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Decision CRTC 2001-669
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Ottawa, 2 November 2001
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Vision TV: Canada’s Faith Network
Across Canada 2001-0162-6
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19 June 2001 Public Hearing
National Capital Region
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Short-term licence renewal for Vision TV: Canada’s Faith
Network
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The Commission renews the licence issued to Vision TV for
its national, multi-faith, English-language specialty television
service. This renewal is for a term of 33 months only, from 1
December 2001 to 31 August 2004. The Commission will use this period
to assess the effectiveness of mechanisms intended to ensure the
licensee’s compliance with its condition of licence concerning the
exhibition of Canadian content. |
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The licence will be subject to the conditions specified in this
decision and in the licence to be issued. These include a condition
specifying that compliance with Canadian content requirements be
calculated and achieved on a six-month, rather than on an annual
basis. |
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As an unrelated matter, the Commission denies a proposed
increase in Vision TV’s wholesale rate; the Commission is not
convinced of the appropriateness of an increase at this time. |
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Compliance with Canadian content requirements |
1. |
Vision TV is a not-for-profit, specialty programming service
devoted to the provision of balanced programming about the varied
religious practices and beliefs of Canadians. Notwithstanding the
concerns addressed below, the Commission shares the views of almost
all interveners regarding Vision TV's positive contribution to the
Canadian broadcasting system, and its role in promoting
understanding of and co-operation among different religious groups
in Canada. |
2. |
Vision TV’s current conditions of licence include a requirement
that the licensee provide a minimum of 60% Canadian content in the
programming offered during the broadcast year and during the evening
broadcast period. According to evidence on the public file,
including the licensee’s acknowledgement of shortcomings in this
regard, Vision TV has been out of compliance with these requirements
during the broadcast year by approximately 3% in each of the past
four years, as well as during the evening broadcast period in
1998/99. |
3. |
The licensee attributed its non-compliance to a number of
factors. These include repeated and persistent errors over the
period with respect to the logging of Canadian content. Vision TV
also cited the failure of independent producers in years past to
obtain Canadian certification for much of the Mosaic* programming
they had produced on behalf of individual religious groups and
organizations for broadcast on Vision TV. |
4. |
According to the licensee, increasing program costs have
compounded its difficulties. It noted, for example, that various
projects to which it had committed financial support subsequently
failed to obtain funding from the Canadian Television Fund.
According to Vision TV, this and other factors have had the effect
of obliging it to spend more money on fewer projects. |
5. |
The Commission is deeply concerned by the licensee’s persistent
failure over much of the past licence term to achieve the minimum
levels of Canadian content required by its licence conditions. Given
the gravity of Vision TV’s non-compliance, the Commission is not
prepared to renew its licence for more than the 33 month period
noted at the outset of this decision. At the same time, the
Commission believes that Vision TV understands the seriousness of
the problems that existed in its management, tracking and reporting
of Canadian content, and that it is now prepared to take all
necessary steps to ensure no future recurrence of its
non-compliance. As stated by the licensee: |
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We have completed a thorough review of our programming system
and we now have a complete understanding of the causes of our
deficiencies and how to correct them.
