Broadcasting Distribution Regulations (SOR/97-555)

• 26 (1) Except as otherwise provided under a condition of its licence, a licensee may only distribute the following religious programming services on a discretionary basis:

  • (a) a limited point-of-view discretionary service;

  • (b) an exempt discretionary service;

  • (c) an authorized non-Canadian programming service.

• (2) Except as otherwise provided under a condition of its licence, a licensee shall not distribute a programming service referred to in subsection (1) in a package of programming services that is chosen by the licensee unless all of the services in the package are those referred to in that subsection and they are distributed on a discretionary basis.

• 27 (1) In this section, principal language means a language in which 40% or more of the programming of a programming service is provided over the course of a broadcast week.

• (2) For the purposes of this section, the definition third-language service in section 1 includes a programming service that is named in paragraph 138 of Broadcasting Public Notice CRTC 2008-100, dated October 30, 2008 and entitled Regulatory frameworks for broadcasting distribution undertakings and discretionary programming services.

• (3) Except as otherwise provided under a condition of its licence, a licensee shall, for each non-Canadian third-language service that it offers to its subscribers, offer — to the extent that such a service is available — at least one Canadian third-language service in the same principal language.

• (4) Except as otherwise provided under a condition of its licence, a licensee shall, for each non-Canadian third-language service that it distributes to its subscribers as part of a package of programming services that is chosen by the licensee, distribute in that package — to the extent that such a service is available — at least one Canadian third-language service in the same principal language.

27.1 [Repealed, SOR/2011-148, s. 8]

Audio Programming Services that May Be Distributed

• 28 (1) Except as otherwise provided under a condition of its licence, a licensee may distribute in any licensed area

  • (a) any audio Canadian programming service of a licensed programming undertaking or exempt programming undertaking;

  • (b) any audio non-Canadian programming service that is received over the air at the local head end;

  • (c) any international radio service that is operated or funded by a national government or its agent; and

  • (d) any audio programming service that is authorized under a condition of its licence.

• (2) Except as otherwise provided under a condition of its licence, a licensee shall, for each specialty audio service of a related programming undertaking that it distributes in a licensed area, distribute the lesser of

  • (a) five specialty audio services of any unrelated programming undertakings, and

  • (b) the number of specialty audio services of any unrelated programming undertakings that are available for distribution in the licensed area.

Access by Pay Audio Programming Undertakings

• 29 (1) In this section, unrelated pay audio programming undertaking means

  • (a) a pay audio programming undertaking of which the licensee or an affiliate, or both, controls 10% or less; or

  • (b) a pay audio programming undertaking of which the licensee or an affiliate, or both, controls more than 10% but less than 30% and whose programming services the licensee was distributing on October 30, 2008.

• (2) Subject to subsection (3), if a licensee distributes in a licensed area the programming service of a pay audio programming undertaking other than an unrelated pay audio programming undertaking, the licensee shall distribute in the licensed area the programming service of at least one unrelated pay audio programming undertaking.

• (3) A licensee is not required to distribute in a licensed area the programming service of an unrelated pay audio programming undertaking that is delivered to the licensee in a format that is technically incompatible with the licensee’s method of signal distribution.

29.1 [Repealed, SOR/2011-148, s. 8]

29.2 [Repealed, SOR/2011-148, s. 8]

29.3 [Repealed, SOR/2011-148, s. 8]

Community Channel

• 30 (1) Except as otherwise provided in subsections (2) and (3) or under a condition of its licence, if a licensee elects to distribute community programming under paragraph 20(1)(d) in a licensed area, the licensee shall not distribute, on the community channel in the licensed area, any programming service other than the following:

  • (a) community programming;

  • (b) a maximum of two minutes during each clock hour of announcements promoting broadcasting services that the licensee is authorized to provide;

  • (c) a public service announcement;

  • (d) an information program funded by and produced for a federal, provincial or municipal government or agency or a public service organization;

  • (e) the question period of the legislature of the province in which the licensed area is located;

  • (f) an announcement providing information about the programming that is to be distributed on the community channel;

  • (g) a commercial message that mentions or displays the name of a person who sponsored a community event or the goods, services or activities sold or promoted by the person, if the mention or display is in the course of, and incidental to the production of, community programming relating to the event;

  • (h) an oral or written acknowledgement, that may include a moving visual presentation of no more than 15 seconds per message, contained in community programming that mentions no more than the name of a person, a description of the goods, services or activities that are being sold or promoted by the person, and their address and telephone number, if the person provided direct financial assistance for the community programming in which the acknowledgement is contained;

  • (i) an oral or a written acknowledgement contained in community programming that mentions no more than the name of a person, the goods or services provided by the person and their address and telephone number, if the person provided the goods or services free of charge to the licensee for use in connection with the production of the community programming in which the acknowledgement is contained;

  • (j) a still image or low-motion programming service as described in Broadcasting Order CRTC 2022-61, dated March 4, 2022 and entitled Exemption order respecting still image and low-motion programming service undertakings, if the service is produced by the licensee or by members of the community served by the licensee and does not contain commercial messages, other than commercial messages that are contained within the programming service of a licensed radio station; and

  • (k) the programming of a community programming undertaking.

• (2) At least 75% of the time for promotional announcements broadcast in each broadcast week under paragraph (1)(b) shall be made available for the promotion of the community channel and for the promotion, by Canadian programming undertakings other than related programming undertakings, of their respective services.

• (3) A maximum of 25% of the time for promotional announcements broadcast in each broadcast week under paragraph (1)(b) may be made available for the promotion of the services of related programming undertakings, services distributed on a discretionary basis, packages of programming services, FM services and additional outlets and for the distribution of information on customer services and channel realignments.

