TV STATION TO CARRY ADS FOR FIRST TIME
By Adnews Staff
French language TV station Canal D can now carry ads after the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission ruled to renew the channel's services for seven years and to allow the station to sell ad space. Under the plan, Canal D will carry a maximum of 12 minutes of advertising per hour. Canal D says that 40% of the ad revenues will be spent on production and acquiring Canadian documentaries. Canal D is owned by Astral Communications of Montreal. Astral's subsidiary, Les Reseaux Premier Choix, operates Canal D. "This will allow us to increase the number of hours on our schedule devoted to programming produced in Canada by an average of 35% annually, Les Reseaux Premier president and CEO Pierre Roy says in a release. Half of Canal D's programming is dedicated to documentaries, with the balance being a variety of classic movies and cult television series, as well as humor, jazz and music festivals.