Commercial AM or FM Radio Broadcasting

Act: Broadcasting Act, 1991, c.11, s.1
Regulation: Radio Regulations, 1986, SOR/86-982, as amended; Broadcasting License Fee Regulations, 1997, SOR/97-144; CRTC Rules of Procedure, C.R.C. 1978

To Whom Does This Apply?

Anyone who wants to start a radio-broadcasting company in Canada.

Summary

The Broadcasting Act gives the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) its powers in relation to broadcasting undertakings. Under this Act, the Commission regulates and supervises all aspects of the Canadian broadcasting system with a view to implementing the broadcasting policy set out in the Act.

The Radio Regulations set out the regulations respecting AM and FM radio broadcasting undertakings. The Broadcasting License Fee Regulations set out the license fees paid to the CRTC by Canadian broadcasters. The CRTC Rules of Procedure set out the rules on how the CRTC deals with broadcasting applications.

Application Process:

Application form 101 entitled "Application to Obtain a New Broadcasting License to Operate a Commercial Radio Undertaking (including low-power)" must be completed. Once provided to the Commission and the application is considered complete, the Commission may, where circumstances warrant, issue a call for any other applicants interested in obtaining a license in that market. Following this process, the applications are scheduled for a public hearing. A decision is normally rendered within a few months following the public hearing.

Waiting Period:

The entire process normally takes from 8 to 18 months depending on whether or not there is a competitive process.

License Fees:

License fees are payable on April 1 of each year. A fee is payable if your revenue is in excess of the exemption amount of $2 million for an AM or FM undertaking and if your revenue is over the exemption limit of $4 million for combined AM/FM undertakings operating in the same market area. If your revenue is under the exemption amount of $2 million or $4 million for a combined undertaking, there is no license fee payable. In all cases, the first $500 000 in revenue is exempted.

License Period:

The maximum licensing period permitted under the Act is seven years. Once a license has been granted, a licensee generally has up to two years to get the station up-and-running, unless the CRTC grants an extension.

Information Package on Commercial Radio AM and FM:

Regulations and Directives

• Ineligibility to Hold Broadcasting Licenses (Direction to the CRTC);
• Ineligibility of Non-Canadians (Direction to the CRTC); and
• Radio Regulations, 1986 and Amendments.

Policies and others:

• Revised policy concerning the issuance of calls for radio applications and a new process for applications to serve small markets (Broadcasting Public Notice CRTC 2006-159);
• Commercial radio policy 2006 (Broadcasting Public Notice CRTC 2006-158);
• Policy framework for community-based media (Public Notice CRTC 2002-61);
• Commercial radio policy, 1998 (Public Notice CRTC 1998-41);
• Broadcast code for advertising to children, revised (Public Notice CRTC 1993-99);
• Equitable portrayal code (Broadcasting Public Notice CRTC 2008-23);
• Documentary evidence to confirm availability of financing - Commission Policy
  Employment Equity Policy - Implementation of / on-air presence (Public Notices CRTC 1992-59, 1994-69, 1995-98, 1997-34);
• Ethnic broadcasting policy (Public Notice CRTC 1999-117);
• Local programming policies (Public Notices CRTC 1993-38, 1993-121);
• Revised content categories and sub-categories for radio (Public Notice CRTC 2000-14)
  CBC long range radio plan (report).

For additional information, the Commission suggests consulting the following documents:

• Exemption order respecting a class of low-power radio programming undertakings (Public Notice CRTC 2004-92);
• Exemption orders respecting certain classes of low-power and very-low-power programming undertakings (Public Notice CRTC 2003-35);
• Confidential treatment of information (Circular No. 429);
• New licence form for commercial radio stations (Public Notice CRTC 1999-137);
• Advertising of alcoholic beverages, broadcast (Public Notices CRTC 1997-12, 1999-132);
• Broadcasting Act;
• Broadcasting information regulations , 1993;
• Gender portrayal, policy (Public Notice CRTC 1992-58);
• Broadcasting licence fee regulations, 1997;
• Low-power radio: limited duration special event facilitating undertakings - exemption order (Public Notice CRTC 1993-45);
• Radio networks and syndication policy (Public Notice CRTC 1989-3);
• Religious broadcasting policy (Public Notice CRTC 1993-78);
• Rules of procedure - CRTC (Broadcasting);
• Services using the vertical blanking interval (television) or subsidiary communications multiplex operation (FM) - policy (Public Notice CRTC 1989-23);
• Use of hits by English- language radio (FM) stations - revised policy (Public Notice CRTC 1997-42, Circulars Nos. 422, 422-1); and
• Final revisions to certain exemption orders (Public Notice CRTC 2000-10).

Technical Requirements:

Technical documentation must be filed with Industry Canada upon application to the Commission in order to obtain a technical certificate. This is required under the Broadcasting Act before the issuance of a license.

You must apply to Industry Canada for a frequency and broadcast certification. Available frequencies are scarce in some major urban areas. An information package to obtain a broadcast certificate regarding the technical aspect of your application is available by writing to the following address:

Industry Canada
Director, Broadcast Applications Engineering
300 Slater Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0C8
http://sitt.ic.gc.ca/app/sitt/portal/LoadMainPortalPage.do?lang=eng

For more information, call Industry Canada toll-free at 1-800-328-6189 or check their Web site for offices across the country.

DISCLAIMER
Information contained in this section is of a general nature only and is not intended to constitute advice for any specific fact situation. For particular questions, the users are invited to contact their lawyer. For additional information, see contact(s) listed below.

Manitoba Contact(s):
Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission
Suite 1810
275 Portage Avenue
Winnipeg, Manitoba  R3B 2B3
Telephone: 204-983-6306
Fax: 204-983-6317
Toll-free (information): 1-877-249-2782
TTY Toll-free (hearing impaired): 1-877-909-2782
TTY (hearing impaired): 204-983-8274
E-mail: info@crtc.gc.ca
Web site: http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/welcome.htm
 

National Contact(s):
Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission
Les Terrasses de la Chaudière
Central Building
1 Promenade du Portage
Gatineau, Quebec  J8X 4B1
Telephone: 819-997-0313
Fax: 819-994-0218
Toll-free (information): 1-877-249-2782
TTY Toll-free (hearing impaired): 1-877-909-2782
TTY (hearing impaired): 819-994-0423
E-mail: info@crtc.gc.ca
Web site: http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/welcome.htm