She’s wanted a channel since 1985, but four children and 15 years later Martha Fusca, president and ceo of Stornoway Communications, got four.

‘As a producer you want to reach as much of an audience as possible and what better way to do that than with a channel,’ says Fusca.

Considered a small player in the crtc’s latest round of digital specialty licensing – partially because it was up against such media giants as Shaw Communications, Alliance Atlantis and ctv, and partially because it was making its first entry into the broadcasting sphere – Stornoway emerged an unabashed winner, with one Category 1 (The Issues Channel) licence and three licences in Category 2 (The Dance Channel, The Pet Channel and @work.ca).

‘We had to do what others didn’t. We had to demonstrate that we were worth listening to,’ says Fusca, as she talks of the challenges, inroads and strategies involved in the creation of her company’s first four channels and the transition from veteran documentary producer to newborn broadcasting executive.

In addition to a prestigious advisory committee chaired by Toronto businessman Gordon Ashworth and including such influential heavies as Senators Catherine Callbeck (p.e.i.), Erminie Cohen (New Brunswick) and Celine Hervieux-Payette (Quebec), the company employed a highly targeted audience for market research, which included a sample of 2,000 people from across Canada.

Fusca also brought on board a skilled team to execute the applications and run the new broadcasting operation, including senior vp and cfo Don Richardson and head of engineering Stu Turner.

Cogeco Radio and Television, a 50% equity partner with 49% voting power, joined forces with the Stornoway team less than a month before application deadline, solidifying the enterprise and lending its expertise in the broadcasting arena.

‘The fear was that I didn’t have a lobbying force, unlike other organizations who are so well-known and established,’ says Fusca, who is ecstatic about winning a Category 1, but would have been more satisfied if some of the new entries got two channels instead of one. ‘If anyone needed a leg-up in the digital environment it was people like us, or Salter Street.’

Nonetheless, Fusca sings the praises of the crtc. ‘Up until this experience, I too might have believed the days of the crtc were numbered, but having gone through this exercise, I believe we need them now more than ever because, interestingly enough, you begin to notice the playing field is becoming more and more consolidated, even though it looks so crowded.’

Likewise, by coming up with the 5-1 rule – which obligates cable companies to pick up five unaffiliated channels for every one Category 2 channel in which they own more than 10% and choose to carry – the crtc continues to be instrumental in deterring cablers from practicing undue preference.

But, says Fusca, ‘who controls really has to be the group responsible for the 5-1 rule. That’s the real issue. To me, for example, Corus, Shaw and Star Choice are one group. They may be separate entities, they may have different boards, they may be traded separately on the tse, [but] it’s still a control issue.’

Fusca assures that Stornoway’s partnership is with Cogeco Radio and Television and as such there exists no pre-arrangement with Cogeco cable to carry any of its non-mandatory channels. ‘We played by the rules, but hello,’ she says sarcastically, admitting it’s only natural that cable companies will be inclined to pick up their own channels, if they can. Then again, if Shaw and Corus are considered one and the same, and Shaw were to carry all of Corus’ Category 2 channels, it would be obligated by the 5-1 rule to pick up an additional (roughly) 200 channels (given Corus also has an equity share in almost 40 channels).

Fusca also applauds the crtc’s decision to license 21 Category 1 services, as opposed to 10. ‘When the commission first put the call out, they didn’t know what they were going to get. They had to address an overwhelming amount of applications, but the ones they licensed were broad enough (to establish ground) before the Americans bombard us.’

And while Fusca is not concerned that over-fragmentation of the Canadian television market will threaten specialty broadcasters, especially ones without bce-scale backing, she says broadcasters big and small will have to be creative in order to stay alive.

‘We don’t need to own to do,’ says Fusca. ‘We launched Canada’s Brain Drain on the Canoe portal and that was a great relationship. And Cogeco has the Rapidus portal.’

Likewise, she says, ‘Partnering on Category 2 channels in an inevitable situation.’

So far, Fusca has been approached by a handful of people – both with and without licences – interested in partnering with Stornoway on its three Category 2 channels.

And while she has yet to strike a deal with anyone, she says, ‘we haven’t said no.’

Selling the specialty channels internationally is another inevitability, says Fusca, which means much of the programming, specifically on the Category 2 channels, should have a universal appeal.

For many of the Category 1 services, and in particular the Issues Channel, selling internationally may be slightly more problematic because of their Cancon requirements.

While Fusca keeps tight-lipped about her strategy going forward, relating to her Category 2 licences, her business plan is partly dependent on the late-coming industry code.

The crtc has asked for the code to be put in place by March, which could be a major stumbling block for broadcasters gearing up for a September 2001 launch.

‘This is a huge concern for us,’ says Fusca, who intends to launch all four channels together.

‘It’s logical to launch as many [channels] as possible at one time. It’s cost-effective, it makes you more attractive and it’s good for marketing packages,’ she adds.

It will cost roughly $32 million for Stornoway to launch all four channels, including the capital costs associated with being an upstart broadcaster. The company has already come up with close to 60% of the launch budget in cash, with cibc holding the remaining line of credit.

What each channel will cost specifically will depend on the conditions of licence.

The company spent $1.2 million to apply for the licences, which included their interactive components.

Because it was such an investment to put the applications together, Fusca’s strategy was to apply for the four channels in both categories to maximize their chances and amortize the costs.

But while Fusca’s leadership has proved fruitful thus far, her original intention was to find someone else to spearhead the channel pursuit.

‘I thought I’d hire someone more experienced with the crtc. I begged Heather McGillivray and Janice Platt, but what you discover is that you can’t pay people enough to do this. You lose you life completely and so you’ve got to be a real nut to take the lead,’ says Fusca.

A farmer’s daughter from southern Italy and former president of wift-t, Fusca relishes the opportunity to join the ranks of such uber-women as Trina McQueen and Phyllis Yaffe, who have broken through the glass ceiling and helped revolutionize an industry traditionally and predominantly lorded over by their male counterparts.

‘Digital tv and the Internet is enabling a growing number of women to develop all kinds of new and creative business opportunities because of the notion of mobility, globalization,’ says Fusca. *

-www.stornoway.com