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Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2006-471
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Ottawa, 6 September 2006 |
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Telelatino Network Inc., on behalf of
itself or a corporation to be incorporated
Across Canada |
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Application 2004-1508-5
Public Hearing in the National Capital Region
1 May 2006 |
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Spanish Sports TV 2 – Category 2 specialty service
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In this decision, the Commission
approves an application for a broadcasting licence to operate a new
Category 2 specialty programming undertaking. |
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The application
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1. |
The Commission received an application by
Telelatino Network Inc., on behalf of itself or a corporation to be
incorporated (TLN), for a broadcasting licence to operate a national,
ethnic Category 21
specialty programming undertaking to be known as Spanish Sports TV 2. |
2. |
The applicant proposed to offer a service
that would be devoted to the Spanish-speaking community and that would
consist of sports programming, including sporting events, magazine
shows, interviews and sports documentaries with a particular emphasis on
programming of interest to the 25 to 54 year old demographic. All of the
programming would be drawn from the following categories, as set out in
Schedule 1 to the Specialty Services Regulations, 1990: 1 News;
2(a) Analysis and interpretation; 2(b) Long-form documentary; 3
Reporting and actualities; 5(b) Informal education/Recreation and
leisure; 6(a) Professional sports; 6(b) Amateur sports; 7(c) Specials,
mini-series or made-for-TV feature films; 7(d) Theatrical feature films
aired on TV; 7(e) Animated television programs and films; 10 Game shows;
11 General entertainment and human interest; 12 Interstitials; 13 Public
service announcements; and 14 Infomercials, promotional and corporate
videos. |
3. |
The applicant proposed to broadcast not
less than 85% of its programming in the Spanish language and not more
than 15% in either the English or French language. |
4. |
The applicant also requested that it be
authorized, by condition of licence, to broadcast up to six minutes per
hour of local or regional advertising. |
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Interventions
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5. |
The Commission received one intervention in
support of this application. An intervention submitted jointly by
TerraTerra Communications Inc. (TTC) and NMTV Inc., also known as Nuevo
Mundo Television (Nuevo Mundo), licensee of a Spanish-language Category
2 service known as NMTV opposed the application, given the size of the
market. |
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Applicant’s reply
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6. |
TLN indicated that Nuevo Mundo and TTC did
not provide any specific reasons for their opposition to this
application. TLN further stated that the interveners may be concerned
about potential competition between TLN’s proposed service and NMTV. TLN
argued that the Commission has repeatedly reiterated its policy that
Category 2 specialty programming undertakings do not enjoy genre
protection, and may face competition from other Category 2 programming
services. |
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Commission’s analysis and determinations
