Licence Renewals: CRTC standardizes Cancon spending, will spot check local programming

By Perry Hoffman

Will be harder to close stationsGATINEAU – The CRTC has tweaked broadcasting policy in Canada by standardizing Canadian Programming Expenditure (CPE) requirement at 30% for the country’s major private broadcasters. It has also imposed new spending requirements for local reflection news and information programming, commitments to Aboriginal and Official Language Minority Communities (OLMCs) as well as established a new process for TV station closures.On the latter point, Broadcasting Decision 2017-148 highlighted the various opinions from the broadcasters with respect to a formal Commission process for station closures. Bell Media opposed a condition of licence, while Corus Entertainment didn’t object to one....