GATINEAU – The CRTC will hear why the Local Programming Improvement Fund (LPIF) needs to be kept – and why it should be killed off – when a public hearing over its existence gets under way in Gatineau Monday morning.
The fund was created almost three years ago (in the midst of the financial crisis and just prior to the destructive Stop-The-TV-Tax vs. Local-TV-Matters battle), before Shaw and Bell bought into broadcasting, to support the creation of local television programming, particularly local news, in smaller markets. At that time, it was determined broadcaster spending on local programming had stagnated or shrunk due to the fragmentation of television audiences and the decline in advertising revenues.
Since 2009, broadcasters have come to rely on the multimillion-dollar fund which takes a few bucks from cable, satellite and telco TV subscribers (pictured), whose video providers have been contributing 1.5% of their gross broadcasting revenues to the LPIF. 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.
While Rogers and Shaw have been very vocal in their opposition to the fund, small broadcasters such as CHCH and CHEK say the fund is absolutely required and are supported by Bell Canada and the CBC on that side of the argument., as we reported back in February.
The five-day hearing gets under way with Bell and Shaw first on Monday, followed by CHCH and CHEK. Cartt.ca’s Perry Hoffman will be covering it.
