News Forum granted licence, denied mandatory distribution

Tuesday the CRTC granted a broadcast licence for a discretionary service to The News Forum Inc. The application was made last October. News Forum started out as an exempt service since it had fewer than 200,000 subscribers. Once it passed that threshold, the company applied for a discretionary licence. News Forum provides daily national and international news, as well as analysis and commentary. The firm has 11 shareholders. At the time of the initial filing, Julie Stautland held 36 per cent of the shares, Tore Stautland had 19 per cent and the other nine shareholders held five per cent each. Because Tore Stautland is a permanent resident but not a Canadian citizen, the company did not qualify as a Canadian entity. News Forum has now issued additional shares. Julie Stautland currently holds 14.6 per cent of the stock, Tore Stautland holds 7.67 per cent, one shareholder has 1.43 per cent and the other eight hold 9.54 per cent each. This means the company now qualifies as a Canadian corporation. In addition Tore Stautland stepped down as CEO and was replaced by Lorna Dueck, CEO of Crossroads Christian Communications Inc. Tore and Julie Stautland transferred their voting rights as shareholders to Douglas McKenzie, another Canadian. “The commission is of the view that Tore Stautland, as co-founder, former CEO and minority shareholder of The News Forum Inc., still has a certain level of influence over the corporation,” the decision read. “However, the commission draws a distinction between influence and control. That a non-Canadian has a degree of influence over a corporation does not necessarily result in a conclusion that control is in the hands of a non-Canadian.” Prior approval from the CRTC is required if the Stautlands were to control 30 per cent or more of the voting interests in The News Forum. If they control from 20 to 30 per cent they must inform the commission. News Forum asked that it be designated for mandatory distribution. But the CRTC said it was not satisfied that the channel would present updated news reports every two hours. If that situation should change, the regulator will welcome another application. The original application also requested that the CRTC give advance approval to transfer control of News Forum from McKenzie to the Stautlands once Tore Stautland acquires Canadian citizenship. The regulator rejected that plea. “The commission is of the view that such a request is premature given that the parties are not currently in a position to make such a change in effective control,” the decision stated. “To begin with, the applicant is not yet a licensee….The commission consider that Tore Stautland must first obtain Canadian citizenship.” Once citizenship is obtained, the company may file a new application, seeking change in control, the regulator said. The CRTC received 22 letters in support of the application, including a joint intervention made up of 12 letters from individuals. The licence will expire on Aug. 31, 2027. –Reporting by Paul Park at ppark@thewirereport.ca and editing by Jenna Cocullo at jcocullo@thewirereport.ca

News Forum granted licence, denied mandatory distribution

Broadcast | May 17, 2022

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News Forum granted licence, denied mandatory distribution

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