CAB hits snag in meeting Jan. 19 deadline for new local programming fund

The proposed Local Programming Improvement Fund (LPIF) has hit its first snag with a Jan. 19 deadline that the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) is finding difficult to meet. It's uncertain if the delay will prompt the CRTC to open up the bidding for other groups interested in administering the new fund. In a Jan. 9 letter to the CRTC, CAB is asking for the deadline to be pushed back by almost a month to allow more time for consultations with the CBC and TVA, broadcasters who are not members of the association. CAB says a push-back to Feb.17 will also enable the association to consult potential fund administrators, which it did not name, and develop "a realistic proposal that takes into account the contexts and needs of conventional television stations in non-metropolitan markets>" The LPIF, which came out of a new policy for BDUs released at the end of October, was enacted to boost local programming, especially news in smaller markets with less than one million people. It will be funded through a contribution from BDUs, which will charge subscribers 50 cents per person. The fund is expected to generate about $60 million in its first year. The CRTC also asked the CAB to establish a framework for administering the fund by Jan. 19, saying it would open up bidding for tenders from other parties if the association failed to meet the deadline. In asking for an extension, CAB says the deadline coincides with several important proceedings in which its members are involved. These include the upcoming new media hearing, the access of broadcast services to minority English and French language hearing, the VOD framework and accessibility of broadcast services to people with disabilities hearing held in December. The CAB is also facing a leadership vacuum created by CAB president Glenn O'Farrell's decision to step down last month. Rob Malcolmson, a lawyer with the Toronto based firm Goodmans, says he agrees with the reasons cited by CAB. "Given everything on the regulatory agenda, it was perhaps an aggressive deadline on the part of the commission which was not realistic." The CAB also says it needs time to consult with non-CAB members, including public broadcasters, to determine how they would participate in the fund. In response to the CRTC's decision to create the LPIF, industry stakeholders questioned the need to allow the CBC, which is publicly subsidized, access to it. Some called it an "unnecessary subsidy." CAB however also elaborated that extension of the deadline would not interfere with regulations allowing BDUs to contribute 1% of their gross revenues to the LPIF.

CAB hits snag in meeting Jan. 19 deadline for new local programming fund

Broadcast | January 12, 2009

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