07 September 2010

Sun TV News AKA Fox News North (for application click here)

There's been a lot of kerfuffle about the application by TVA to begin a news 24-hour news service in Canada. Much of the controversy centres on reports that it will be a Canadian version of US based Fox News: all commentary and no content. People with more knowledge have raised the point that TVA has applied for their station to get 2 things: 1) to be put on equal footing with CBC & CTV as a news channel and 2) to be granted special status for its first 3 years and made mandatory for carriage by cable/sat providers. My opinions on the matter I will reserve for later, but I have noticed how few people have actually read TVA's application.


So here it is. The important bits anyway. If you wish to read the whole package, click here. The entire application, regulations et al, comes as a zip file of pfd docs from the CRTC, available to all. The link above will take you to the application page, which includes instructions on how to file your comments, pro or con. The CRTC is the broadcasting regulatory body and serves the public interest. Not business. Not Government. Us. And if you don't believe that, look up a few of their past decisions.

This is APPENDIX 1 - SUPPLEMENTARY BRIEF
(The plain language explanation of the station. Edited for juiciness but quoted verbatim. FYI: 'BDU' stands for Breadcast Distribution Unit, a cable or satellite provider)

4. THE NEED FOR A NEW MADE-IN-CANADA NEWS CHANNEL


4.1. When the number one all-news channel in Canada is a struggling cable news laggard



from the United States, CNN, it is time for a change; it is time to shake up the current



players of the Canadian broadcasting system. It’s time for a new choice, a new voice,



a new all-news specialty service for Canadians. A new information specialty service



committed to leading its American rivals, not following them. A new specialty service



that is given the same fair chance to succeed as the two existing, national all-news



specialty services – specialty services that, taken together, merely match their top two



American rivals in viewership.



4.2. Television remains a vital source of news and information for Canadians. And allnews



specialty services play a vital role in keeping Canadians well informed on a



minute-by-minute, hour-by-hour basis and ensuring that news coverage is both broad



and deep. However, being well informed means more than being exposed to dry



news. MSNBC and Fox News have understood this. Sun TV News proposes to go



beyond the obvious day-by-day headlines and to cover the full range of stories that



impact our society, our democracy and our economy.



4.3. Unfortunately, over the past 2 years, English-Canadians watched 73%1 less news



channels than Americans. And the number one news channel in Canada is CNN, a



struggling American network that beats both CBC News Network and CTV News



Channel by a country mile. In fact, taken together, CBC News Network and CTV



News Channel merely match the combined ratings of CNN and Headline News.



Altogether, Canadians are paying for these Canadian all-news channels around $80M



a year for such a performance.



Table showing ratings by minutes watched, ages 2+. For 2008/2009: CNN=59.9, CBC Newsworld=48.7, CTV Newsnet=25.1



4.4. Not surprisingly, less than one third of English-speaking Canadians are satisfied with



the current news coverage available on television2. Together, CBC News Network and



CTV News Channel have had respectively 21 and 13 years to get it right and they’ve



failed to win over Canadians despite their obvious domestic advantages. It’s time for a



change. It’s time for Sun TV News.





5. SUN TV NEWS: CANADA’S FUTURE HOME FOR NEWS



5.1. By leveraging the human, capital and technological resources of Toronto’s Sun TV and



transforming the struggling conventional station’s general interest mandate to an



innovative and proven information specialty service format, the new Sun TV News will



provide Canadians with a new choice and a new national voice for information and



analysis.



5.2. Sun TV News will be different from the all-news channel we already have in Canada;



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1 * CNN, CBC Newsworld, CTV News Channel, CNN Headline News, BNN, CNBC.



** Fox News, CNN, HLN, CNBC, MSNBC.



Sources: Canada - BBM-NMR, InfoSys, 2007-2008 to 2008-2009 Broadcast Year, All Persons 2+, Mo-Su 2am-2am.



USA - Nielsen Media Research, 2007-2008 to 2008-2009 Broadcast Year, All Persons 2+, Mo-Su 2am-2am.



2 Leger Marketing, Sun TV Television News Information Needs, Fall 2009 (See Appendix A1).



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offering Canadians an attractive mixture of “hard news” reporting during the day and



“straight talk” opinion journalism at night. “Hard news” during the day and “straight



talk” at night is a proven formula for commercial success. This is very different than



what CBC, CTV and CNN have offered Canadians on their “all-news” platforms.



5.3. “Hard News” will almost exclusively rely on live reporting and real-time conversations



with journalists covering breaking news – as opposed to the more traditional news



wheel format that features a revolving set of news stories. But these headlines will be



analysed, commented upon and discussed at length. The host will question the



reporter and will have an intelligent exchange that will often open to further debate.



News will not be read like in a news bulletin. Daytime “hard news” will be covering a



broad range of political, economic and lifestyle stories that matter to Canadians both



rural and urban. So even its “hard news” portion will not be “all news” like it has



traditionally been done in Canada. Short traditional news bulletin may be programmed



but not more than once an hour.



