Regulator renews TV licences, imposes roadblocks for shutting local stations
OTTAWA — Canada’s big TV ownership groups will have to jump over new hurdles if they want to shutter any of their local TV stations, according to licence renewals granted Monday by the country’s broadcast regulator.
Station owners will have to give 120 days notice of an intended closure, during which time the regulator will open the proposed shutdown to public hearings, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission said in issuing five-year licence renewals for the major TV conglomerates.
The process could result in the regulator denying permission for closing a station, said a CRTC official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. However, there are no guarantees that a station earmarked for going off the air would remain open, the official acknowledged.
“This is essentially something that is a safety net of some sort to ensure that we receive advice and that we be in a position to actually consult Canadians by our usual means,” the official said, noting that none of the broadcasters appearing before the regulator in the last year proposed station closures.