• (4) Whenever a licensee is not distributing community programming on the community channel in a licensed area, or is distributing on that channel community programming that has no audio component, the licensee may distribute on that channel the programming service of a local radio station, other than an educational radio programming service whose operation is the responsibility of an educational authority.

• (5) If a licensee provides time on the community channel in a licensed area during an election period for the distribution of programming of a partisan political character, the licensee shall allocate that time on an equitable basis among all accredited political parties and rival candidates.

• (6) A licensee that distributes commercial messages or acknowledgements on the community channel under paragraph (1)(g), (h) or (i) shall ensure that those messages and acknowledgements comply with the technical requirements set out in ATSC Recommended Practice A/85: Techniques for Establishing and Maintaining Audio Loudness for Digital Television, published by the Advanced Television Systems Committee Inc., as amended from time to time.

• 31 (1) Except as otherwise provided under a condition of its licence, a licensee shall devote at least 60% of the programming distributed on the community channel in the licensed area in each broadcast week to the distribution of local community television programming.

• (2) Except as otherwise provided under a condition of its licence, a licensee

  • (a) shall devote at least 50% of the programming distributed on the community channel in each broadcast week to community access television programming;

  • (b) [Repealed, SOR/2017-160, s. 7]

  • (c) shall, if one or more community television corporations are in operation in a licensed area, make available to them up to 20% of the programming distributed on the community channel in each broadcast week for community access television programming; and

  • (d) shall, if one or more community television corporations are in operation in a licensed area, make available to each of them, on request, not less than four hours of community access television programming in each broadcast week.

• (3) The time allocated to the distribution of alphanumeric message services is excluded from the calculation of the programming requirement under this section.

• 32 (1) In this section, direct programming expense means an expenditure for the production or acquisition of programming, including

  • (a) expenditures on volunteer training and volunteer program development and community outreach, but excluding expenditures related to technology, sales, promotion and administration as well as general expenses; and

  • (b) expenditures related to the acquisition of programming produced by community-based digital undertakings, community-based low-power television stations or community television corporations.

• (2) Except as otherwise provided under a condition of its licence, a licensee shall direct at least 50% of its direct programming expenses in a broadcast year to community access television programming.

• (3) Except in the final year of the term of its licence, a licensee may defer up to 5% of the amount of direct programming expenses required to be directed in a given broadcast year under subsection (2) to the following broadcast year.

• (4) Except as otherwise provided under a condition of its licence, the licensee shall direct to direct programming expenses for its community channel at least the following percentages of any contributions to community programming that are allowable contributions to local expression made by either the licensee or an affiliate:

  • (a) 60%, for the broadcast year beginning on September 1, 2017 and ending on August 31, 2018;

  • (b) 65%, for the broadcast year beginning on September 1, 2018 and ending on August 31, 2019;

  • (c) 70%, for the broadcast year beginning on September 1, 2019 and ending on August 31, 2020; and

  • (d) 75%, for each successive broadcast year beginning on September 1, 2020.

32.1 [Repealed, SOR/2011-148, s. 8]

• 33 (1) Except as otherwise provided under a condition of its licence, a licensee shall

  • (a) keep, in a form acceptable to the Commission, a program log or record of the programs that are distributed on the community channel in each licensed area and retain it for a period of one year after distribution of the programs; and

  • (b) enter into the program log or record each day the following information for each program:

    • (i) the title of the program,

    • (ii) its date of distribution, time of commencement and completion, and duration, including the announcements and commercial messages referred to in paragraphs 30(1)(b) and (g),

    • (iii) a brief description of the program, including a statement as to whether it is local community television programming,

    • (iv) the name of the distribution undertaking for which the program was produced and the name of the producer,

    • (v) a statement that indicates whether the program constitutes community access television programming and, if so,

      • (A) the party that has been provided with access and whether that party is a community television corporation, and

      • (B) the name of the individual requesting access, their role in the origination and production of the program and their relationship, if any, with the licensee,

    • (vi) the time of commencement of an announcement or commercial message referred to in paragraphs 30(1)(b) and (g), respectively, its duration and, in the case of a commercial message, the name of the person selling or promoting goods, services or activities,

    • (vii) a statement that indicates whether the program was broadcast with closed captioning, audio description or described video,

    • (viii) a statement that indicates whether the program is an original first-run program, a previously broadcast program or a repeat program, and

    • (ix) the language of the program.

• (2) A licensee shall retain a clear and intelligible audiovisual recording of each program distributed on the community channel in each licensed area for a period of

  • (a) four weeks after the date of distribution of the program; or

  • (b) eight weeks after the date of distribution of the program, if the Commission receives a complaint from a person regarding the program or, for any other reason, decides to investigate, and so notifies the licensee before the end of the period referred to in paragraph (a).

• (3) If, before the end of the relevant period referred to in paragraph (1)(a) or subsection (2), the Commission requests from a licensee a program log, a record or a clear and intelligible audiovisual recording, the licensee shall, without delay, furnish the log, record or recording to the Commission.

• (4) The following definitions apply in this section.

  original first-run program

  original first-run program means a program that is broadcast for the first time on the community channel and that has not already been broadcast on another community channel. (émission originale en première diffusion)

  previously broadcast program

  previously broadcast program means a program that is broadcast for the first time on the community channel and that has already been broadcast on another community channel. (émission déjà diffusée)

  repeat program

  repeat program means a program that has already been broadcast on the community channel. (émission rediffusée)