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Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2005-338
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Ottawa, 21 July 2005 |
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I.T. Productions Ltd.
Vancouver, British Columbia |
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Application 2003-1174-6
Public Hearing at Vancouver, British Columbia
28 February 2005 |
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Ethnic AM radio station in Vancouver
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In this decision, the Commission
approves the application by I.T. Productions Ltd. for a broadcasting
licence to operate a new ethnic AM radio station at Vancouver at
1200 kHz. The applicant proposed a service that will be directed
predominantly to Vancouver’s South Asian communities. |
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Background
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1. |
The application by I.T. Productions Ltd.
(I.T.) was one of eight applications for broadcasting licences to
operate new radio stations at Vancouver considered by the Commission
at a public hearing that commenced on 28 February 2005 in Vancouver.
I.T.’s application was for a broadcasting licence to operate a new
Vancouver ethnic radio station targeted primarily to South Asian audiences.
It is one of two such applications approved today by the Commission.
In Ethnic FM radio station in Vancouver, Broadcasting Decision
CRTC 2005-339, the Commission also approves
the application by South Asian Broadcasting Corporation Inc. (SABC)
for an ethnic FM station. The six other applications for radio broadcasting
licences considered at the Vancouver hearing, including five proposing
new ethnic radio services, have been denied by the Commission in Denial
of various applications proposing new Vancouver radio services,
Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2005-340 of
today’s date. |
2. |
The Commission’s determinations that a
demand exists for new ethnic radio services targeted principally to
South Asian audiences, and that the Vancouver radio market can absorb
the impact of their introduction, are set out in Licensing of new
ethnic radio stations to serve Vancouver – Introduction to Broadcasting
Decisions CRTC 2005-338 to 2005-340,
Broadcasting Public Notice CRTC 2005-68
(Public Notice 2005-68
also issued today. Public Notice 2005-68
also summarizes the rationale underlying the Commission’s decisions
to approve the applications by I.T. and SABC, namely that these two
applications best met the evaluation criteria established by the Commission
in Call for applications for broadcasting licences to carry on
radio programming undertakings to serve Vancouver, British Columbia,
Broadcasting Public Notice CRTC 2004-55,
21 July 2004 (the call for applications) and represent the best use
of the frequencies involved. |
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The applicant
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3. |
I.T., a corporation incorporated in British
Columbia, is effectively controlled by Ms. Shushma Datt through her
ownership of 100% of the corporation’s issued voting shares. I.T. has
provided a programming service (known as Radio Rim Jhim) to ethnic
audiences in Vancouver for the past seventeen years via the subsidiary
communications multiplex operations (SCMO) facilities of CJJR-FM
Vancouver. The applicant has an existing staff of more than 25
announcers, producers and administrative personnel who are to be
employed in the operation of the new station. |
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Programming plans and commitments
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Ethnic programming
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4. |
The applicant made a commitment to provide
programming directed to a minimum of 11 different ethnic groups in 17
different languages in each broadcast week. All of the station’s
programming would be devoted to ethnic programming, and 95% of this
would be in third languages. A minimum of 73% of all programming would
be in the Hindustani and Punjabi languages. The applicant’s proposal
indicates that approximately 93% of the service would be directed to
underserved groups in the Vancouver market, namely its South Asian
communities, and that a further 1% would target other underserved ethnic
groups. For the purpose of this calculation regarding the amount of
programming that I.T. would devote to underserved ethnic groups, the
Commission has considered to be "underserved", ethnic groups that,
according to the data contained in the CRTC Broadcasting Policy
Monitoring Report 2004, currently receive five hours or less of
programming per week from existing Vancouver ethnic radio stations. |
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Local reflection
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5. |
The Commission notes I.T.’s commitment to
ensure that at least 85% of all programming aired by the new station is
locally produced. According to the applicant’s plans, this would include
32 hours per week of spoken word, of which 14 hours would be news. Other
plans include locally produced programs covering the Hindi and Punjabi
music scene, and an open-line program that would air daily except on
Sunday. The applicant would establish an advisory council consisting of
ten representatives of the ethnic communities served by the station. It
would also appoint an ombudsperson to resolve issues and concerns
regarding programming, and institute a complaints review process. |
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Canadian talent development
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6. |
The applicant did not propose to take part
in the plan developed by the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB)
establishing varying levels for financial contributions by licensees to
Canadian talent development. Instead, I.T.’s written application
contained a commitment to allocate $500,000 over the first seven years
of operation to Canadian talent development, consisting of $60,000 in
each of the first five years of operation, increasing to $100,000 in
each of years six and seven. At the hearing, the applicant advised that
the seven-year total of $500,000, as identified in its written
application, had inadvertently understated its intended seven-year
commitment to Canadian talent development by $20,000. It stated that
that the total amount of its commitment to Canadian talent development
