CRTC ‘rebalances’ TV system funds; up to $90M available for local news

The CRTC has established new funding for local television news in a decision on its local and community TV hearing, though advocates expressed concern that the changes won’t happen quickly enough for some stations. In a summary of the decision, issued Wednesday afternoon, the CRTC said independent stations will be able to tap into a $23.1-million Independent Local News Fund (ILNF), while new flexibility could make available up to $66.9 million for stations operated by vertically-integrated companies. That means companies like BCE Inc., Rogers Communications Inc. and Quebecor Inc. will be able to redirect a portion of the money allocated to community television to their local stations instead. In order to take advantage of the new flexibility, the CRTC said, the companies will have to keep all of their stations open. “These companies will be responsible for determining where and how that money is to be used to serve the public interest,” the CRTC said in the document, though it noted that a “shift from funding community programming to local news is expected in urban markets.” The companies will be able to reallocate their community TV contributions in Toronto, Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary, but in smaller markets across the country will only be able to do so with half of that funding, keeping the other half for community TV. The $23.1-million independent news fund will be capitalized by contributions from TV providers, who will be required to allocate 0.3 per cent of their broadcast revenues into the fund, the document outlined. In a press release Wednesday, Ian Morrison, spokesman for the watchdog group Friends of Canadian Broadcasting said the decision was disappointing, and not requiring the new policy to kick in until September 2017 amounted to “fiddling while Rome burns.” The release predicted stations will close as a result. The CRTC is “clinging to the mistaken belief that there is enough money in the system to save local news in Canada’s small and medium-sized markets,” he said. Independent broadcasting consultant and lawyer Peter Miller, who represented small-market independent TV stations at the hearing in January and authored a report for Friends and the union Unifor on station closures, also pointed to the 15-month delay in implementation in a phone interview. He said the CRTC’s interim measure for small independent stations won’t be enough, making only about $2 million extra available in the interim. “I think some of those stations will definitely not be here September 2017. If the measure was to keep stations on the air, I don’t think it’s going to succeed,” he said. Another open question is whether the amount of money independent stations will get from the $23.1 million will be sufficient, given that it will be allocated based on expenditures, he said, adding that “it’s likely that the small players won’t see a huge increment, but it’s hard to judge.” It’s also likely that TV providers could close down their community channels in the larger markets, such as Rogers’ channel in Toronto, while “if you’re a or an Eastlink or one of the small cable companies that has a community channel that means a lot to you, you’re not going to see huge reductions,” Miller predicted. “I suppose the silver lining is where the community channel matters the most, it will be least affected by this position.” In a press release, the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) criticised the CRTC for missing an opportunity to support community TV. PIAC executive director John Lawford said in the release that the CRTC “has robbed the poor community channels to feed the rich, large, national private broadcasters — who should have paid to provide local news themselves.” The decision added that while community TV remains relevant and valued by Canadians, community channels don’t require the same level of funding as they did in the past, given changes like less need to train community members on how to shoot video due the ubiquity of smartphone cameras. The CRTC noted that most of those who appeared at the hearing in January “agreed that some form of regulatory intervention is needed to guarantee the presence of local programming, including local news, in the Canadian broadcasting system.” While “new digital technologies” present new opportunities, such as access to news from around the world and the ability of individuals to share information and stories with millions, they haven’t yet replaced traditional news, it said. The decision added: “these services have yet to demonstrate a similar capacity for delivering accurate and timely information about local and municipal events to media consumers in smaller communities, nor for providing quality news analysis at a level of journalistic rigour advanced by professional codes of conduct developed and refined over the past 300 years.” The CRTC noted that during the hearing, broadcasters pointed out that stations are in danger of closing, given their profitability fell from 7.1 per cent in 2011 to an estimated negative eight per cent in 2015. “However, no private local television station was able to provide estimates of how much money it would need to continue operations,” the CRTC said. “While little compelling evidence of imminent station closures was provided on the record, the Commission is concerned that if action is not taken in the short to medium term, stations may have to make difficult decisions, including reducing expenditures on news programming.” It added that while vertically-integrated stations “have the tools, resources and synergies necessary to continue operating local television stations,” independently-owned stations have fewer resources. In an emailed statement, Rogers spokeswoman Heather Robinson said the company is “pleased the CRTC has provided more flexibility to sustain those channels and enhance programming. The decision recognizes the importance of community programming and the role played by Rogers and other cable providers as stewards of this critical service for Canadians. We’re optimistic this decision will help sustain newscasts.” Matthew Garrow, spokesman for Bell Media, said: “We appreciate that the CRTC recognizes both the value that local news brings to Canadians and the significant financial challenges faced by private broadcasters in delivering these services. It’s a positive step, and we look forward to continuing the conversation about the long-term financial sustainability of local news operations.” Quebecor spokesman Martin Tremblay said in an email that the company welcomes the decision and considers it “a step in the right direction.” “With this decision, the CRTC is offering some flexibility to private broadcasters who are faced with serious profitability concerns,” he said. “We continue to believe in a community television service that is relevant and has local roots. We also wish to reiterate our support for MAtv’s further development, both in Montreal and elsewhere in Quebec.” Corus Entertainment Inc. declined to comment. — With reporting by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca and reporting and editing by Charelle Evelyn at cevelyn@thewirereport.ca

CRTC ‘rebalances’ TV system funds; up to $90M available for local news

Broadcast | June 15, 2016

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CRTC ‘rebalances’ TV system funds; up to $90M available for local news

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