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Broadcasting
Decision CRTC 2006-560
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Ottawa, 28
September 2006 |
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Ramanjeet Sivia, on
behalf of a corporation to be incorporated
Montréal, Quebec |
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Application 2005-0932-5
Public Hearing at Edmonton, Alberta
19 June 2006 |
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Digital radio
undertaking in Montréal
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In this decision, the Commission
denies an application for a stand-alone, ethnic digital radio
programming undertaking to serve Montréal, Quebec. |
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The application
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1.
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The Commission received an application by
Ramanjeet Sivia, on behalf of a corporation to be incorporated, (Sivia)
for a broadcasting licence to operate a stand-alone, ethnic digital
radio programming undertaking to serve Montréal, Quebec. The applicant
proposed to operate the new radio undertaking from one of the three
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation facilities located in Montréal at
1458.048 MHz (DRB channel 4) with an effective isotropic radiated power
of 11,724 watts. |
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2.
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Sivia stated that not less than 90% of all
programming broadcast by the proposed radio station would be in the
Punjabi, Hindi, Urdu and Tamil languages. The programming would be
targeted to the Indian and Pakistani communities in Montréal. |
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3.
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Sivia further indicated that the proposed
radio station would offer a minimum of 11 hours of news in each
broadcast week, of which 80% would be produced locally. The
international news broadcast on the proposed radio station would
originate with third parties, particularly those located in India. The
proposed radio station would air up to 31 hours of religious programming
in each broadcast week, including services originating primarily from
various temples. It would broadcast other spoken word programming
focusing on the promotion of cultural diversity, education, and helping
new immigrants to integrate into Canadian society. |
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4.
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Sivia projected that its proposed radio
station would generate revenues of $327,000 in the first year of
operation, increasing to $818,000 in its seventh year. |
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5.
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Sivia made commitments to devote a minimum
of $3,000 in each broadcast year to the Canadian Association of Ethnic
Broadcasters, and to contribute an additional $2,000 in each of the
second and third broadcast years to a university that offers courses in
radio and television broadcasting. |
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Interventions
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6.
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The Commission did not receive any
interventions in connection with this application. |
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Commission’s analysis
and determination
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7.
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Because the applicant proposed to operate
an ethnic service, the Commission considered Sivia’s application in
light of the policy provisions set out in Ethnic Broadcasting Policy,
Public Notice CRTC 1999-117,
16 July 1999 (the Ethnic Policy). One of the key provisions of the
Ethnic Policy is that ethnic radio stations are expected to serve
a broad range of cultural groups in a variety of languages since the
scarcity of frequencies may not permit the licensing of an over-the-air
single-language service for each ethnic group in a given market. When
dealing with applications for ethnic services, the Commission decides
on the minimum number of distinct cultural groups that a station must
serve on the basis of the demographics of the community, the services
already available, and the degree of support shown by local community
organizations. |
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8.
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In the present case, the applicant proposed
to serve only two cultural groups in four third-languages; that is,
languages other than French, English or an Aboriginal language. The
applicant claimed that the significant cost of purchasing digital radio
receivers prevented it from serving more cultural groups or providing
programming in more languages.
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9.
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Statistics Canada’s 2001 census
reported that speakers of Urdu, Tamil, Hindi and Punjabi in Montréal’s
central market area represent less than 1% of the population of that
area of the city. Given the relatively small size of the potential
audience and the requirement for listeners to acquire digital receivers,
the Commission is not convinced that the applicant’s financial
projections would be feasible. |
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10.
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Furthermore, the Commission
notes that issues relating to the technical standard for digital radio
transmission are among the issues considered in the public process
announced in Review of the Commercial Radio Policy, Broadcasting
Notice of Public Hearing CRTC 2006-1,
13 January 2006. The Commission held a public hearing on these
issues commencing 15 May 2006 in the National Capital Region.
Given the uncertainty inherent to the digital radio band, the Commission
concludes that it would be premature to license a stand-alone, digital
ethnic radio station at this time. |
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11.
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In light of all of the above, the
Commission denies the application by Ramanjeet Sivia, on behalf
of a corporation to be incorporated, for a broadcasting licence to
operate a stand-alone, ethnic digital radio programming undertaking to
serve Montréal. |
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12.
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The Commission encourages Sivia to consult
the ongoing public process relating to the Commission’s review of
commercial radio. |
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Secretary General |
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This decision 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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