CHPC Committee Report

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THE COMMITTEE’S RECOMMENDATIONS

Throughout the study the Committee has mindful that the CRTC was in the process of examining many of these same issues.

The Committee recognized that the problems in the local television industry needed to be addressed as soon as possible.

Before recommending any specific course of action, the Committee decided to set out the following general principles:

RECOMMENDATION 1

The Committee recommends that any programs designed to assist local broadcasting be open to both private and public broadcasters, including CBC/Radio-Canada, Aboriginal broadcasters, educational broadcasters, community television, and small broadcasters representing official language minority communities.

RECOMMENDATION 2

The Committee reaffirms the importance of maintaining Canadian content and local programming obligations.

The Committee then adopted the following recommendations:

RECOMMENDATION 3

In recognition of the structural problems facing the local television industry, the Committee recommends that contributions to the Local Programming Improvement Fund go from 1% to 2.5% of broadcasting distribution undertaking revenues commencing September 2009.

The Committee further recommends that the Fund be dedicated such that CBC/Radio-Canada and its affiliates receive 1% of broadcasting distribution undertaking revenues, with at least 10% of this amount dedicated to official language minority communities.

The Committee further recommends that 1.5% of broadcasting distribution undertaking revenues be dedicated to broadcasters in small- and medium-size markets, consistent with recommendation 1.

RECOMMENDATION 4

The Committee recommends that the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission ensure that the budget of the Local Programming Improvement Fund is used exclusively for new, original local programming in small- and medium-size markets.

RECOMMENDATION 5

The Committee recommends that that Local Program Improvement Fund governance structure include representatives of the local station employees and that broadcasters provide annual reports to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission to show they are using the funds for new investments in local programming.

RECOMMENDATION 6

The Committee reiterates its support for public television by calling for stable, multi-year, and predictable financing for CBC/Radio-Canada. It also calls on the Government of Canada to consider reducing the reliance of CBC/Radio-Canada on commercial advertising.

RECOMMENDATION 7

The Committee recommends to CBC/Radio-Canada that it actively participate in the strategic review process, identify cost-saving measures and viable reinvestment ideas, and that the Government of Canada do not recover these funds so that they may be reinstated to support the future plans and priorities of CBC/Radio-Canada.

RECOMMENDATION 8

The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada consider eliminating Part II licence fees.

RECOMMENDATION 9

The Committee calls on the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission to address the growing discrepancy between foreign and Canadian program spending.

RECOMMENDATION 10

The Committee calls on the Government of Canada to examine regulatory or legislative changes that would provide the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission with the ability to impose Administrative Monetary Penalties on broadcasters or broadcasting distribution undertakings deemed not in compliance of their licence.

RECOMMENDATION 11

In the interests of accountability, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission should include in its annual monitoring report statistics on the hours of original local news and non-news content originated and broadcast by each over-the-air television station.

RECOMMENDATION 12

As the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission conducts its review of licence terms for private conventional television broadcasters, the Committee calls on it to consider the impact of the concentration of media ownership on the broadcast sector and to re-examine the balance between conventional and specialty television.

RECOMMENDATION 13

The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada ensure that independent producers have access to the Canada Media Fund and are consulted on its administration.

RECOMMENDATION 14

The Committee recommends that the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission enforce the carriage by satellite carriers of local signals that are carried on cable systems.

RECOMMENDATION 15

The Committee recommends that public, community, Aboriginal, and educational channels be part of the basic cable package, that CBC/Radio-Canada be available outside major urban centres, and that beyond the basic package, subscribers be free to choose channels individually.

RECOMMENDATION 16

The Committee calls on the Government of Canada to work with broadcasters and broadcasting distribution undertakings on a plan to meet the deadline for the transition to digital and recommends that the government consider options for assisting the transition.

RECOMMENDATION 17

To protect the integrity of local markets, the Committee recommends that the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission either stop the distribution of distant signals by broadcasting distribution undertakings or restrict them such that a prime-time show may not be viewed in any region before the local affiliate has had the opportunity to broadcast it as per their local schedule.

RECOMMENDATION 18

The committee recommends that the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission relax the restrictions on local advertisements on community television.