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7. |
In Revised approach for the consideration
of broadcasting licence applications proposing new third-language
ethnic Category 2 pay and specialty services, Broadcasting Public
Notice CRTC 2005-104
, 23 November 2005, the Commission designed a new open-entry approach
for consideration of applications proposing new third-language ethnic
Category 2 services. The Commission defined a third-language programming
service as one that provides at least 90% of its programming in languages
other than English or French. |
8. |
In announcing its revised approach, the
Commission indicated that applicants proposing new Category 2 services
that would offer less than 90% of their programming in a third language
would continue to be assessed under the case-by-case approach set
out in Licensing framework policy for new digital pay and specialty
services, Public Notice CRTC 2000-6,
13 January 2000. In that framework, the Commission implemented a competitive,
open-entry approach to licensing Category 2 services. While the Commission
does not consider the impact that a new Category 2 service might have
on an existing Category 2 service, it does seek to ensure that newly
licensed Category 2 services do not compete directly with any existing
pay or specialty television service, including any Category 1 service. |
9. |
The Commission notes that the proposed
service would offer a Spanish-language service devoted specifically
to sports programming and would therefore not be directly competitive
with existing services. Therefore, the Commission is satisfied that
the application is in conformity with all applicable terms and conditions
announced in Introductory statement – Licensing of new digital
pay and specialty services – Corrected Appendix 2, Public Notice
CRTC 2000-171-1,
6 March 2001 (Public Notice 2000-171-1).
Accordingly, the Commission approves the application by Telelatino
Network Inc., on behalf of itself or a corporation to be incorporated,
for a broadcasting licence to operate a national, ethnic Category 2
specialty programming undertaking, Spanish Sports TV 2. |
10. |
With respect to the request to broadcast up
to six minutes of local or regional advertising, the Commission notes
that the service would be devoted to the Spanish-speaking community, and
that not less than 85% of all programming broadcast during the broadcast
week would be in the Spanish language. As a result, the Commission is of
the view that the service would not compete directly with existing
analog or Category 1 services and that the addition of local or regional
advertising on the proposed service would have limited impact on them. |
11. |
The Commission therefore approves
the applicant’s request for authority to broadcast up to six minutes per
hour of local and regional advertising. A condition of licence to
that effect is set out in the appendix to this decision. |
12. |
The Commission notes that Spanish Sports TV
2 will devote at least 85% of its program schedule to programming in the
Spanish language, with the remainder in English or French. The
Commission encourages the applicant to ensure that all such programming
serves to promote Canada’s linguistic duality. |
13. |
The licence will expire 31 August 2013,
and will be subject to the conditions set out in Public Notice
2000-171-1, as well
as to the conditions set out in the appendix to this decision. |
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Issuance of the licence
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14. |
A licence will be issued once the applicant
has satisfied the Commission, with supporting documentation, that the
following requirements have been met: |
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- an eligible Canadian corporation has been incorporated in
accordance with the application in all material respects or, in the
alternative, confirmation that the undertaking will be operated by
Telelatino Network Inc.;
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- the applicant has entered into a distribution agreement with at
least one licensed distributor; and
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- 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 36 months
from the date of this decision, unless a request for an extension of
time is approved by the Commission before 6 September 2009. 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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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 2006-471
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Conditions of licence
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1. The licence will be subject to the conditions set out
in Introductory statement – Licensing of new digital pay
and specialty services – Corrected Appendix 2, Public Notice
CRTC 2000-171-1
, 6 March 2001, except for condition 4d) which will not apply, and
condition 4a) which is replaced by the following:
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Except as otherwise provided in subparagraphs b) and c), the
licensee shall not broadcast more than twelve (12) minutes of
advertising material during each clock hour, no more than six (6)
minutes of which may consist of local or regional advertising.
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2. The licensee shall provide a national, ethnic Category 2
specialty programming service devoted to the Spanish-speaking
community and consisting of sports programming, including sporting
events, magazine shows, interviews and sports documentaries with a
particular emphasis on programming of interest to the 25 to 54 year
old demographic.
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3. The programming shall be drawn exclusively from the following
categories, as set out in Schedule I to the Specialty Services
Regulations, 1990, as amended from time to time:
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1 News
2 (a) Analysis and interpretation
(b) Long-form documentary
3 Reporting and actualities
5 (b) Informal education/Recreation and leisure
6 (a) Professional sports
(b) Amateur sports
7 (c) Specials, mini-series or made-for-TV feature films
(d) Theatrical feature films aired on TV
(e) Animated television programs and films
10 Game shows
11 General entertainment and human interest
12 Interstitials
13 Public service announcements
14 Infomercials, promotional and corporate videos
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4. Not less than 85% of all programming broadcast during the
broadcast week shall be in the Spanish language.
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For the purposes of the conditions of this
licence, including condition of licence no.1, broadcast day
refers to the 24-hour period beginning each day at 6 a.m., or any other
period approved by the Commission. |
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Footnote:
The Category 2 services are
defined in Introductory statement – Licensing of new digital pay
and specialty services, Public Notice CRTC 2000-171,
14 December 2000. |
Date Modified: 2006-09-06 |