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6. |
Vision TV stressed that it is under new management, and confirmed
that, following the review mentioned above, it has appointed a
Director of Programming Operations, with specific responsibility for
the development, implementation and monitoring of systems to ensure
compliance. Software has been purchased and three additional staff
members employed to track the Canadian content in Vision TV’s
program inventory and schedules, and to make any necessary
corrections before problems occur. These new staff will also be
active in processing requests for certification of programs as
Canadian and will ensure that these requests are filed in a timely
manner. The licensee added that a program will not be broadcast
without first having been certified as Canadian, and stated that it
is "confident that these changes…will ensure compliance this
year and in the future". |
7. |
The Commission wishes to be assured of the ongoing effectiveness
of the various steps taken by Vision TV. Accordingly, the Commission
expects the licensee to adhere to its commitments to remain in
compliance, to monitor closely the results of the mechanisms it has
put in place for this purpose, and to refine and improve upon them
as necessary. In addition, the Commission wishes to assess the
licensee’s compliance on a more frequent basis than it has in the
past. It has therefore decided to impose a condition of licence
requiring the licensee to achieve a minimum level of 60% Canadian
content during both the broadcast day and the evening broadcast
period on the basis of a six-month measurement period. This is as
opposed to the current measurement period of a broadcast year. |
8. |
This and other conditions of licence applicable to Vision TV, are
set out in the appendix to this decision. The Commission will review
the licensee’s compliance with these conditions at the time of
next licence renewal. |
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Proposed rate increase |
9. |
As a dual status service, Vision TV is carried as part of the
basic service package offered by most cable distribution
undertakings. As such, Vision TV receives the largest portion of its
revenues from a monthly wholesale rate remitted to it by
distributors. The Commission has set this rate, by condition of
licence, at eight cents per subscriber per month. Vision TV also
earns revenue from advertising, the sale of airtime for the
broadcast of Mosaic programming, program sales to religious
broadcasters operating outside of Canada, and from other sources
such as donations and grants. |
10. |
As part of its renewal application, Vision TV requested that its
licence be amended to increase the authorized monthly wholesale rate
by seven cents, to a total of fifteen cents per subscriber. It
indicated that the proposed increase was needed to maintain the
existing level of service and to enable it to bring about an
"increase in programming unique to the system". The
licensee stated that its audience has been declining in size in
recent years, in part because it has had to increase the level of
repeat broadcasts of Canadian programming to meet its Canadian
content obligations. It added that, without the proposed rate
increase, it would be unable to pursue its programming initiatives,
and that this would lead to further audience erosion. According to
the licensee’s projections, this audience erosion could translate
into a decline of almost $14 million per year in the revenues it
earns from advertising, the sale of airtime, and from donations and
grants. |
11. |
The Commission has examined the audience measurement data for
Vision TV over the course of the past five years. Notwithstanding
the licensee’s claim that its audience has decreased, the
Commission finds the data inconclusive on this issue, particularly
with respect to the size of the licensee’s primary target
demographic of those 50 years of age and older. Moreover, during the
period in which Vision TV asserts that its audience levels have
decreased, its revenues have been increasing. In particular, those
revenue streams most closely associated with audience size -
advertising, airtime sales and fundraising activities - have shown
stable growth over the period. In the circumstances, all things
being equal, the Commission considers it reasonable to expect that
Vision TV’s revenues will continue to expand, contrary to the
applicant’s projections. |
12. |
The Commission evaluates applications by specialty television
services such as Vision TV for increases in the wholesale rate on a
case-by-case basis, taking into account the particular circumstances
of each applicant. Ultimately, the decision to approve or deny any
such application must also be based upon the public interest and the
objectives of the Broadcasting Act. As a rule, however, it is
not the Commission’s policy to grant a rate increase based solely
on a projected or potential decrease in revenues. Based on the
available evidence, the Commission is not convinced of the
appropriateness of an increase in Vision TV’s wholesale rate at
this time, and, accordingly, denies the applicant’s request. |
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Other matters |
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Cultural diversity
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13. |
The Commission expects Vision TV, and all other specialty and pay
television licensees, to contribute to a broadcasting system that
accurately reflects the presence in Canada of cultural and racial
minorities and Aboriginal peoples. The Commission further expects
licensees to ensure that their on-screen portrayal of all such
groups is accurate, fair and free of stereotypes. These expectations
are fully in keeping with section 3(1)(d)(iii) of the Broadcasting
Act, which states that the Canadian broadcasting system should,
"through its programming and the employment opportunities
arising out of its operations, serve the needs and interests, and
reflect the circumstances and aspirations, of Canadian men, women
and children, including equal rights, the linguistic duality and
multicultural and multiracial nature of Canadian society and the
special place of aboriginal peoples within that society" (the
Act’s cultural diversity objective). |
14. |
In Public Notice CRTC 2001-88, Representation of cultural
diversity on television – Creation of an industry/community task
force, the Commission called upon the Canadian Association of
Broadcasters to develop an action plan for a joint
industry/community task force. The role of this task force is to
sponsor research, identify "best practices", and help
define the issues and present practical solutions to ensure that the
