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Information
February 12, 2001
ACHIEVING A BETTER BALANCE:
REPORT ON FRENCH-LANGUAGE
BROADCASTING SERVICES IN A MINORITY ENVIRONMENT
REPORT HIGHLIGHTS
Digital Distribution
- From now on, cable distributors must offer more Canadian pay and specialty television services, in English and French, to better respond to the needs of audiences whose official language is that of the minority. This requirement takes into account the number of subscribers served by cable distributors and the capabilities of the digital technology they use.
- The obligation for companies to distribute these services does not extend to an obligation on the part of customers to subscribe to them. The choice of whether or not to subscribe to these services continues to rest with the consumer.
- The accessibility of French-language specialty services to subscribers at a reasonable price is an issue related to their distribution across the country. The Commission therefore expects specialty television services and distribution undertakings to work together to ensure the provision of these services at affordable rates and packages that respond to the needs of francophone minorities, as these companies proposed to do at the public hearing.
Analog Distribution
- For the time being, the majority of cable subscribers continue to receive analog services. For this reason, cable distributors who serve 2,000 or more subscribers will be required to continue to offer the same number of French-language Canadian analog services as they were distributing on March 10, 2000.
- Subject to signal access, all cable distributors, without exception, are required to distribute at least one CBC signal and one Société Radio-Canada signal. Furthermore, the Commission expects satellite service providers to offer the English and French regional signals of the national public broadcaster.
- The Commission encourages the Réseau de l’information (RDI) to continue its efforts to ensure analog distribution of its service.
Reflection of Francophone Minority Communities
- In order to better reflect the diverse reality of minority francophone communities, the Commission hopes that the traditional public and private, educational, specialty and community broadcasters will air more quality programming that showcases the unique voice and face of these communities.
Independent Production outside Québec
- The Commission encourages the various stakeholders to increase the number of original programs coming from minority francophone environments and aired by Canadian broadcasters. To do this, licensees providing traditional and specialty French-language television services accessible in digital mode throughout Canada could make greater use of independent producers from outside Québec.
Radio
- Regarding French-language radio services, Radio-Canada should, consistent with the commitments it made and with the conditions and expectations set out at the time of its licence renewal, ensure fair representation of the issues and concerns of all francophone communities in the country, through its regional stations and network programming. In addition, it should gradually extend the reach of its Chaîne culturelle between now and the end of its current licence term.
- Within the context of the regulations currently being developed for community radio, the Commission sees an opportunity for this medium to play a greater role in broadcasting French-language services designed to respond to local needs and interests.
The New Media
- The Commission views the Internet as an effective means of making some broadcasting services more accessible in urban and rural areas with concentrations of francophone minorities, and where no other means are available. The CRTC therefore encourages all the players in the Canadian broadcasting system to take advantage of the complementary nature of the traditional and new media in order to reach the greatest possible number of listeners and viewers by offering them a wide range of choices.
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General Inquiries:
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0N2
Tel: (819) 997-0313, TDD: (819) 994-0423, Fax: (819) 994-0218
Toll-free # 1-877-249-CRTC (2782), eMail: info@crtc.gc.ca
TDD - Toll-free # 1-877-909-2782
Media Relations:
Denis Carmel, Tel: (819) 997-9403, eMail: denis.carmel@crtc.gc.ca
Date Modified: 2001-02-12
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