Objective

To establish a local UHF TV Station broadcasting on Channel 30 from Toronto. This station will feature local family oriented programming with an emphasis on under served programming categories. These would include local sports coverage, children's programs, and in depth local public affairs programming.

Summary

At the present time there are four frequencies allocated to Toronto that are unused. Channel 30 is the most desirable frequency. These frequencies are for class C stations. Industry Canada has indicated that they are willing to reclassify these frequencies to class A stations with a minimum power level of 3K erp. This reclassification offers significant savings in electricity and the cost of a transmitter. North Star Media, the company established by Jan Pachul has installed at their premises at 864 Eastern Avenue in Toronto, the beginnings of a TV station. This facility includes a 1000 sq. ft. studio and a user friendly control room. North Star Media has spent the last year on R&D into digital video applications. This R&D has been successful to the point where commercials and bumpers can be aired in a digital domain. Digital video offers major cost advantages and superior quality over traditional means.

Programming Philosophy

The proposed programming structure is a tried and true formula that is in use by approximately 3000 local low power stations in the United States. If you had to describe the programming formula in two words they would be "local, local." Maximum local access and participation. The station will be a conduit for positive social change and action. There will be no ethnic programming, all programming will be in the English language. We will promote a Canadian identity, sharing a common ground of interest to all ethnic groups. We will take a strong stand against violent programming. A station that doesn't merely repeat programming from south of the border. A station where parents don't have to be concerned about what the children are watching. A station where family values mean something. A station that explores what it means to be Canadian. A station that is accessible to the hearing impaired. A unique concept in Canadian broadcasting!

The Need for a Community TV Station in Toronto

At first glance, it would appear that the Toronto television market is well served. Currently, there are three large networks represented in CBLT, CFTO, and CIII. The CBC also provides a French service, as does TVOntario, along with its English service. CFMT provides ethnic programming, with some English shows. CHCH in Hamilton is available and on cable, stations on the fringes are pulled in, four from Buffalo, CKVR Barrie, and CKCO Peterborough. There is a miss-mash of speciality channels most of which fragment the audience but provide very little new or notable programming. Only CITY-TV has local service as its mandate while cable operators attempt to provide public access, usually on channel 10.

Public Access Television, What happened to it ?

When CITY-TV came on stream twenty five years ago, it made some excellent attempts at public access television. Since then their access to the public has gradually given way to access to profits. This is not meant as criticism, only that as they grew CITY saw a need to redefine their purpose. CITY does indeed provide excellent service to Toronto and the GTA, but where they once served their neighborhood, namely Downtown Toronto, they no longer do so.

There is a Niche for Our Station

It is in the service of the neighborhood and in the provision of public access that we feel there is a definite need. In U.S. markets similar to Toronto, seven or eight full power channels would usually be supplemented by four or five low power stations. These stations provided with a mandate by the regulatory body would then make their programming accessible to the public. Such a neighborhood public service broadcaster does not exist in any market in Canada. We propose to be that broadcaster in the Toronto market.

Sales Projections

Due to efficiencies in plant design channel 30 could sell advertising at an average of $50 per spot and still net $5M per year on a sellout. This price would make the station accessible to many businesses that presently cannot afford television advertising. Even a 30 second spot on limited audience ethnic programming sells for about $200 per spot in Toronto. According to CRTC regulations, channel 30 will have must carry status on basic cable on every cable system within 45 KM of the broadcast site. In addition, the cable companies must provide the signal at their own expense if they can not receive the signal at their head end. At the present time about 80% of the Metro Toronto population subscribe to cable service. High local visibility combined with a pro-social image will make channel 30 an attractive advertising buy.

The following preliminary projected costs and income tables have been taken directly from the CRTC application for a television station licence. These figures are conservative worst case scenarios and are based on a initial program commitment of 21 hours of locally produced programming per week.