Canadian broadcasting system reflects all Canadians. In its notice,
the Commission emphasized the importance of having the participation
of all sectors of the broadcasting industry, including specialty
services. Consistent with the licensee’s commitment at the
hearing, the Commission expects Vision TV to contribute to the work
of the task force. |
15. |
As a multifaith service, Vision TV fills an important niche in
Canada’s broadcasting system. It serves as a window for the
broadcast of a significant amount of programming obtained from
independent producers. This Mosaic programming features the stories
and the perspectives of Canadians representing a wide range of
distinct religious and cultural backgrounds. Through this
programming in particular, which is not generally of a type that
finds broad exposure on other elements of the system, Vision TV has
consistently demonstrated its sensitivity to the importance of
providing a reflection of Canada’s cultural diversity. |
16. |
The Commission notes the licensee’s ongoing commitment to
ensure that this diversity continues to find reflection in all
aspects of its service. Nevertheless, and consistent with the
expectations the Commission is placing on the licensees of other
specialty and pay television services whose licences are being
renewed at this time, the Commission expects Vision TV to develop
and implement a comprehensive corporate plan that explains how it
intends to continue to improve its representation of Canada’s
cultural diversity, and to file this plan with the Commission within
three months of the date of this decision. The plan should include
specific commitments to corporate accountability and to the
reflection of diversity in programming, and should make provision
for the gathering of feedback on the effectiveness of these
commitments. The plan should also set goals for achieving the full,
fair and consistent reflection of diversity in Canada. |
17. |
With respect to corporate accountability, the plan should
address how Vision TV will create an environment that supports the
cultural diversity objectives outlined above, by: |
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· creating a corporate culture that
recognizes and supports Canada’s cultural diversity; |
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· assigning accountability to a senior
executive for corporate practices related to cultural diversity, and
for ensuring that management becomes more reflective of Canada’s
multicultural reality; |
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· ensuring that managers receive proper
training; |
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· ensuring that regular opportunities
are provided for assessing progress towards attaining these
objectives and for identifying future opportunities and challenges;
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· setting out plans for the hiring,
retention and ongoing training of visible minorities and Aboriginal
peoples. |
18. |
With respect to the reflection of diversity in programming,
the plan should focus on how the licensee will ensure the presence
and the fair, accurate and non-stereotypical portrayal of cultural
minorities and Aboriginal peoples in the programming it produces or
acquires. Specifically, the plan should include provisions for
making certain that: |
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· on-air personalities reflect Canada’s
diversity; |
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· those responsible for casting, in
particular for casting leading and recurring roles, make a concerted
effort to hire visible minority and Aboriginal actors; |
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· those responsible for script
development ensure that minorities and Aboriginal peoples are not
portrayed stereotypically; and |
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· programming obtained from independent
producers reflects the presence of visible minorities and Aboriginal
peoples in Canadian society and provides for their accurate
portrayal. |
19. |
As for feedback, the corporate plan should describe the
specific mechanisms the licensee will put in place to ensure that it
receives effective input from community groups concerning its
performance in reflecting cultural diversity in programming. |
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Employment equity/on-air presence |
20. |
The Commission reminds the licensee that the expectations set out
above with respect to cultural diversity are over and above its
longstanding and more general expectations concerning employment
equity. Specifically, the Commission expects the licensee to adhere
to the comprehensive employment equity plan that it filed with its
application. The Commission also encourages Vision TV to continue to
consider employment equity issues in its hiring practices and in all
other aspects of its management of human resources. |
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Service to the visually impaired |
21. |
In decisions issued last December, the Commission encouraged the
licensees of new Category 1 specialty services, over their new
licence terms, to provide increasing amounts of programming
accompanied by audio or video description. More recently, in
decisions issued in the fall of this year renewing the licences for
the television stations owned by CanWest Global, CTV and TVA, the
Commission imposed conditions of licence regarding the provision of
increasing amounts of such programming. |
22. |
"Audio description" and "video description"
or "described video" are methods of improving the service
that television broadcasters provide to people who are visually
impaired. Audio description involves the provision of basic
voice-overs of textual or graphic information displayed on the
screen. A broadcaster providing audio description will, for example,
not simply display sports scores on the screen, but also read them
aloud so that people who are visually impaired can receive the
information. |
23. |
Video description, or described video as it is also known,
consists of narrative descriptions of a program’s key visual
elements that enable people who are visually impaired to form a
mental picture of what is occurring on the screen. These
descriptions can be provided on the Secondary Audio Programming
(SAP) channel. Not all broadcasters are currently equipped to
deliver an SAP signal. Thus, the introduction of described video via
the SAP channel could require significant capital expenditures to
upgrade a licensee's transmission facilities. |
24. |
The Commission notes the increasing amount of described
programming available for acquisition, particularly from U.S.
