Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2016-66

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Reference: Part 1 application posted on 10 September 2015

Ottawa, 23 February 2016

Showcase Television Inc.
Across Canada

Application 2015-1045-4

Showcase - Licence amendments

1. The Commission approves an application by Showcase Television Inc. (Showcase TV) to amend the broadcasting licence for the national English-language specialty Category A service Showcase by deleting certain of the service’s current nature of service conditions of licence and 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 regarding 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 Showcase’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 Showcase:^{Footnote 1}:

2. (a) The licensee shall provide a national English-language specialty Category A service focused on drama.

(b) A minimum of 95% of all programming broadcast by the licensee shall be drawn from the following categories:

7 Drama and comedy
12 Interstitials
13 Public service announcements
14 Infomercials, promotional and corporate videos
15 Filler programming

(c) Over the broadcast year, the licensee shall devote no less than 100% of the broadcast period between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. to the distribution of Canadian programs.

(d) A minimum of 80% of the programming broadcast by the licensee shall have been produced outside the United States.

4. The Commission adds the following conditions of licence:

   • The licensee may draw programming from all the categories set out in item 6 of Schedule I 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 name and description 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, Showcase TV provided the following description for Showcase:

   The licensee shall provide a national English-language discretionary service consisting of entertainment programming with a primary focus on drama.

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:

2016-02-23