CRTC issues consultation for several broadcasting applications

The CRTC is holding a consultation to determine a series of applications from broadcasting licences for a national English-language news services and a community radio station in British Columbia as well as Cogeco Inc. asset purchases from and Arsenal Media. Tuesday, the commission issued a notice of consultation with a Nov. 4 deadline for interventions and a hearing date set for Dec. 6. The commission intends to consider an application by The News Forum Inc. to acquire a broadcasting licence that would allow it to operate an English-language news service across Canada. “The applicant indicated that the service is devoted to daily national and international news, along with daily news analysis and commentary programming. The News Forum also stated that it intends to broaden the perspective of the viewer by providing greater context and more inclusive information from both sides of the given issue,” according to the CRTC’s consultation notice. The service has been operating since Aug. 27, 2020, according to the CRTC, but was subject to the Exemption Order because it had fewer than 200,000 subscribers. The service has exceeded 210,000 subscribers for more than three months now and must acquire the licence to continue its operations. The commission will also consider two applications involving Cogeco Media and Arsenal Media. In the first, Cogeco intends to acquire Arsenal Media’s French-language commercial radio station CILM-FM Saguenay, which operates in Chicoutimi, Que. In the second application, Arsenal Media is requesting to acquire Cogeco’s French-language commercial radio stations CHGO-FM Val-d’Or, and CHOA-FM Rouyn-Noranda. It also intends to acquire its transmitters CHOA-FM-1 Val-d’Or, CHOA-FM-2 La Sarre, CJGO-FM La Sarre and CJGO-FM-1 Rouyn-Noranda. Both parties are requesting licences that operate under the same terms and conditions as those currently in effect. Cogeco would purchase Arsenal’s assets for $600,000, while Arsenal would purchase Cogeco’s assets for $1.5 million. Finally, the CRTC will consider a broadcasting licence for Burns Lake & District Rebroadcasting Society to operate a radiocommunication distribution undertaking in the rural village in northwest British Columbia. It proposed to distribute the programming service of CBC Vancouver, Knowledge, and of the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network, according to the CRTC.

CRTC issues consultation for several broadcasting applications

Brief | October 5, 2021

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CRTC issues consultation for several broadcasting applications

Brief | October 5, 2021

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