CRTC to review local, community-TV regulations

The CRTC is asking whether maintaining a physical presence in an area is necessary to produce local programming and whether community-access TV is still relevant as part a proceeding on local and community television it announced Monday. The regulator said it will review its policies on local and community-TV programming, and hold a public hearing on the matter early in the new year. It will look at “the availability of local programming throughout the broadcasting system, including the manner in which both the private and the community elements may contribute to its production.” A “substantial” portion of the local programming produced by many broadcasters is made up of local news, the CRTC said in an online consultation notice Monday, adding that the cost of news programming “is significant and represents a great majority of local programming expenses.” At the same time, the CRTC said that that it believes the funding that is available in the system now is sufficient. It asked for comments “on how best to ensure that compelling local news and other programming that is both locally relevant and locally reflective is made available to Canadians,” as well as “how the existing funding can be allocated in a manner that is accountable and responds to demonstrated needs.” The CRTC asked for input on a number of questions, including whether its regulatory approach should focus on local news or whether it should it include other local programming. The commission also asked whether it should emphasize the amount of money spent on content or the hours of content aired, and whether it’s still necessary to maintain a physical presence in a location in order to produce local programming. The commission’s current rules specify that commercial conventional stations have to produce a certain amount of local programming in exchange for the ability to sell local advertising. English stations owned by major broadcast groups have to air at least 14 hours of local programming in metropolitan markets every week, and seven hours outside those areas, while the requirements for French-language stations are decided on a case-by-case basis, the CRTC noted. Regarding community-access programming, the CRTC noted its approach “finds its genesis in an era where the costs and complexity involved in producing programming were high and were, by virtue of their reach, in the best position to help ensure Canadians’ access to the broadcasting system.” Given the significant changes that have occurred since then, including the ability of Canadians to upload their own content to the Internet, the CRTC asked whether access programming on community channels is still necessary, among other questions. The CRTC requires that community-access channels devote at least 60 per cent of their programming to “to programs that are reflective of the community and produced by the licensee in the licensed area or by members of the community from the licensed area.” The CRTC said viewership of local and access programming on traditional platforms has been relatively stable. In 2014, broadcast distributors contributed $161 million to local and community programming, it said, adding that figure doesn’t include all the spending by conventional stations on local programming. However, it said that since it set its policy framework for Canadian TV in 1999, “the business case for local television has changed significantly: there has been a fragmentation of advertising revenues and a trend toward consolidation in the industry.” At the same time, broadcast distributors’ revenues and subscribers have stagnated, as has revenue from local programming. “Given that BDUs are a key source of funding for the production of locally relevant, locally reflective and community access programming, there may be limited growth in the funding available for this programming,” the CRTC noted. During a CRTC hearing last year, Keith Pelley, then-president of Rogers Communications Inc.'s media division, said that "there is a very real risk that over-the-air TV will become obsolete.” The deadline for comments is Oct. 29. The CRTC added it would publish a document prior to the hearing that will “set out areas for exploration” based on the feedback received. The hearing will take place at CRTC headquarters in Gatineau, Que., on Jan. 25. — With reporting by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca and editing by Derek Abma at dabma@thewirereport.ca

CRTC to review local, community-TV regulations

Broadcast | September 14, 2015

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CRTC to review local, community-TV regulations

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