21st Century Multi-Media Community Broadcasting at No New Cost

21st Century Multi-Media Community Broadcasting at No New Cost
CACTUS proposes that the CRTC direct the 2% of subscriber revenues that cable companies now collect to pay for community expression (and which they spend on their own channels), to a new Community-Access Media Fund (CAMF).
Funding from CAMF would enable communities to establish multi-media access production and distribution centres that would:
Offer training and equipment to produce radio, TV, Internet, and new media/digital content
Distribute that content
over the air, free of charge
on the cable basic tier, and
- via new media, including the Internet, (live and on-demand), wireless devices, podcasts
The CACTUS plan will:
Provide Canadians with a volume and diversity of local content that is no longer possible in the public and private sectors.
Reach the ~40% of Canadians that do not subscribe to cable, as well as offer a local service to the many communities that have lost a community studio since the 1990s.
Make the latest technologies available to almost every Canadian community at no new cost to subscribers, Canadians or the broadcasting system.

How Will It Work?
1) Communities that want multimedia access centres apply for a CRTC “community-access” over-the-air television (and possibly also radio) licence.
2) Once licensed, they apply to CAMF for funding.
3) CACTUS assists communities in obtaining licences, applying to CAMF, establishing their centres and devising training programs.
4) The centres report annually to CAMF summarizing production volumes, categories and genres, community access and impact statistics, using GAAP-based financial reporting.
5) CAMF will publish an annual report detailing nation-wide community channel performance.

How Many Communities Will Benefit?
If the CRTC adopts our proposal, CACTUS and CAMF together will establish approximately 250 multi-media access centres, within reach of more than 90% of Canadians:
85 communities with 10 to 30 thousand people,
77 communities with 30 to 500 thousand people, and
9 communities with more than 500 thousand people.
Communities,
by Population
Proposal
Estimated Costs ($M)
# of Centres

Average
Start-up
Average Operating

85 communities with 10,000 – 30,000 residents
Multi-platform centre in each community
$0.48
$0.42 - $0.52
85
77 communities with 30,000 –500,000 residents

$0.61 - $0.67
$0.56 - $0.71
77
9 communities with more than 500,000 residents
One multi-platform centre per 500,000
$0.61 - $0.67
$0.56 - $0.71
33
171 communities with 10,000 or more residents

$113 million *
195
Some partially enabled centres already exist, owned and operated by communities.
The 2% of cable gross revenues earmarked for community expression is enough to establish an additional 56 regional access centres among communities having fewer than 10,000 residents.

How Soon Could the Centres Be Operational?
If the 2% cable levy is made available to communities via CAMF immediately, the funding is sufficient to reach the target of 250 multi-media access centres within three years. This roll-out schedule was detailed in the CACTUS submission to 2009-661.
To enable more time for community training and infrastructure development, and to ensure a smooth transition, an alternate plan would be for cable companies to remit an additional 0.5% of their gross revenues to CAMF each year, to the maximum of 2%. For example, in year 1, the fund would receive 0.5% of cable gross revenues. In years 2, 3 and 4, CAMF would receive 1.0%, 1.5% and 2.% respectively, reaching a steady contribution of 2% by year 4.
Under this roll-out plan, all target communities would be served by a multi-platform access centre by the end of year 6.
Year
% Cable Gross Revenues Directed to CAMF
$ Available
(based on $116 million in 2008/09)
Cost ($M)
Targets
1
0.5%
$29 million
$20.705
Technological and facility upgrades to existing 82 community-based media organizations.

$6.795
Supplement staffing for existing 82 community-based media organizations.

$1.500
Fund management and CACTUS
2
1.0%
$58 million
$41.256
Operational costs for existing 16 large, 66 small centres.

$15.244
New channel startups, including year 2 operational costs: 12 large

$1,500
Fund management and CACTUS
3
1.5%
$87 million
$49.032
Operational costs for existing 28 large, 66 small centres.

$36.468
New centre startups, including year 3 operational costs: 28 large

$1.500
Fund management and CACTUS
4
2.0%
$116 million
$67.176
Operational costs for existing 56 large, 66 small centres.

$30.416
New centre startups, including year 4 operational costs: remaining 21 large communities, remaining 32 small communities

$16.908
13/24 additional neighbourhood centres in cities with more than 500 thousand people

$1.500
Fund management and CACTUS
5
2.0%
$116 million
$103.21
Operational costs for existing 90 large and 98 small centres.

$11.475
Remaining 9 additional neighbourhood centres in cities with more than 500 thousand people.

$1.500
Fund management and CACTUS
6
2.0%
$116 million
$114.685
Operational costs for existing 99 large and 98 small centres.

***
Add regional centres in areas with fewer than 10,000 people and/or establish part-time staff and mobile facilities whose content can be relayed to a larger centre.

$1.500
Fund management and CACTUS
7-8
2.0%
$116 +
Fund reaches steady state, expensing primarily operational funding
*** While the fund would appear to be fully expensed, with no funding left for rural regional centres, in fact:
1) Some of the 82 existing community-based media organizations have partial budgets from other sources.
2) 2% of cable gross revenues has been reported for 2008/09 as low as $116 and as high as $130 million.
3) If current trends continue, cable revenues will continue to grow, likely exceeding $116 by year 6 of CAMF.

Does This Plan Force My Cable Company to Terminate Its Local Channel?
No.
Cable companies are free to operate their own local channels for as long as they wish.
As a matter of equity, however, we believe that cable companies that want to produce their own local content should apply for local TV licences from the CRTC, in the same way that CTV or Quebecor has to apply for TV licenses.
To ensure continuity of service (should they wish to continue to offer a local service to subscribers), we suggest that they be issued a temporary license during the transition period.