Community television hearings conclude, come down to question of control, ownership

GATINEAU, Que.—At the conclusion of the CRTC’s hearings to review of the policy framework for community television, the Canadian Conference of the Arts (CCA) said Tuesday that the issue of ownership has become the central question for the sector. “The commission has two models in front of it,” Alain Pineau, national director of the CCA, told the commission. “One model proposes that community TV be controlled by communities, in the same way that private companies control private broadcasting, and in close conformity with what we deem to be the intent of the Act. The other model proposes that private BDUs extend their control and authority over community TV, even to the point of demanding that local city councils grant exclusive programming rights to one provider or another.” Pineau said he supports the first model of community television—that controlled by the community. He told the commission he agrees with the proposal put forward by the Canadian Association of Community Television Users and Stations (CACTUS) at the start of the hearings on April 26. Cable providers with more than 20,000 customers are required to devote two per cent of their subscriber revenues to their community television channels. The levy collected from those funds amounted to $116 million in 2008. CACTUS proposed that the two-per cent levy collected by the cable companies be administered by a new community media fund. The money would go toward creating community-run, multimedia training and production facilities in 250 communities across Canada. “We believe returning to the type of grassroots involvement proposed by CACTUS can contribute to greater audiences, particularly outside of very large urban centres,” Pineau said. Other parties disagreed. “What they’re proposing is that the CRTC hand over $120-million to a group with no proven track record that has demonstrated no empirical data that there is a problem and has no mechanism for the CRTC to ensure that $120 million is properly spent,” Colette Watson, vice-president of Rogers TV, told The Wire Report in an interview. In an interview, Pineau said he fears the commission, in its decision, will focus too much on accountability to ensure the funds earmarked for community television are allocated responsibly. But he said the CRTC should not lose sight of the ownership issue. “The basic question should be ownership,” he said. “If we’re talking community stations, they have to be owned and run by the community. If they want to establish partnerships with cable, which would make eminent sense from all sorts of perspectives, let them be the drivers of the bus.” During the hearings, CRTC commissioner Michel Morin proposed a model in which community television stations operate as partnerships between community groups and cable companies. Under Morin’s proposal, the CRTC would create a new licence class for community television channels. The independent community-based channels would receive half of the contributions cable companies must currently allocate to their community channels. The community channels would raise the other half of the funds through local charitable contributions. The cable companies could use the other half of the contributions for their community television services. Under Morin’s proposal, communities would be responsible for programming while the broadcasting distributors, such as Rogers Communications Inc. and Shaw Communications Inc., would handle distribution. The issue of community access programming was also a recurring theme at the hearings. The CRTC defines community access programming as that produced by individuals, groups or companies in the community, as opposed to the cable company. Ann Mainville-Neeson, director of broadcast regulation with Telus Corp., told The Wire Report that the CRTC’s definition of access programming is problematic because not everyone wants to produce content. Some simply want to see more coverage of local events—which doesn’t necessarily count as community access programming. “I think the commission is very much overestimating the demand for access,” Mainville-Neeson said. “Not a lot of complaints have come to the commission saying, ‘Hey, we can’t get access and we have some great programming we would like to see up on community channels,’” she said. CACTUS says television service providers are not meeting the CRTC’s definition of community access and that there is a need for more access. Michael Smith, director of community channels with EastLink TV, told the commission Tuesday that the company does not count the number of community members involved in a production to determine whether it is access programming. “We don’t really look at the number of people,” Smith said. “It could be as low as one, but it’s really if the programming is produced by the community or with assistance by us.” CRTC commissioner Marc Patrone said he found that problematic. “When I hear you say that a show that has 10 people in it, with one person being outside of your direct employment , is access programming, I can have a certain amount of sympathy for the fact that people can’t get access,” Patrone said. The CRTC will accept final written submissions from all parties that have participated in the community television review until May 17. jmigneault@thewirereport.ca

Community television hearings conclude, come down to question of control, ownership

Broadcast | May 4, 2010

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