5.4. “Straight Talk” will be programs featuring hosts and guests that deliver strong opinions



and analysis of stories that are important to Canadians that day. “Straight talk” opinion



journalism at night will be clear, intelligent and engaging – featuring a broader array of



television personalities and signature hosts who will challenge viewers to think – and



decide – for themselves. The challenging of ideas in itself may feed the news but at



least will attempt to have Canadians make their own mind on the events occurring



every day in Canada.



5.5. Here in Canada, the French-language all-news specialty service LCN saw its ratings



more than triple3 when it moved toward that formula just over one year ago. Today



LCN is not only a commercial success, but it has re-energized news coverage for



French-speaking viewers; providing them with a new choice and a new voice that



previously had been absent in the French-language news broadcasting space.



Contrary to Sun TV News however, LCN is built on the news-gathering infrastructure



of TVA for traditional newscasts.



5.6. In the United States, Fox News, the cable news network that led the development of



the “hard news/straight talk” format, has been the number one cable news network for



many years running. Fox News’ total audience was as high as CNN and MSNBC



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3 In the timeslots that switched to more opinionated programs



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combined. Fox News holds the Top 10 cable news programs in the United States.



Today both CNN and MSNBC are modifying their programming approaches to mimic



Fox News while remaining all-news channels with limited documentaries, as well.





5.7. Given the success of the “hard news/straight talk” format in both French-speaking



Canada and the United States, as well as low levels of satisfaction amongst Englishspeaking



viewers with traditional news bulletin coverage on television, there is clearly



a market for a totally new approach to information specialty service in Canada.



5.8. This is an altogether different programming service than the all-news currently licensed



in Canada. Sun TV News is an information service with zest.



5.9. Sun TV News will be modern; demonstrating true value-added content convergence



with Quebecor’s print properties across Canada. …Something Canada has not seen



before.







6 - Section 6 is details on how the news will be gathered using TVA/Sun Media/Quebecor reporters





7. CREATING A LEVEL PLAYING FIELD FOR SUN TV NEWS



7.1. The time has arrived for Sun TV News. But given that CBC News Network and CTV



News Channel have enjoyed the benefits of a carriage that is mandatory for BDUs and



“almost mandatory” for subscribers for 21 and 13 years respectively, Sun TV News



requires short-term and time-limited mandatory access for a maximum period of three



(3) years by BDUs in order to effectively expose and promote its programming to



viewers across Canada. We do not ask for mandatory basic distribution, but only to be



available on cable and satellite distribution undertakings allowing the public to have



access to Sun TV News without any obligation to choose it.



7.2. - 7.5 - arguments for expedited license and equal status with CBC/CTV for carriage



8. A CLEAR CHOICE



8.1. At a time when Canada is exhibiting considerable economic, athletic, artistic and



humanitarian leadership on the world stage, it is simply unacceptable that our leading



news channel is an American cable news network that is struggling in its home market.



The time has arrived for a new choice; a new voice; a new information specialty



service for Canadians.



8.2. With its proven format of “hard news” during the day and “straight talk” opinion



journalism at night, Sun TV News will be well-placed to succeed commercially and



may well put Canada back into the lead of its own TV information, while



simultaneously preserving jobs and strengthening the conventional general interest TV



market in Toronto.



8.3. A seven year licence issued quickly featuring short-term and time-limited mandatory



access would allow us to complete the transformation of Sun TV into Sun TV News



and provide Canadians with a new information specialty service offering for the first



time in several years an additional editorial voice in Canada and for Canadians.



9. SUN TV NEWS’S CONTRIBUTION TO THE OBJECTIVES OF THE BROADCASTING ACT (THE ACT)



9.1. The first objective of the Act is to make sure that Canadian programs are produced,



programmed and seen in Canada by Canadians. While doing this, the Commission



aims at the maximum use of Canadian creative resources. Since a minimum of 90%



of our programming will be Canadian, we will make maximum use of Canadian



creative and other resources in the creation and presentation of programming, all this



while respecting high standards.



9.2. QMI/TVA has evolved, in the last 50 years or more, specifically in the information



business and in the creation/promotion of a genuine Star System. QMI/TVA’s



ownership is as Canadian as it can be.



9.3. The proposed service will serve to safeguard, enrich and strengthen the political,



social, cultural and economic fabric of Canada, with a schedule offering a wide range



of programs that reflects Canadian attitudes, opinions, ideas and values by displaying



Canadian talent as well as by offering information and analysis concerning Canada



and other countries from a Canadian point of view. Sun TV News will reflect the



circumstances and aspirations of Canadian men and women, including equal rights,



the linguistic duality and multicultural and multiracial nature of Canadian society and



the special place of aboriginal peoples within that society.



9.4. Sun TV News will provide balanced information with a reasonable opportunity for the



public to be exposed to the expression of differing views on matters of public concern,



information that will be drawn from local, regional, national and international sources.



9.5. In the first year of operation, Sun TV News projects to expend $4 589 000 in the



production of Canadian programs. This amount will grow to $6 301 000 in the 7th year



of operation.





