OTTAWA – TSN and RDS will now have the right to add a little drama and comedy programming to its schedule thanks to a pair of CRTC decisions rendered Thursday.
The two Bell Globemedia-owned all-sports channels had petitioned the Commission to let them add some beyond-the-niche programming and the request was granted, in part.
While they can air some shows from category 7, “(t)he licensee is required, by condition of licence, to ensure that programming from category 7 comprises no more than 5% of any broadcast week, that all category 7 programming is Canadian, and that all category 7 programming has sports as its central theme,” says the decision.
The channels had asked for a level of 15% and did not ask for all-Cancon. Both will also be able to show feature-length sports-related films.
The new license conditions also mean that French-language RDS and English-language TSN will be able to take advantage of the incentive program for English-language Canadian television drama, which means the channels will be able to air additional minutes of advertising during the times these Canadian programs air.
It’s not known at this time what sorts of drama and comedy TSN and RDS plan to show during the 8.4 hours a week they’ll now have access to. A request for comment from www.cartt.ca on this was turned down by TSN, but one could certainly envision a Making The Cut (or an actual Making the Cut, the hockey tryout reality series that aired on CBC earlier this year, since CBC has chosen not to air a second season).
What the new all-Canadian license conditions will not allow, is for TSN to air minority owner ESPN’s original comedy or drama programming.
Look for Rogers Sportsnet to make a similar application, too, a Sportsnet executive told www.cartt.ca.
– Greg O’Brien
