CTRC considering updating eligibility for Independent Local News Fund

The CRTC said Tuesday it is “prepared” to reconsider the eligibility requirements of the Independent Local News Fund. The regulator said in a call for comments on the news fund that it is looking to “explore” whether or not the criteria should be adjusted to include independent news providers that aren’t currently eligible. The fund was established in 2016 to support independent local news stations that are not part of large-scale companies. In 2023, the fund saw more than $17.8 million given to private independent stations to produce “locally reflective news.” The regulator said that its decision to require online streaming services generating over $25 million in annual Canadian revenues to contribute 1.5 per cent of those revenues to the fund – thereby increasing the amount of cash available to local producers – has it reconsidering who is eligible to get the money because “the additional funding may also create opportunities to improve .” As part of the same call for comments released Tuesday, the CRTC also said it wants feedback on updating the fund to include support for more specific “elements” of news, such as French-language news and information or news produced by independent TV stations operating in underserved communities. The CRTC has said it would also look into whether incentives should be set to make sure that news producers who get money from the fund are actually providing “high-quality news to Canadians in a manner that meets their needs.” Corus still wants in on local news fund Corus, meanwhile, continues its efforts to get money from the fund. The CRTC said in its call for comments Tuesday that it is concerned about the impact of counting Corus as eligible to receive money from the fund, despite its “preliminary view” that Global should be eligible. Corus operates as an independent broadcaster, after its former parent company Shaw Communications Inc. was bought by Rogers Communications Inc. The broadcaster asked the CRTC in 2023 to consider 15 of its Global TV stations as eligible for the local news fund. Corus, which expects to have cut a quarter of its full-time staff by the end of next month, has been struggling as revenue and profitability have “declined significantly” over the past two years. The commission said that adding stations like those that belong to Corus could alter the amount of money available to other recipients of the fund, because the funding model as of now “wasn’t developed to accommodate the type and number of stations owned by an ownership group as large as Corus.” In that vein, the CRTC is looking for input on how it should make sure the funding is distributed equitably amongst its recipients if stations like Global are added to that pool. It also wants feedback on putting a funding cap on the amount that can be received from the fund, and whether that should apply station-by-station or by overall ownership group. The deadline for comments is Sept. 6, with replies due by Sept. 23.

CTRC considering updating eligibility for Independent Local News Fund

Brief | | July 24, 2024

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CTRC considering updating eligibility for Independent Local News Fund

Brief | | July 24, 2024

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