10. MARKET CAPACITY - about HDTV content





11. IMPACT ON OTHER SERVICES



11.1. Even if Sun TV News will have a certain impact on the all-news national services



available in Canada, in Broadcasting Public Notice CRTC 2008-100, the Commission



has determined that the existing all-news services are strong and healthy enough to



introduce direct competition:



“it would be appropriate to immediately introduce competition between Canadian services



operating in the genres of mainstream sports and mainstream national news. The services



operating in these genres - The Sports Network (TSN), Sportsnet, Le Réseau des sports



(RDS), CBC Newsworld, Newsnet, Le Réseau de l'information (RDI) and Le Canal Nouvelles



(LCN) - are strong, healthy, highly popular, and highly competitive.” (Emphasis added)



11.2. We are of the opinion that at first some audience will shift from CBC News Network



and CTV News Channel but within less than two years, we expect to expand



Canadians interest in news and information services as well as a repatriation of



viewers from CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News. In the long run, we believe the impact on



the existing Canadian all-news services will be negligible (See Carat market research -



appendix B):



11.2.1. Only 30% of Sun TV News’s audience will come from existing Canadian all-news



channels.



11.2.2. English Canada is served by only 2 national All News channels: CBC News



Network and CTV News Channel. French Canada, a market 4 times smaller



than English Canada is also served by two all-news channels: RDI and LCN.



This supports the fact that the Canadian English-Language market has room for



a new news channel.



11.2.3. Finally, Sun TV News is different than the two all-news channel licensed by the



Commission. This is an information programming service that is new and



different because news is the matter to be discussed and analysed from different



angles. This is far from being a service licensed to program wall to wall news.





12. CANADIAN PROGRAMMING EXPENDITURE (CPE)



12.1. Sun TV News will expend an average of 31% of its gross revenues in Canadian



programs over the first licence term. On the first year, the amount will be $4 589 000



growing to $6 301 000 in year seven. (See financial projections - Appendix C)





13. WHOLESALE FEE



13.1. Before addressing this issue, it is important to remind that the Commission has



decided that the wholesale fees will not be regulated anymore.



13.2. Furthermore, being distributed in BDU’s line up does not mean that this service have



to be necessarily chosen and paid by the public. Therefore, the applicant does not ask



the Commission to rule on the wholesale fee.



13.3. This being said, the applicant believes that, as shown in the financial forecast in



appendix C, Sun TV News will be generate a positive cash flow on year five with a



$0.25 wholesale fee. This is a lot less than CBC News Network service but, like in the



French-language market, we are confident that the Canadian public will demonstrate a



higher satisfaction for Sun TV News by choosing the service either on a standalone



basis or in a news package.





14. CLOSED CAPTIONING FOR DEAF OR HEARING IMPAIRED PERSONS



14.1. An application for a new licence is surely not the best forum to engage a discussion on



the appropriate level of closed captioning. In order to obtain the licence we are



applying for, we gather that the Commission will impose to Sun TV News a condition of



licence requiring closed captioning of 100% of programs.



14.2. Nevertheless, we ask the Commission to note that, however commendable this



obligation is, the sums that need to be invested in such an amount of closed captioning



means a lower amount is left for Canadian programs. Some digital specialty services



may not be launched in particular because of the cost of closed captioning on all



programs.



14.3. As an example, the average hour of closed captioning costs around $300 for an



Information & Analysis service depending on the format of the support used. Based on



this figure, 85 hours of original programs a week would cost $25,500, which represents





close to one and a half million dollars a year. For some diginets, this represents the



entire yearly programming budget.



14.4. Sun TV News will attempt to improve on the quality of the captioning and will cooperate



with the associations of deaf and hearing impaired persons so that the closed



captioning offered satisfies as much as possible the needs of those Canadians.



14.5. The licensee commits to respect, by condition of licence, the standards of quality



established by the industry task force as soon as such a quality code is approved in



line with Regulatory Broadcast and Telecom Policy CRTC 2009-430 of 21 July 2009.





15. CONCLUSION



15.1. The last national voice that the Commission licensed in Canada was in 1997. In the



United States, changes have occurred in the Information Business during that time. It



seems that in Canada, the two leaders have accepted their respective positions and



have demonstrated little innovation.



15.2. Unlike all-news channels already licensed, Sun TV News is different.



15.3. This new information channel will add Canadian content to the broadcasting system



since it will program primarily original Canadian programming.



15.4. We consider this application a proactive operation and we ask the Commission to



process it as a matter of priority. QMI/TVA will be ready to launch this new service on



January 1st, 2011. This is why we request some distribution rules, but only for a



maximum period of three (3) years (7 times less than CBC News Network and 4 times



less than CTV News Channel).



15.5. Sun TV News is a solution to a problem: the problem being that the most popular news



service in Canada is from another country and that the TV stations in the most



crowded market of the country are struggling. We hope the Commission will recognize



this situation and approve the proposed solution quickly.



15.6. We thank the Commission for taking into serious consideration this application and for



studying our application on a fast track basis for a new editorial voice in Canada

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