sources. It notes as well the encouragement given to the operators
of the new Category 1 specialty services and the requirements it has
placed on the television stations operated by the three larger
broadcasting groups concerning the provision of such programming. In
correspondence with Vision TV, the Commission requested the licensee’s
views on implementing audio description, video description or
described video. In the circumstances, the Commission considers it
reasonable to expect the operators of the pay and specialty services
whose licences are being renewed at this time to take similar steps
to respond to the needs of viewers who are visually impaired. |
25. |
Accordingly, the Commission expects Vision TV to: |
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· provide audio description (defined as
the provision of basic voice-overs of textual or graphic information
displayed on screen) wherever appropriate: |
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· undertake the necessary upgrades to
permit the broadcast of described programming (for example, via the
second audio programming, or SAP, channel). |
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· acquire and broadcast the described
versions of a program wherever possible; and |
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· take the necessary steps to ensure
that its customer service responds to the needs of visually impaired
viewers. |
26. |
In addition, and consistent with the approach adopted for the new
Category 1 services, the Commission encourages the licensee to
provide, at a minimum, one hour per month of described programming
in the period between 1 December 2001 and 31 August 2002, and to
increase this monthly minimum by at least one hour in each
subsequent year of its licence term. |
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Closed captioning |
27. |
The Commission is committed to improving service to television
viewers who are deaf or hearing impaired. Over the period since the
Commission announced its policy on closed captioning in Public
Notice CRTC 1995-48, it has consistently encouraged broadcasters to
increase the amount of captioned programming they provide. The
Commission now requires the licensees of conventional television,
specialty and pay television undertakings to achieve a minimum level
of captioned programming appropriate to the nature of the service
that each provides. Generally, the specified minimum requirement is
90% of all programming. |
28. |
In its application, Vision TV described the difficulties it would
face in captioning the portion of its program schedule that is
devoted to the broadcast of Mosaic programming. The licensee noted
that this programming is largely the product of independent
producers who have neither the financial nor technical resources
required to caption their programs. Vision TV also noted that it
routinely receives this Mosaic programming very close to the hour it
is scheduled for broadcast. The licensee stated that the only option
would be for it to provide "real time" captions, but that
this would constitute a substantial financial burden for the
service. Vision TV did state, however, that it would be prepared to
caption its entire Cornerstone schedule within the first year of the
new licence term. |
29. |
The Commission accepts that it may be unreasonable to require
Vision TV to assume the costs of providing real time captioning for
its Mosaic programming at this time. It has therefore decided not to
impose any obligation in this decision regarding the captioning of
this portion of the licensee’s schedule (approximately 45%). The
Commission notes, however, the licensee’s commitment with respect
to the captioning of all of its Cornerstone programming (a minimum
of 45% of all programming). Under Vision TV’s licence conditions,
the remaining 10% of the schedule may come from any or all other
program categories. |
30. |
Consistent with Vision TV’s commitment, the Commission has
decided to require the licensee, beginning 1 December 2001, to close
caption 90% of all of its programming, with the exception of its
Mosaic programming. A condition of licence to this effect is
contained in the appendix to this decision.
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31. |
The 90% obligation is based on the recognition that requiring
100% captioning at all times may not be reasonable or appropriate.