Interim Funding for CRTC Application, Hearings

9 months expenses for rent, phone, taxes, etc. at 864 Eastern Ave.: $ 30

R & D expenses for digital video, DEC alpha computer needed for CRTC hearing presentation : $ 10

R & D expenses for an efficient low cost transmitter: $ 3

Television programming guide: $ 1

9 months salary for research assistant needed to complete application: $ 22.5

Engineering fees: $ 10

Long term upgrades to existing plant: $ 5

Accountant fees: $ 3

Entertainment lawyer fees: $ 5

Advertising for staff, independent producers: $ 5

Expenses for production of AV presentation at hearings: $ 15

Cost of telemarketing survey: $ 3

Expenses for 2 trips to Ottawa: $ 3

TOTAL INTERIM FUNDING $(000) $ 115.5

Timetable

Now until CRTC hearings: 6 to 9 months (This could be fast tracked due to the state of our readiness).

License granted: 3 months

Promotion, presell, and gearing up: 3 months

Training period for entry level employees: 6 months Full-time, fully staffed operation: 18 to 21 months

Investment Required

Interim Funding: $ 115,500

Capital investment: 705,000

First year loss: 145,000

TOTAL INVESTMENT: $965,500

Initial Local Programming Commitment

Public Forum Daily local public affairs program, live, live feeds, call ins. 10 hours per week

Toronto After Dark On location weekly look at Toronto entertainment scene. 1 hour per week

Dancing to the Oldies Live weekly dance show based on 50's to 80's music, studio and location. 2 hours per week

Local Sports Various local sporting events, live and recorded. 4 hours per week

Tiny Tot Time Live amateur hour for children. 1 hour per week

Auto Racing Local auto racing. 2 hours per week

The Computer Show Live call-in advise show on computing. 1 hour per week

Total local programming hours per week: 21

Biographical Notes

Jan Pachul Jan Pachul is a 41 year old Torontonian. For 22 years of his life he lived in the United States, where he attended high school and college. While in high school in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, he established a school radio station. He also worked for the local cable station where he hosted and produced a teenage dance show and reported on local sports. He worked as a Producer /Director, Control Room Operator, and Cameraman on a number of other programs.

At Harrisburg Area Community College he was President of the campus radio station. He interned at Penn State University with a local research group working on the effects of mass media on the minds of viewers. After graduation he became Program Director of York Access TV in York, Pennsylvania. York Access had received a US government grant to establish a community access pilot program on local cable. The pilot program succeeded in giving a voice to many local groups and individuals who were perceived as disenfranchised. Public access was provided through shows such as Public Forum, a live talk show, and York Magazine, a roving magazine show that covered local events, elections, local sports, and politics.

In 1978 Jan embarked on a business career. In the wake of Saturday Night Fever, he established a disc jockey operation. He also started producing TV commercials locally. In 1979 he joined Televisual Corporation, a company that retransmitted three independent UHF channels from Philadelphia on channels 70, 72, and 75 in Harrisburg. Jan's job was to produce all the local Harrisburg breaks and to sell air time. In 1983 Televisual was awarded low power television licences for UHF channels 53 and 65. He worked on building the new facilities.

In 1985 Jan returned to his home town Toronto, where he established his company North Star Media, a company devoted to the sales, rental, and maintenance of broadcast television equipment. He also began working on corporate and institutional productions.

Jan Pachul's vision is based on a strong feeling that we are at an important point in the evolution of television in Canada. The private sector is becoming bigger and stronger, and increasingly difficult for regulatory bodies to manage. The public sector broadcasters are feeling an enormous pinch, caught between a lack of interest by government to continue funding and general viewer apathy. His proposal is to return to basics - to zero in on the communications needs of ordinary people. The answer, he feels, is to create a broadcasting service focused on "the neighbourhood", totally accessible to all, yet still able to generate revenues in order to assure ongoing services.

We are at a fork in the road in broadcasting in Canada. By concentrating on the neighbourhood, by focusing on the quality of life of individuals and families in that neighbourhood, a truly lasting, truly unifying contribution can be made to the country. The promise of public access, a promise often made by private broadcasters, along with promises of Canadian content have more often than not, not materialized. When pressed by government, they grudgingly make small efforts to live up to their promises. Jan Pachul's promise is different. His modest station will provide access to all. The neighbourhood will have a major stake in the operation - and the neighbourhood will also be the engine that makes it run.