000-6, Broadcasting Public Notices 2005-104 and 2008-100 and Broadcasting Regulatory Policies 2010-786 and 2010-786-1. Furthermore, given that the service will offer at least 90% of its programming during the broadcast week in Italian, the Commission is satisfied that the service falls under the definition of a third-language service set out in the Broadcasting Distribution Regulations.
11. Accordingly, the Commission approves the application by Tony Della Penta, on behalf of a corporation to be incorporated, for a broadcasting licence to operate the national, niche third-language ethnic specialty Category B service The Italian Food and Cooking Channel. The Commission also approves, with a modification, the applicant’s request regarding the broadcast of local advertising. Specifically, the Commission authorizes the service to broadcast up to six minutes per hour of local advertising. The terms and conditions of licence are set out in the appendix to this decision.
12. The Commission notes that The Italian Food and Cooking Channel will devote at least 90% of its program schedule to programming in Italian. In accordance with Broadcasting Public Notice 2005-104, the remainder of the program schedule (up to 10%) may be in one or both official languages. The Commission encourages the applicant to ensure that all such programming serves to promote Canada’s linguistic duality.
Reminder
13. The Commission reminds the applicant that the distribution of this service is subject to the requirements set out in the Broadcasting Distribution Regulations.
Secretary General
Related documents
- Standard conditions of licence, expectations and encouragements for Category B pay and specialty services – Corrected Appendices 1 and 2, Broadcasting Regulatory Policy CRTC 2010-786-1, 18 July 2011
- Standard conditions of licence, expectations and encouragements for Category B pay and specialty services, Broadcasting Regulatory Policy CRTC 2010-786, 25 October 2010
- Regulatory frameworks for broadcasting distribution undertakings and discretionary programming services – Regulatory policy, Broadcasting Public Notice CRTC 2008-100, 30 October 2008
- Revised approach for the consideration of broadcasting licence applications proposing new third-language ethnic Category 2 pay and specialty services, Broadcasting Public Notice CRTC 2005-104, 23 November 2005
- 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 2013-91
Terms, conditions of licence, expectations and encouragements for the specialty Category B service The Italian Food and Cooking Channel
Terms
A licence will be issued once the applicant has satisfied the Commission with supporting documentation that the following requirements have been met:
- an eligible Canadian corporation has been incorporated in accordance with the application in all material respects;
- the applicant has entered into a distribution agreement with at least one licensed distributor; and
- the applicant has informed the Commission in writing that it is prepared to commence operations and has provided the Commission with a launch date for the service. The undertaking must be operational at the earliest possible date and in any event no later than 48 months from the date of this decision.
The licence will expire 31 August 2019.
Conditions of licence
1. The licensee shall adhere to the conditions set out in Appendix 1 to Standard conditions of licence, expectations and encouragements for Category B pay and specialty services – Corrected Appendices 1 and 2, Broadcasting Regulatory Policy CRTC 2010-786-1, 18 July 2011, except for condition 7d), which will not apply, and condition 7a), which is replaced by the following:
Except as otherwise provided in subparagraphs b) and c), the licensee shall not broadcast more than 12 minutes of advertising material during each clock hour, no more than 6 minutes of which may consist of local advertising.
For the purposes of this condition of licence, “local advertising” is advertising that does not fall within the definitions of national and regional advertising, i.e. advertising to persons who provide goods or services in more than one market or province.
2. In regard to the nature of service:
(a) The licensee shall provide a national, niche third-language ethnic specialty Category B service that will offer programming targeting Canadians with origins in Italy or who are of Italian descent and who are from 25 to 54 years of age and older. The service will offer instructional programming that is both entertaining and informative, all while addressing the importance of food and nutrition. It will showcase authentic Italian recipes from Northern Italy to the island of Sicily and include programming on cooking instruction, preparation and presentation, the process of selecting foods and ingredients, the art of entertaining and food culture. It will also feature recipes from around the world.
(b) 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:
2 (b) Long-form documentary
5 (b) Informal education/Recreation and leisure
10 Game shows
11 (a) General entertainment and human interest
(b) Reality television
12 Interstitials
13 Public service announcements
14 Infomercials, promotional and corporate videos
(c) The licensee shall not devote more than 10% of the programming broadcast during the broadcast month to programs drawn from program category 2(b).
(d) The licensee shall broadcast at least 90% of all programming during the broadcast week in the Italian language.
3. The service approved hereby is designated as a Category B service.
For the purposes of the conditions of this licence, “broadcast day” refers to the 24-hour period beginning each day at 6 a.m. or any other period approved by the Commission.
Expectations
The standard expectations applicable to this licensee are set out in Appendix 1 to Standard conditions of licence, expectations and encouragements for Category B pay and specialty services – Corrected Appendices 1 and 2, Broadcasting Regulatory Policy CRTC 2010-786-1, 18 July 2011, as amended from time to time.
Encouragements
The standard encouragements applicable to this licensee are set out in Appendix 1 to Standard conditions of licence, expectations and encouragements for Category B pay and specialty services – Corrected Appendices 1 and 2, Broadcasting Regulatory Policy CRTC 2010-786-1, 18 July 2011, as amended from time to time.
The Commission encourages the licensee to ensure that the portion of the service’s program schedule that is broadcast in the English and/or French languages serves to promote Canada’s linguistic duality.
[1] “Local advertising” is advertising that does not fall within the definition of national or regional advertising, i.e. advertising to persons who provide goods or services in more than one market or province.
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