THIS JUST IN
Federal broadcast regulator aims new rule at TV stations in metropolitan markets
CRTC rules metropolitan TV stations must devote six hours of weekly airtime to news that’s ‘locally reflective,’
English-language TV stations in Canada’s metropolitan markets will have to devote six hours of weekly airtime to “locally reflective” news and information under a framework for local television announced by the federal broadcast regulator Monday.
“A rip-and-read of (The Canadian Press) won’t cut it,” said a Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) official, suggesting that locally reflective programming involves news and information gathered by journalists based in the community.
The provision means six of the previously mandated 14 hours of local programming must be comprised of reporting reflecting the local market. Non-metropolitan markets will con- tinue to offer seven hours per week of local programming, with three of those hours dedicated to locally reflective news and information.
The requirements are attached to the regulator’s approval of the TV licences for English-language broadcast groups Bell, Corus and Rogers for a five-year term effective Sept. 1. The licences of the large French-language television groups Groupe TVA and Groupe V were also approved under terms specific to the Frenchlanguage market.
The renewals maintain the CRTC’s traditional percentage range requirement for English-language programming expenditures at 30 per cent of the previous year’s revenue, with11per cent of the amount now to be earmarked for locally reflective news content.
Five per cent of the commercial broadcasters’ prior-year revenue is to be allocated to shows of “national interest,” such as long-form documentaries, Canadian dramas and awards presentations.
The programming expenditures are not required from companies that operate in Canada streaming content from the web, such as Los Gatos, Calif.-based Netflix.
While contribution levels as a percentage of revenue remain consistent for licensed broadcasters, the CRTC unveiled steps to support un- der-represented groups such as indigenous and minority-language creators in the form of credits to encourage original programming. The CRTC also said it will organize an event aimed at promoting female access to leadership roles in the broadcast industry.
The regulator also announced a provision that will require any broadcaster planning to close a local TV station to notify the CRTC at least 120 days in advance, a notice that would trigger a period of public consultation in which “all options would be on the table,” the commission said in its briefing. It added that none of the licence renewal applicants have indicated intentions to close a local station.
In a separate announcement, the CRTC granted a three-year licence to Toronto-based Rogers to operate OMNI Regional, a multilingual, multi-ethic TV service offered on all basic television packages.
The CRTC, however, ruled that Rogers’ application fails to meet all of its requirements for a fully national service, and has called for applications for a new multi-ethnic station that would receive mandatory distribution on the digital basic TV service starting in 2020.
The CRTC says it expects interest in the competitive call, with Rogers likely to reapply.
Montreal-based Bell, meanwhile, said Monday that it is offering TV viewers a new option for live streaming called Alt TV.
The service lets viewers stream live programs through devices such as Apple TV for $14.95 per month for a package of 30 channels, including Canadian and U.S. networks. More expensive packages are also available and individual channels can be subscribed to a la carte.
The service, available to Bell Internet subscribers, is launching first in Ontario and Quebec, with plans to expand to Atlantic Canada and Manitoba.