The CRTC has approved an application by the Chetwynd Communications Society (CCS) for a broadcasting licence to operate an English-language low-power community TV station in Chetwynd, B.C.
The CCS, a not-for-profit organization, had continuously held a licence to operate the station, CHET-DT, from 1997 to 2020, at which point the licence expired and was not renewed due to an administrative error. The new licence approved Monday by the CRTC will expire Aug. 31, 2030.
CHET-DT will continue to operate on channel 28 with an effective radiated power (ERP) of 21 watts (a directional antenna with a maximum ERP of 42 watts and an effective height of antenna above average terrain of 255.5 metres).
In its licence application, the CCS proposed to operate CHET-DT under the same terms and conditions as those of its previous licence for the station. The CCS committed to devote 100 per cent of the 24-hour channel’s programming to the broadcast of Canadian programs, with local programming being aired daily from 6 a.m. to 12 a.m., including council meetings, town hall meetings, chamber of commerce meetings, music shows, documentaries and a game show (TV bingo). In addition, from 12 a.m. to 6 a.m., the station’s programming would feature community bulletins, including local information, news and short interviews.
The CCS has said CHET-DT’s programming would primarily be broadcast in English, with some content broadcast in Cree. The CRTC said, in alignment with the objectives of the Broadcasting Act, it has ordered that the CCS may devote a portion of its programming each broadcast week to indigenous-language programming.
As a condition of service, the CRTC has said CHET-DT must adhere to the requirements for community TV programming undertakings set out in Section B of Appendix 2 to Policy framework for local and community television, Broadcasting Regulatory Policy CRTC 2016-224. These requirements include devoting at least 80 per cent of annual programming to the broadcast of Canadian programs, and at least 60 per cent to local programming. In addition, consistent with its Accessibility Policy, the CRTC imposes conditions of licence requiring independent community services to provide audio description for their information programs and news programming. Community stations are also encouraged to caption as much programming as possible. Furthermore, community-based TV stations are not allowed to broadcast more than 12 minutes of local advertising material in any hour in a broadcast day.