should have been identified as $520,000 over seven years, including
$110,000 in each of years six and seven. Given the relatively small
amount concerned, the Commission accepts the change as a clarification
of the applicant’s commitment to Canadian talent development. |
7. |
Specifically, the applicant stated that it
would provide funding for the Canadian talent development initiatives,
and in the amounts specified below: |
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- scholarships for students of the Natraj School of Dancing and the
Shaimak Davar School of Dancing - $5,000 each, for a total of $10,000
per year;
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- scholarships for students enrolled in the broadcasting or
journalism programs of of the British Columbia Institute of
Technology, Simon Fraser University and University of British Columbia
- $10,000 each, for a total of $30,000 per year;
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- contribution to the Canadian Association of Ethnic Broadcasters
for the maintenance of its catalogue of Canadian ethnic recordings -
$5,000 per year;
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- sponsorship of an annual poetry writing and reading contest -
$15,000 per year; and
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- sponsorship of a talent search contest - $50,000 in each of the
sixth and seventh years of operation.
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Interventions
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8. |
The Commission received more than 470
interventions in support of I.T.’s application. Some ten individuals or
groups of individuals filed written comments expressing opposition to
the application. Several of the interventions expressing opposition
contained statements questioning the strength of the applicant’s
commitments and its ability to provide adequate service to, in
particular, the Punjabi and Sikh communities of Vancouver. In another
opposing intervention, Mr. Max Lama claimed that I.T. and the other
applicants for Vancouver radio licences, with the exception of Newlife
Communications Inc., had failed to make provision in their plans for
programming directed to the Christians present in many of Vancouver’s
ethnic communities. Fairchild Radio Group Ltd. (Fairchild), licensee of
CJVB Vancouver and indirect owner of the licensee of CHKG-FM Vancouver,
intervened to request that I.T., if licensed, be restricted by condition
of licence from targeting Vancouver’s Chinese community. |
9. |
Regarding the restriction proposed by
Fairchild in its intervention, the Commission notes that the applicant,
in its written application, had agreed to accept a condition of licence
that it adhere to such a restriction. As for the opposing interveners
whose concerns were that the applicant would be unable to provide
adequate service to Vancouver’s Punjabi and Sikh communities, the
Commission notes that, prior to the hearing, it requested these
interveners to substantiate their claims in writing. None, however,
responded to the Commission’s request by the specified date. The
Commission further notes the applicant’s reply to these interveners, in
which I.T. dismisses their concerns. Among other things, the applicant
noted that fully two-thirds of its current staff, who, as mentioned
above, will be employed in the operation of the station, have Punjabi as
their mother tongue, that almost half of their number are Sikh, and that
70% of the programming to be aired by the station would be in languages
spoken by those of Punjabi origin. The applicant also noted the many
letters of support filed by members of Vancouver’s Sikh community, and
added that, in the 17 years that its SCMO operation has been providing
service to the community, it has received only one complaint, which was
subsequently resolved. |
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Commission’s analysis and determinations
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10. |
Based on the demographic, economic and other
evidence relative to the criteria set out in Public Notice 2005-68,
the Commission has determined that there is a demand and a market
for ethnic programming directed principally to Vancouver’s South Asian
communities sufficient to warrant the licensing of two new ethnic
radio services, and that the introduction of such ethnic services
would not have a material impact on the ability of incumbent radio
licensees to meet their programming responsibilities under the Broadcasting
Act (the Act). Furthermore, based on its assessment of the eight
applications proposing new Vancouver radio services, the Commission
has determined that the applications by I.T. and SABC best meet the
evaluation criteria set out in the call for applications and represent
the best use of the frequencies involved. |
11. |
With respect to I.T., the Commission has
considered, among other things, the success that this applicant has
enjoyed in the operation of a predominantly Hindustani-language SCMO
service in Vancouver. It notes that the over-the-air signal of the
proposed AM station will greatly expand the range of this existing
Vancouver editorial voice to reach a far larger audience than that
served by I.T.’s SCMO service. I.T. will also contribute to the
diversity of radio station ownership in the Canadian broadcasting
system. The service proposed by I.T. will offer an attractive mix of
programming dedicated almost entirely to meeting the needs of currently
underserved ethnic communities in the Vancouver area. The Commission is
satisfied that I.T.’s business plan in this and in other areas is sound,
and that the applicant’s experience and familiarity with the market will
enable the proposed station to repatriate audiences and revenues from
the two existing South Asian-language stations that currently target
Vancouver audiences, but broadcast from nearby Washington State. |
12. |
The Commission accordingly approves
the application by I.T. Productions Ltd. for a broadcasting licence to
operate a commercial AM (ethnic) radio programming undertaking at
Vancouver, at 1200 kHz, with a transmitter power of 25,000 watts. |
13. |
The licence will expire 31 August 2011 and
will be subject to the conditions set out in New
licence form for commercial radio stations, Public Notice CRTC 1999-137,
24 August 1999, with the exception of condition of licence 5,
which would otherwise have required the licensee to participate in
the CAB’s Distribution Guidelines for Canadian Talent Development.
