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Decision CRTC 2001-642
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Ottawa, 11 October 2001
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Anthony Schleifer, on behalf of a company to be incorporated
Brantford, Ontario 2001-0443-0 |
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10 September 2001 Public Hearing
National Capital Region
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New Christian music FM radio station
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1. |
The Commission approves the application for an
English-language specialty FM radio programming undertaking at
Brantford. The terms and conditions of licence are set out in the
appendix to this decision.
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The proposed service |
2. |
The new station will broadcast a Christian music service
24 hours per day with some spoken word content. It will operate
as a commercial undertaking targeted to the Christian community in
Brantford. All of the programming aired by the station will be
local. |
3. |
At least 95% of the total weekly music broadcast on the new
station will be drawn from subcategory 35 (non-classic religious). A
condition of licence in this regard is found in the appendix.
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4. |
While the station will predominantly offer music, it will also
provide hourly news, weather, sports and traffic reports from
6 a.m. to 6 p.m. It will also broadcast public service
announcements.
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5. |
The applicant confirmed that it has no plans to offer religious
programming as defined in the Commission’s religious broadcasting
policy outlined in Public Notice CRTC 1993-78. The Commission,
nevertheless, reminds the applicant that, if it does offer religious
programming, it must abide by the requirements set out in that
public notice with respect to balance and other matters involving
the broadcasting of religious programming, as well as the policy
regarding soliciting funds. |
6. |
The applicant made a commitment to broadcast 15% Canadian content
each week for content category 3 music (Special Interest), rather
than the minimum 10% weekly required by the Radio Regulations,
1986 for music from this category. The applicant will also
broadcast a weekly maximum hit level of 20%. Conditions of
licence requiring the applicant to adhere to these commitments
are set out in the appendix.
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Canadian talent development |
7. |
The applicant will not take part in the Canadian talent
development plan established by the Canadian Association of
Broadcasters. Instead, the applicant will direct its Canadian talent
development expenditures to an annual local Christian music talent
contest. It made a commitment to contribute a minimum of $20,300
over the seven-year licence term in direct cost expenditures to this
initiative, starting at $2,600 in the first year, increasing by
increments of $100 annually to a minimum of $3,200 by
the seventh year. The applicant will award a cash prize to the
top three contestants in each year to assist them in recording a
compact disc (CD) of their work in a professional studio. |
8. |
The Commission reminds the applicant that all direct cost
expenditures related to Canadian talent development must comply with
the criteria set out in Public Notice CRTC 1990-111 which describes
initiatives generally accepted by the Commission.
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Interventions |
9. |
Telephone City Broadcast Limited, licensee of CKPC and CKPC-FM
the only two commercial radio stations currently licensed to serve
Brantford, submitted an intervention opposing this application.
Among other things, the intervener argued that the proposed station
would have a negative impact on CKPC and CKPC-FM. |
10. |
The applicant responded that it will target the Christian
community, a market that is currently not being reached in
Brantford. The new station will, therefore, not be competitive with
the intervener’s undertakings which serve a mainstream audience. |
11. |
The Commission notes that both CKPC and CKPC-FM are regular, high
power stations that operate in formats that appeal to a mass
audience. In contrast, the applicant is proposing a low power radio
operation focused on serving a niche audience. Accordingly, the
Commission is satisfied that the addition of the proposed station
will expand the diversity of radio services available in the
Brantford region without having an undue negative impact on existing
licensed commercial stations in that market. |
12. |
The Commission acknowledges the intervention submitted in support
of this application and has noted the concerns expressed in a
petition containing some 87 signatures.
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Related CRTC documents |
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• Public Notice 1999-137 – New licence form for
commercial radio stations
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• Public Notice 1993-95 – A licensing policy for
low-power radio broadcasting
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• Public Notice 1993-78 – Religious broadcasting policy
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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 at the following Internet site: http://www.crtc.gc.ca
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Appendix to Decision CRTC 2001-642
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Terms and conditions of licence for the Christian music FM radio
station at Brantford |
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Terms
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The Commission will only issue the licence, and it will only be
effective at such time as:
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· it receives documentation establishing that an eligible
Canadian corporation has been incorporated in accordance with the
application in all material respects and that this corporation may
be issued a licence.
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· the licensee confirms in writing that it is ready to begin
operation. This must take place within 12 months of today’s
date. Any request for an extension to that deadline requires
Commission approval and must be made in writing within that
period.
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· the Department of Industry, having advised that the
application is conditionally technically acceptable, has
determined that there is no unacceptable interference with NAV/COM
services and indicated that it will issue a broadcasting
certificate (section 22(1) of the Broadcasting Act).
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The licence, when issued, will expire 31 August 2008.
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As proposed, the station will operate on the frequency
99.5 MHz, channel 258LP, with an effective radiated power
of 50 watts.
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The technical parameters approved in this decision are for a
low-power unprotected FM service. The applicant would have to select
another frequency for the operation of the service if required to do
so to permit the best use of the frequency band.
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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 (Public Notice CRTC 1992-59).
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Conditions of licence |
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The licence will be subject to the following conditions of
licence, all of which are consistent with commitments made by
the licensee, as well as the conditions in the licence to be issued
which are also set out in Public Notice CRTC 1999-137.
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By conditions of the licence, the licensee must:
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· operate the station within the Specialty format as defined
in Public Notices CRTC 1995-60 and
2000-14 as amended from time to
time;
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· draw at least 95% of the total weekly music from subcategory
35 (non-classic religious);
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· ensure that a minimum of 15% of Category 3 music
selections (Special Interest) broadcast each week are Canadian
selections;
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· broadcast, in any broadcast week, no more than 20% hit
material as defined in Public Notice CRTC 1997-42, as amended from
time to time;
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· contribute towards the development of Canadian talent a
minimum of $20,300 in direct cost expenditures over the seven-year
licence term, beginning with a minimum of $2,600 in the first
year, increasing by increments of $100 in each subsequent year,
and reaching a minimum of $3,200 in the seventh year.
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Date Modified: 2001-10-11 |