Thus, the obligation is designed to provide some flexibility to
cover unforeseen circumstances (such as late delivery of captions,
technical malfunctions, or the lack of availability of captions for
programs acquired outside North America), or programming where
captioning may not be feasible, such as third language programming. |
32. |
The Commission expects the licensee to focus on improving the
quality, reliability and accuracy of closed captioning, and to work
with representatives of the deaf and hard of hearing community to
ensure that captioning continues to meet their needs. The Commission
also expects the licensee to work with the producers of its Mosaic
programming in order to provide for the captioning of as much Mosaic
programming as possible. |
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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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______________________________
*
"Mosaic" programs are defined as paid-time denominational presentations produced or acquired at arm's length by various faith groups. They comprise approximately 45% of the licensee’s schedule. Much of the remainder of the program schedule (a minimum of 45% by condition of licence) consists of "Cornerstone" programs, which are general, interfaith programs produced or acquired by the licensee itself.
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Appendix to Decision CRTC 2001-669
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Conditions of licence for the specialty service
provided by
Vision TV: Canada’s Faith Network |
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1. (a) The programming provided by the
licensee shall consist exclusively of interfaith, religious
programming that is related to, inspired by, or arises from persons'
spirituality, including related moral or ethical issues. |
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(b) Subject to 1. (a), not less than 90%
of the programming provided by the licensee shall be drawn from
category 4 (Religion) as set out in Schedule I of the Specialty
Services Regulations, 1990. |
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2. The licensee shall devote not less
than 45% of the total hours distributed in any one broadcast year to
the distribution of Cornerstone programming. |
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3. During the period between 1 December
2001 and 31 August 2002, the licensee shall devote to the
distribution of Canadian programs not less than 60% of: |
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(a) the total number of hours devoted by
the licensee to broadcasting during the aggregate of the broadcast
months in that period, and |
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(b) the total time devoted to the
broadcasting of programs between six o'clock in the afternoon and
midnight. |
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4. Beginning 1 September 2002 the
licensee shall devote to the distribution of Canadian programs not
less than 60% of: |
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(a) each broadcast semester over the
licence term, and |
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(b) the evening broadcast period. |
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5. The Board of Directors of Vision TV
shall consist of a minimum of nine members and a maximum of twelve
members, and shall include representatives of at least three of the
following world religions: Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam,
Judaism, Bahai, Native Spirituality, Sikhism, Unitarianism and
Zoroastrianism. |
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6. The licensee shall ensure that, with
respect to members of the Board of Directors, no more than two new
or replacement directors shall have backgrounds that reflect a
subdivision or denomination of any one world religion, or shall
share a single faith perspective. |
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7. The licensee shall maintain over the
licence term a Mosaic Program Management Group with the terms of
reference, membership and mandate set out on page 15 of the original
application for a licence dated 30 April 1987. |
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8. The licensee shall file a report with
the Commission on or before 30 November of each year, |
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(a) enumerating the world religions as
well as the subdivisions, denominations or faith perspective
thereof, represented on the Board of Directors as of the preceding
31 August; |
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(b) describing how Vision TV
has reflected, over the 12-month period ending the preceding 31
August, the range of Canadian religious beliefs, including a list of
the groups that have purchased Mosaic time and the amount of time
each has purchased; |
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(c) providing a breakdown of
the programming distributed on Vision TV over the 12-month period
ending the preceding 31 August between Cornerstone and Mosaic
programming; and |
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(d) providing a description of the
membership and activities of the Mosaic Program Management Group
over the 12-month period ending the preceding 31 August. |
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9. (a) In accordance with the
Commission's position on Canadian programming expenditures as set
out in Public Notices CRTC 1993-93 and
1993-174, the licensee shall,
in each broadcast year, expend not less than 45% of its gross
revenues for the previous year on the acquisition of and/or
investment in, Canadian programs. |
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(b) In any broadcast year of the licence
term, excluding the final year, the licensee may expend an amount on
Canadian programming that is up to five percent (5%) less than the
minimum required expenditure for that year calculated in accordance
with this condition; in such case, the licensee shall expend in the
next year of the licence term, in addition to the minimum required
expenditure for that year, the full amount of the previous year's
underspending. |
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(c) In any broadcast year of the licence
term, including the final year, the licensee may expend an amount on
Canadian programming that is greater than the minimum required
expenditure for that year calculated in accordance with this