The licence will also be subject to the further conditions
set out in the appendix to this decision, each of which is consistent
with the applicant’s commitments. |
14. |
The Commission expects the applicant to
adhere to its commitment to establish an advisory council consisting of
ten representatives of the ethnic communities served by the station and
appoint an ombudsperson to resolve issues and concerns regarding
programming, and to institute a complaints review process. |
15. |
Further, the Commission expects the applicant
to ensure that its Canadian talent development initiatives, which
are described earlier in this decision as well as in its appendix,
are eligible as direct contributions, as set out in Appendix 1 of
An FM policy for the nineties, Public Notice CRTC 1990-111,
17 December 1990. |
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Issuance of the licence
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16. |
The Commission reminds the applicant that,
pursuant to section 22(1) of the Act, no licence may be issued until the
Department of Industry notifies the Commission that its technical
requirements have been met, and that a broadcasting certificate will be
issued. |
17. |
Furthermore, the licence for this
undertaking will be issued once the applicant has informed the
Commission in writing that it is prepared to commence operations. The
undertaking must be operational at the earliest possible date and in any
event no later than 24 months from the date of this decision, unless a
request for an extension of time is approved by the Commission before 21
July 2007. In order to ensure that such a request is processed in a
timely manner, it should be submitted at least 60 days before that date. |
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Employment equity
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18. |
In accordance with Implementation of an
employment equity policy, Public Notice CRTC 1992-59,
1 September 1992, the Commission encourages the licensee to consider
employment equity issues in its hiring practices and in all other
aspects of its management of human resources. |
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Secretary General |
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This decision is to be appended to the
licence. It is available in alternative format upon request, and may
also be examined in PDF format or in
HTML at the following Internet site: http://www.crtc.gc.ca
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Appendix to Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2005-338
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Conditions of licence
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1. The licence will be subject to the conditions set out in New
licence form for commercial radio stations, Public Notice CRTC 1999-137,
24 August 1999, with the exception of condition 5.
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2. The licensee shall, in each broadcast week, direct programming
to a minimum of 11 cultural groups in a minimum of 17 different
languages.
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3. Not less than 100% of the programming broadcast by the licensee
shall be ethnic programming, and not less than 95% of the programming
in each broadcast week shall be third language programming.
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4. Not less than 73% of the programming in each broadcast week
shall be in the Hindustani and Punjabi languages.
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5. None of the programming broadcast by the licensee shall be in a
Chinese language.
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6. The licensee shall make direct annual expenditures of at least
$60,000 in each of the first five years of operation, and at least
$110,000 in each of years six and seven, on the development and
promotion of Canadian talent. These amounts shall be distributed as
follows:
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- annual scholarships for students of the Natraj School of Dancing
and the Shaimak Davar School of Dancing - $5,000 each, for a total
of $10,000 per year;
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- annual scholarships for students enrolled in the broadcasting or
journalism programs of the British Columbia Institute of Technology,
Simon Fraser University and University of British Columbia - $10,000
each, for a total of $30,000 per year;
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- contribution to the Canadian Association of Ethnic Broadcasters
for the maintenance of its catalogue of Canadian ethnic recordings -
$5,000 per year;
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- sponsorship of an annual poetry writing and reading contest -
$15,000 per year; and
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- sponsorship of a talent search contest - $50,000 in each of the
sixth and seventh years of operation.
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Date Modified: 2005-07-21 |