Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2016-24

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Reference: Part 1 application posted on 10 September 2015

Ottawa, 25 January 2016

Shaw Television G.P. Inc. (the general partner) and Shaw Media Global Inc. (the limited partner), carrying on business as Shaw Television Limited Partnership
Across Canada

Application 2015-1057-9

MovieTime – Licence amendments

1. The Commission approves an application by Shaw Television G.P. Inc. (the general partner) and Shaw Media Global Inc. (the limited partner), carrying on business as Shaw Television Limited Partnership (Shaw), to amend the broadcasting licence for the national, English-language specialty Category B service MovieTime by deleting the service’s current nature of service conditions of licence and by adding conditions of licence allowing the service to broadcast programming drawn from all program categories and limiting the amount of live professional sports programming that it may broadcast. The Commission did not receive any interventions in regard to this application.
2. In Broadcasting Regulatory Policy 2015-86, the Commission stated that it would eliminate its genre exclusivity policy, which limited programming services to offering certain types of programming (that is, a “nature of service”) and precluded other services from offering that programming. Consequently, it no longer enforces conditions of licence relating to nature of service, with certain exceptions, such as the condition of licence relating to the broadcast of live professional sports programming by services other than mainstream sports services. In regard to the present case, the Commission finds that the amendments to MovieTime’s nature of service conditions of licence, as proposed by the licensee, are consistent with Broadcasting Regulatory Policy 2015-86.
3. Accordingly, the Commission deletes the following conditions of licence for MovieTime:^{Footnote 1}

   2. (a) The licensee shall provide a national English-language specialty Category B service devoted to action and adventure programming. Its program schedule will run the gamut from contemporary “popcorn” action and adventure films and series, to classical westerns, rodeo and western horse shows.
   (b) The programming must be drawn exclusively from the following categories set out in item 6 of Schedule I to the Specialty Services Regulations, 1990, as amended from time to time:

   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, improvisation, unscripted works, stand-up comedy
   (g) Other drama
   

   8  (a) Music and dance other than music video programs or clips
   11 (a) General entertainment and human interest
   

   (b) Reality television

   12 Interstitials
   13 Public service announcements
   14 Infomercials, promotional and corporate video
4. The Commission adds the following conditions of licence:

   The licensee may draw programming from all of the program categories set out in Item 6 of Schedule 1 to the Specialty Services Regulations, 1990, as amended from time to time.
   The licensee shall devote not more than 10% of the programming broadcast during the broadcast month to live professional sports programming, which falls under program category 6(a) Professional sports.

5. As set out in Broadcasting Regulatory Policy 2015-86, licensees must provide the Commission with a name and a brief description of the service, to be listed on the Commission’s website, and update this information any time it changes. This will allow both Canadians and the Commission to continue having basic information about the discretionary services in operation. Pursuant to that requirement, Shaw provided the following description for MovieTime:

   The licensee shall provide a national English-language discretionary service primarily focused on movies.

Secretary General

Related documents

• Let’s Talk TV: The way forward – Creating compelling and diverse Canadian programming, Broadcasting Regulatory Policy CRTC 2015-86, 12 March 2015
• Shaw Media Inc. – Group-based licence renewals, Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2011-445, 27 July 2011

*This decision is to be appended to the licence.

Date modified:

2016-01-25