Broadcasters asked CRTC for emergency COVID-19 relief in July

The Canadian Association of Broadcasters asked the CRTC not to enforce conditions of licence and regulations relating to broadcasters’ expenditures for this broadcast year, citing the exceptional circumstances of the pandemic. It said that months into the COVID-19 crisis, “it is clear that without express relief, virtually all private broadcasters will fall short of certain requirements codified in their conditions of licence and the regulations.” In a Part 1 application filed with the regulator July 14 and obtained by The Wire Report, the CAB asked the CRTC to treat the application on an expedited basis and make a decision in three weeks. As of Aug. 21, the CRTC has not yet begun the public comment process by making the application available on its website. The CAB said that it was asking for emergency relief as the end of the broadcast year was coming up soon, on Aug. 31, “and broadcasting businesses face critical financial and operational year-end decisions.” It told the CRTC that if it didn’t grant the broadcasters the relief they were seeking, “the alternative will be de facto sanction for virtually all private broadcasters, an onslaught of individual applications for relief that the commission will be unable to process in a timely manner, and unnecessary job losses and station closures.” The broadcasters are asking the regulator to introduce a policy of “deemed compliance” — meaning that, unless the companies acted in bad faith, the CRTC would treat them as if they had complied with their licence conditions for the 2019-2020 broadcast year, regardless of their expenditure levels. Under the proposal, any shortfalls wouldn’t have to be made up in the 2020-2021 broadcast year, and expenditure levels for that year — the amount broadcasters have to spend on Canadian content — would be based on the 2019-2020 revenues, which were significantly lower due to the pandemic. The pandemic has “massively reduced” revenues in the second half of the 2019-2020 broadcast year, which has “depleted the financial resources needed to meet required expenditure levels,” the CAB said. Additionally, cancellations and delays of “live and commissioned productions as well as -qualifying events have created exceptional costs and altered Canadian programming priorities.” Broadcasters have, as much as possible, shifted resources to news and information, while virtually all other production shut down in mid-March and is only now restarting, and “will not resume to normal levels for the remainder of the broadcast year regardless of whether broadcasters are in a position to make the expenditures or not.” The CAB also asked for flexibility on other regulatory requirements, such as rules about the amount of local programming that has to be broadcast. For radio stations, the CAB asked the CRTC to suspend rules regarding sales and operational support, arguing that for smaller broadcasters, “the ability to work with other local broadcasters on sales and other operational matters...may be a lifeline that allows them to continue to operate and provide local service.” Currently, broadcasters must first seek CRTC approval to enter into these kinds of agreements, which can take four to eight months to be granted. It said that unless “new and immediate emergency measures are taken, Canada could easily lose fifty or more private radio stations in the next few months, including AM stations in larger markets and stations owned by Canada’s smallest operators.” The CAB said private radio stations saw ad revenue declines of 65.5 per cent in April, 67.3 per cent in May and 56.9 per cent in June, while TV ads fell 46.4 per cent in April and 50.4 per cent in May. Publicly traded telecoms with broadcasting assets and Corus Entertainment Inc. have all also reported significant declines in their ad revenues. The CAB also said that while the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) is currently “providing material support to some broadcasters,” the “private local broadcasters are suffering an aggregate operating deficit of approximately $50 million a month, which has not been materially reduced by the targeted support measures announced for media, broadcasting, and arts and culture.” In May, the federal government announced a $500-million fund for cultural, heritage and sports organizations. — Reporting by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca and editing by Michael Lee-Murphy at mleemurphy@thewirereport.ca

Broadcasters asked CRTC for emergency COVID-19 relief in July

Broadcast | August 21, 2020

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Broadcasters asked CRTC for emergency COVID-19 relief in July

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