OTTAWA – French language viewers will soon be able to combine the thrills of wakeboarding with learning how to make the perfect omelette. The CRTC today approved two national Category 2 specialty services, Radical Télé, a channel dedicated to extreme sports and Cuisine, a food and nutrition channel.
RDL Média inc. says Radical Télé will be devoted to extreme sports such as snowboarding, surfing, skateboarding, wakeboarding and FMX (freestyle motocross) and to the lifestyle associated with these extreme sports (fashion, social events and places where these sports are practised).
“The purpose of the service would be to allow Canadians to experience vicariously the ultimate high associated with these non-traditional and non-conventional sports, which are performed at a high degree of intensity and risk,” said RDL in its application to the CRTC.
In an effort to avoid competition with services that broadcast traditional sports services, RDL says it is committed not to broadcast traditional competitive sports such as baseball, basketball, football, hockey, soccer, volleyball, tennis and golf.
In addition, the applicant proposed to accept a condition of licence that no more than 15% of all programming broadcast during the broadcast week would be drawn from category 7 Drama and comedy.
The applicant also anticipated that 25% of its programming would be offered in high-definition format by the end of the first year of its licence term.
The other specialty channel, Cuisine, from Serdy inc., will operate a national, French-language Category 2 specialty programming undertaking devoted solely to entertainment, information and educational programs on food and nutrition. The service will specifically focus on the cultural and social aspects of food, the selection, preparation, cooking and preservation of food, and presentation and the art of entertaining.
As a condition of licence both channels must begin airing within the next three years. The commission did not receive any interventions in connections with either application
