PLESSISVILLE, QC – Community channels should have the right to sell local advertising to help fund new programming, says The Federation of Autonomous Community Television of Quebec.
The group, who plans to appear at this month’s CRTC community channel policy review hearing, says community channels are “in urgent need” of additional sources of funding to upgrade facilities to in order to ensure that they can produce digital and high definition programming.
"The permission to present traditional advertising would bring an increase in local revenues certainly higher than those of the sponsorship as it is currently practiced”, said Federation president Sonya Package, in a statement. “The Federation promotes funding from traditional advertising because, due to the structure of non-profit self-PPV, an income that would ensue would be allocated entirely to local programming and access to upgrades and technology needed. The CRTC should also be aware that mere sponsorship messages allowed on the community channel are harmful to local businesses that are nonetheless not ‘members of the community’."
The organization also said that it wants the CRTC to “guarantee” that independent producers have access to community channels, and that cable companies should be required to increase their funding for local community programming.
The Federation of Autonomous Community Television of Quebec is a non-profit organization made up of 46 independent community television corporations, in 14 of the 17 administrative regions of Québec.