condition; in such case, the licensee may deduct: |
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(i) from the minimum required expenditure
for the next year of the licence term, an amount not exceeding the
amount of the previous year's overspending; and |
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(ii) from the minimum required
expenditure for any subsequent year of the licence term, an amount
not exceeding the difference between the overspending and any amount
deducted under paragraph (i) above. |
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(d) Notwithstanding the above, during the
licence term, the licensee shall expend on Canadian programming, at
a minimum, the total of the minimum required expenditures calculated
in accordance with the licensee's condition of licence. |
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10. (a) Subject to subsections (b) and
(d) below, the licensee shall not distribute more than twelve
minutes of advertising material during each clock hour. Advertising
material shall include all commercial activities, such as
solicitations, merchandising and give-aways. |
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(b) In addition to the twelve minutes of
advertising material referred to in subsection (a), the
licensee may broadcast partisan political advertising during an
election period. |
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(c) The licensee shall not distribute any
paid advertising material other than paid national advertising. |
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(d) Where a program occupies time in two
or more consecutive clock hours, the licensee may exceed the maximum
number of minutes of advertising material allowed in those clock
hours if the average number of minutes of advertising material in
those clock hours occupied by the program does not exceed the
maximum number of minutes that would otherwise be allowed per clock
hour. |
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(e) All solicitation of funds on Vision
TV must conform with the provisions of the licensee's Code of Ethics
and Program Practices, as amended from time to time and approved by
the Commission, subject to the limitations as to time set out in
this condition. The application of the foregoing condition of
licence will be suspended as long as the licensee remains a member
in good standing of the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC). |
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(f) The solicitation of funds in
Cornerstone programming shall together comprise no more than 90
seconds per half-hour and no accumulation shall be permitted. |
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(g) The solicitation of funds in Mosaic
programming shall together comprise no more than 90 seconds per
half-hour, and no accumulation shall be permitted.
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11. The licensee shall charge each
exhibitor of this service a maximum wholesale rate of $0.08 per
subscriber per month for exhibition on the basic service. |
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12. The licensee shall adhere to the
guidelines on gender portrayal set out in the Canadian Association
of Broadcasters' (CAB) Sex-Role Portrayal Code for Television and
Radio Programming, as amended from time to time and approved by
the Commission. The application of the foregoing condition of
licence will be suspended as long as the licensee remains a member
in good standing of the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC). |
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13. The licensee shall adhere to the
provisions of the CAB's Broadcast Code for Advertising to
Children, as amended from time to time and approved by the
Commission. |
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14. The licensee shall adhere to the
guidelines on the depiction of violence in television programming
set out in the CAB's Voluntary Code Regarding Violence in
Television Programming, as amended from time to time and
approved by the Commission. The application of the foregoing
condition of licence will be suspended as long as the licensee
remains a member in good standing of the CBSC. |
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15. Together with the record required to
be filed with the Commission pursuant to subsection 7(2) of the Specialty
Services Regulations, 1990, the licensee is required to provide
in its program log or machine readable record for each solicitation
of funds, the time of commencement and duration. |
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16. Beginning on 1 December 2001, the
licensee shall close caption 90% of its programming during the
broadcast day, with the exception of Mosaic programming. |
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For the purpose of these conditions of
licence: |
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(a) all time zone periods shall be
reckoned according to the eastern time zone; |
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(b) the terms "broadcast day,"
"broadcast month," "broadcast year," and
"clock hour" shall have the same meaning as those set out
in the Television Broadcasting Regulations, 1987; |
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(c) the term "broadcast
semester" shall mean the total number of hours devoted by the
licensee to broadcasting during the aggregate of the broadcast
months in a six month period, beginning 1 September 2002. |
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(d) the term "evening broadcast
period" shall mean the total time devoted to the broadcasting
of programs between six o'clock in the afternoon and midnight during
each broadcast semester; |
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(e) "paid national advertising"
shall mean advertising that is purchased at a national rate and
which receives national distribution on the service; and, |
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(f) "Cornerstone programming"
shall mean general interfaith programs produced or acquired by the
licensee itself, while "Mosaic programming" shall mean
paid-time denominational presentations produced or acquired at arm’s
length by various faith groups. Where Cornerstone programming and
Mosaic programming are logged, the program classes used must be
"COR" and "MOS", respectively. |
Date Modified: 2001-11-02
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