Community channel (Canada)

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A community channel, in Canadian broadcasting, is a television channel produced and aired by a local cable television company, airing programming of local community interest.

A community channel is a form of citizen media, much like public access television in the United States and other forms of citizen produced content. The provision of a community channel is required by CRTC regulations governing the licensing of cable companies.

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[edit] History

In Canada, citizen media has roots going back to 1922 when filmmaker Robert Flaherty brought in an Inuit hunter to participate in Nanook of the North. In the 1960s this film was cited as an inspiration by a group of filmmakers associated with the National Film Board of Canada, whose Challenge for Change project was part of Canada's War on Poverty. In 1967 Challenge for Change contributed to a prototype studio where people were free to help shape community media. More public access experiments followed. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission required cable companies to provide public access on July 16, 1971.

[edit] Branding

Large companies may brand all of their community channels similarly — for example, all community channels operated by Rogers Cable are branded as Rogers Television, and Cogeco Cable's stations are branded as TV Cogeco. Such systems may also share some of their more general interest programming. For example, Canadian film critic Geoff Pevere hosts a movie review series, Reel to Real, which airs on Rogers Television channels throughout Ontario.

In some markets, especially those served by small cable companies, the community channel may be outsourced to a community non-profit group instead of being operated directly by the cable company itself. A goood example would be Shaw TV Vancouver. In markets served by more than one cable company, the cable companies may also produce a single community channel through shared ownership — Cable 14 in Hamilton is a notable example of this.

More rarely, a cable company may offer more than one community channel. For instance, in Ottawa and some communities in New Brunswick, distinct channels serve the anglophone and francophone communities, while in Vancouver, Shaw Cable produces a general community channel and a multicultural programming channel.

[edit] Programming

Community channels commonly broadcast a mix of public access and community service programming such as city council meetings, sports broadcasts or local talk shows. Some community channels produce full programs, while others predominantly adopt the format of a local news channel with a constant rotation of news, public affairs and human interest reports. When not broadcasting live programming, a community channel typically displays a bulletin board of community event listings.

While Canadian community channels are expected to make efforts to solicit program proposals from the public, nowadays it is relatively uncommon (compared to American public access channels) for a proposal from an individual member of the public to make air. Many cable companies instead develop system-wide formats which fill up much of a local channel's schedule – for instance, several Rogers Television channels air programs entitled Daytime, First Local, or (City/Region) Living, although each is produced in the local community.

On the other hand, cable companies frequently collaborate with volunteer committees to produce programming of community interest. Through their community programming initiatives, community channels have often been leaders in media diversity in Canada — for example, the community channel programs Coming Out and 10% QTV were the first Canadian television programs targeted to LGBT audiences in Canada.

Community channels also frequently broadcast local minor or junior league sporting events, such as OHL, QMJHL or WHL hockey games.

A notable community channel success story is Tom Green, whose guerilla gross-out comedy first appeared on Rogers Television in Ottawa. Some other personalities who have been associated with community channel programming include Catherine Clark, Jacqueline Hennessy and Dale Goldhawk.

In provinces which do not operate a dedicated legislature broadcaster channel, community channels may also air some proceedings of the provincial Legislative Assembly.

[edit] Terrestrial television

The term community channel may also refer to a conventional broadcast station — for example, CFTV in Leamington, Ontario, CFSO in Cardston, Alberta, CHCT in St. Andrews, New Brunswick, and Telile in Arichat, Nova Scotia — owned and operated by a local non-profit organization to serve a similar function. Terrestrial community stations are offered only where a local group has presented a viable business plan to the CRTC and been awarded a license — unlike cable community channels, it is not mandatory that a terrestrial community channel be made available in any given market, although a local broadcaster, cable may apply to the CRTC for relief of carriage responsibilities on the basic cable tier, such as in the case of CFTV, which is carried on digital basic cable.

One of the most famous attempts to launch a terrestrial community station in Canada, Star Ray TV, became notable when its owner began operating it as a pirate station after failing to secure a CRTC license.

On occasion, a cable community channel may itself be awarded a license to broadcast terrestrially in addition to its cable television carriage. Examples include NAC TV in Neepawa, Manitoba. This occurs most frequently in smaller communities that have no commercial media service of their own.

[edit] Notable community channel systems

[edit] See also