CACTUS says Rogers’s 'zone' proposal for community TV will subvert programming

A community television advocate is calling on the CRTC to reject a May application by Rogers to broaden certain broadcast regions to meet its local programming obligations, alleging the result will subvert community programming. Rogers wants to broaden into four large zones – Vancouver Island, British Columbia; Southern Interior, British Columbia; Central Saskatchewan and Southern Manitoba – the areas that it must serve with community and local programs for the purpose, it said, of avoiding having to use repeat programming to meet its community and local TV obligations. It said this must be done because of the tough financial environment....