Global’s licence has been renewed for a seven-year period beginning Sept. 1, 1996, with crtc chairman Keith Spicer saying the commission is ‘pleased that the licensee has exceeded the minimum expenditure of over $300 million each year on Canadian programming.’

The conditions of licence include an expenditure of $9.3 million on Canadian programs in the first year of the new licence term and to adjust the expenditure each year proportionate to advertising revenues.

Global is also required to broadcast in peak viewing hours a minimum of six hours of original, first-run documentary programs in years one through three, and a minimum of nine hours each year for the last four years of the licence term.

In primetime, Global is also committed to broadcasting a minimum average of four hours each week of Canadian drama in peak viewing periods.

CanWest’s Ontario flagship station is also expected to broadcast 30 hours of kids’ programming each week (of which 60% is Canadian), and 17.5 hours of original first-run regional news weekly.

Global’s request that the commission amend its current condition of licence prohibiting the broadcasting of local advertising was denied, with the crtc stating that the decrease in ad revenues for local broadcasters could compromise their ability to fulfill local programming obligations.