CRTC launches consult on CAB’s proposed ‘Commercial Radio News Fund’

The CRTC is asking for comments on a proposal for a temporary fund aimed at supporting news programming by commercial radio broadcasters outside of major markets. The proposed Commercial Radio News Fund (CRNF) will be administered by the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB), who provided an operational plan for how it would be managed. As part of the base contribution requirements issued under the Online Streaming Act, online audio streaming services generating over $25 million in annual Canadian revenues will have to contribute 1.5 per cent of those revenues to the temporary fund. The money will then be disbursed to commercial radio stations producing local news outside of Montréal, Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, and Ottawa-Gatineau. The CAB proposes that, on a monthly basis, it distributes the funding in proportion to the total amount of money spent by each station on salaries and wages related to news production during the previous broadcast year. It added that no station or group of stations operated by the same licensee in a given market will receive more than 12 per cent of the total funding in any given broadcast year. According to its proposal, the CAB will administer the fund “using existing resources at minimal cost,” capping administrative fees at 1 per cent of the fund or $125,000, whichever is less. “Given that allocations will be based on a clear mathematical formula, the CAB believes that no formal governance structure need be established, other than the oversight of the CAB’s director of finance and administration,” the association said in its proposal. “There needs to be some additional financial support to help radio stations keep journalists employed and local journalism,” said CAB president Kevin Desjardins in an interview with The Wire Report. He applauded the CRTC for recognizing that there are no funding mechanisms designed to specifically support commercial radio and explained that the fund is aimed at addressing that gap. “Advertising is really the lifeblood of broadcasting companies, and certainly of radio,” he said, noting that advertising revenue for broadcasters were hit hard during the COVID-19 pandemic and have struggled to make a comeback. Desjardins highlighted the CAB’s existing responsibility in administering the Independent Local News Fund, which takes contributions made by cable and satellite companies and distributes them to independent local TV stations. “We've acted as the administrator of that fund and have been able to do so very efficiently and effectively over the years,” he said. “I think that management of that fund is part of the reason why the commission put their trust in the CAB to be able to manage this new commercial radio fund.” The CRTC is asking stakeholders if the CAB’s proposal for the fund’s administration and operation is sufficient, or if it should impose additional measures such as incentives or reporting requirements to ensure the funding is used by recipients for the production of news. It is also asking if the proposed 12 per cent cap on funding should be adopted, whether it should apply to specific markets or nationwide, and whether it should apply to individual licensees or ownership groups. The commission proposed reviewing the fund after three years. Deadline for comments is Dec. 4. “We're starting to see some supports come in for broadcast journalism,” said Desjardins, but added that “there's still more that can be done.” He called on the federal government to extend the Journalism Labour Tax Credit to broadcasters, stating that it is a way to “ensure that broadcast journalists are treated equally and fairly with other journalists in the system.” Currently, broadcasters are excluded from being able to access the credit, but it is available to print and online news outlets. phalentm@thewirereport.ca

CRTC launches consult on CAB’s proposed ‘Commercial Radio News Fund’

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By Phalen Tynes-MacDonald
| November 5, 2024

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CRTC launches consult on CAB’s proposed ‘Commercial Radio News Fund’

Broadcast | By Phalen Tynes-MacDonald | November 5, 2024

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