RULE ON HITS ON CERTAIN ENGLISH-LANGUAGE FM STATIONS IRRELEVANT—CAB Broadcaster In its submission filed on Broadcasting Public Notice CRTC 2008-1: Policy Regarding the Broadcast of Hits by FM Radio Stations, the CAB notes that the rule regarding the broadcasting of hits by English-language FM radio stations outside bilingual markets has become irrelevant given increasing competition from less regulated and unregulated platforms, such as the Internet.
Regarding bilingual markets, the CAB's research demonstrates that the hits policy governing commercial, English-language FM stations has not contributed to attainment of the linguistic duality objectives of the Broadcasting Act since it has not prevented Francophone listeners from switching, increasingly, to English-language pop music stations.
To alleviate this trend, the CAB recommends that the Commission exempt all private French-language broadcasters operating popular music stations in the bilingual markets of Montreal and Ottawa-Gatineau from the application of the Radio Regulations on the broadcasting of French-language Vocal Music (FVM), in favour of a condition of licence establishing a minimum and uniform threshold of 50% FVM to be aired each week. |