OTTAWA-GATINEAU – Canadians are encouraged to weigh in on the Local Programming Improvement Fund (LPIF) as part of the CRTC’s planned review of the fund’s success.
The Commission said Monday that it has scheduled a public hearing as part of its review process, which will begin April 16 in Gatineau. Comments are due by February 15, 2012.
The fund was created almost three years ago to support the development of local television programming, particularly local news, in non-metropolitan markets. At that time, the CRTC determined that broadcasters' spending on local programming had stagnated due in large part to the fragmentation of television audiences and the decline in advertising revenues.
Since 2009, cable and satellite companies have been contributing 1.5% of their gross broadcasting revenues to the LPIF, and by the end of 2012, the fund will have distributed more than $300 million to more than 75 local stations across the country. Stations must broadcast local programming that includes news in order to be eligible for LPIF funding.
The Commission had planned from the outset to review the fund in its third year of operation in order to decide whether it should be maintained, modified or cancelled. As part of that, the CRTC has asked for comments on topics such as:
– evaluation of the fund’s objectives and the performance of recipient stations;
– additional spending on local programming as a condition for receiving funding;
– eligibility for the fund and the funding allocation formula;
– cable and satellite companies’ contributions to the fund; and
– the relevance of maintaining, modifying or abandoning the fund.
