Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2016-63

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Reference: Part 1 application posted on 28 October 2015

Ottawa, 19 February 2016

Bell Media Radio (Toronto) Inc. and 4382072 Canada Inc., partners in a general partnership carrying on business as Bell Media Radio G.P.
Terrace and Prince Rupert, British Columbia

Application 2015-1227-8

CFTK-TV Terrace and CFTK-TV-1 Prince Rupert – Disaffiliation from the CBC English-language television network

The Commission approves an application to disaffiliate the English-language conventional television station CFTK-TV Terrace and its transmitter CFTK-TV-1 Prince Rupert from the English-language television network operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).

The licensee and the CBC have agreed to terminate the current affiliation agreement. CBC network-supplied programming will continue to be available through cable and direct-to-home satellite subscriptions. Further, the affected communities and surrounding areas will continue to receive local news, sports, and current events programming along with programming that is broadcast on the licensee’s CTV Two stations, which is currently unavailable in these markets.

Application

1. Bell Media Inc. (Bell), on behalf of Bell Media Radio (Toronto) Inc. and 4382072 Canada Inc., partners in a general partnership carrying on business as Bell Media Radio G.P., filed an application to amend the broadcasting licence for the English-language conventional television station CFTK-TV Terrace and its transmitter CFTK-TV-1 Prince Rupert. Specifically, it requested the deletion of condition of licence 3 set out in Appendix 2 to Broadcasting Decision 2012-244, which reads as follows:

   The licensee shall operate this broadcasting undertaking as an affiliate of the English-language television network operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

2. Through this amendment, the station would disaffiliate from the English-language television network operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), effective 22 February 2016.^{Footnote 1}
3. Bell stated that it and the CBC have agreed to terminate the affiliation agreement by the above-noted date. It added that while CBC network-supplied programming currently offered would no longer be carried as of that date, such programming would continue to be available through cable and direct-to-home (DTH) satellite subscriptions. Moreover, the affected communities and surrounding areas would continue to receive local news, sports, and current events programming along with programming airing on Bell’s CTV Two stations that is currently unavailable in those markets.

Interventions and reply

4. The Commission received interventions from several individuals in opposition to this application. The public record for this application can be found on the Commission’s website at www.crtc.gc.ca or by using the application number provided above.
5. Interveners expressed concerns regarding the loss of over-the-air access to CBC programming and the prohibitive costs of obtaining access to the CBC either through a subscription to a cable or a DTH satellite service, or through the Internet.
6. In reply, Bell reiterated that it and the CBC have agreed to terminate their affiliation agreement, at the CBC’s request, that the stations are operated by Bell and not the CBC, and that CFTK-TV would continue to provide local, national, regional and international news, and sports programming, along with Bell’s CTV Two programming that is currently unavailable in Terrace. It added that the CBC content is already available online and to most cable and DTH satellite service subscribers in these communities, and that the present application is consistent with other applications for disaffiliation from the CBC that the Commission has previously approved.

Commission’s analysis and decision

7. In regard to the availability of CBC programming, section 3(1)(m)(vii) of the Broadcasting Act states that the programming provided by the CBC should be made available throughout Canada by the most appropriate and efficient means and as resources become available for the purpose. The Commission considers that the responsibility to provide the CBC’s services rests with the CBC, not with private broadcasters. In this respect, although the CBC’s programming will no longer be available over-the-air in the affected markets following disaffiliation, it will remain available on the basic service provided by cable and satellite operators.
8. In light of the above, the Commission approves the application by Bell Media Inc., on behalf of Bell Media Radio (Toronto) Inc. and 4382072 Canada Inc., partners in a general partnership carrying on business as Bell Media Radio G.P., to amend the broadcasting licence for CFTK-TV Terrace and its transmitter CFTK-TV-1 Prince Rupert in order to delete the station’s condition of licence requiring it to be operated as an affiliate of the English-language television network operated by the CBC.

Secretary General

Related documents

• CJDC-TV Dawson Creek and its transmitters CJDC-TV-1 Hudson Hope and CJDC-TV-2 Bullhead Mountain, and CFTK-TV Terrace and its transmitter CFTK-TV-1 Prince Rupert – Licence renewals, Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2012-244, 26 April 2012
• Standard conditions of licence, expectations and encouragements for conventional television stations, Broadcasting Regulatory Policy CRTC 2011-442, 27 July 2011

*This decision is to be appended to the licence.

Date modified:

2016-02-19