Canadian Olympic Committee Unveils Plans For Groundbreaking Amateur Sport Television Networks
TORONTO and MONTREAL, Jan. 30 /CNW/ - The Canadian Olympic Committee
(COC) today unveiled details of its application for groundbreaking English and
French amateur sport television networks, which would be a first in Canada if
approved. The proposed Canadian Amateur Sports Network (CASN) and le Réseau du
sport amateur canadien (RSAC) would provide much-needed exposure and funding
for both Olympic and non-Olympic sports.
“The opportunity here is to provide a service that fills a programming
niche that exists today,” says CASN/RSAC chair and International Olympic
Committee member Richard Pound. “Between Olympic Games it is as if there are
no Canadian athletes. Our networks will bring more sports and more young
Canadians to the attention of Canadians.”
“The Canadian Olympic Committee has long recognized the need for
dramatically increased television coverage of Canadian amateur sport on a
consistent and regular basis,” said COC Chief Executive Officer Chris Rudge.
“These networks would finally bring our athletes into the spotlight and also
motivate young people everywhere in Canada to get up out of their seats and
engage in sport and a healthy lifestyle.”
The applications were formally submitted by the COC and its partners to
the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) in
early December. The proposed national digital television networks would each
focus solely on Canadian amateur sport 24 hours a day, seven days a week,
allowing Canadians to watch amateur athletes compete in regional, national and
international events in both Olympic and non-Olympic sports.
The applications ask for mandated distribution of the networks on the
basic digital service of all Cable and DTH Satellite carriers, and a mandated
wholesale subscription rate of 60 cents per household per month (in geographic
areas that are consistent with its broadcast language).
The proposed networks would contribute more than $100 million to amateur
sport over the first seven years of operation and would continue to contribute
sustainable funding to the sport community after that period.
The COC is hopeful that public hearings on the applications will take
place in the near future and a CRTC decision will be rendered as soon as
possible after the hearings.
Full details surrounding the CASN/RSAC applications can be found at the
newly-launched website www.casn-rsac.ca.
The Canadian Olympic Committee is a national, private, not-for-profit
organization committed to sport excellence. It is responsible for all aspects
of Canada’s involvement in the Olympic movement, including Canada’s
participation in the Olympic and Pan American Games and a wide variety of
programs that promote the Olympic Movement in Canada through cultural and
educational means. For more information, see the COC website: www.olympic.ca.