GATINEAU – Bragg Communications, the east coast cable and telecom company that claims to be “small in a big way,” wants the CRTC to take on a similar persona, by making big steps towards a smaller regulatory burden.
In its presentation Wednesday to the CRTC’s broadcast hearings, Bragg co-CEO Dan McKeen gave his support to the Commission’s stated overall approach in its review that would see a reduction in regulations and increased reliance on market forces. However, he also sought CRTC help on behalf of small BDU’s which he suggested are occasionally bullied when they try to negotiate access to programming services.
McKeen also turned heads when he started talking about the Super Bowl.
Simulcasting of the Super Bowl draws more customer complaints than anything else, he said, so it’s time the CRTC dropped the simulcast requirement. “This would be an example of smart regulation,” he said.
While the simulcast requirement provides significant benefit to the Canadian broadcasting system, he said, “the Super Bowl is an exception where the unveiling of new advertising campaigns has become an integral part of the show. We believe the Canadian broadcasting system would be a net winner by encouraging consumers to remain within the regulated system.”
Bragg, with its cable, broadband and telephone operations EastLink, Persona, and Amtelecom, urged the CRTC to ensure that small systems have access to programming services at reasonable rates.
“We believe that a CRTC directive that all programming services must treat all BDUs equally in terms of carriage rates is critically important,” McKeen said. “For smaller BDUs without an ownership interest in programming services, our ability to negotiate reasonable rates of access to services is of key importance to our long-term survival.
There are volume discounts that large BDUs can get and we can’t. There really is no justification for volume discounts. It’s no easier to deliver services to Rogers than anybody else, so it puts us at a competitive disadvantage.”
The Commission could help the smaller players, he said, with a final binding arbitration process, as in major league baseball.
Bragg has over 700 cable systems, and the vast majority of them have under 20,000 subscribers. Only the cable system in Halifax is over 40,000. The average system size is 464 subscribers, McKeen said, “so that’s quite a challenge”.
As a result, the impact of regulation is significant, he said, noting that most of the 700 systems are either exempt or Class 3 systems.
“However, depending upon the exemption order applying to them, they may have different rules. Sifting through these rules is inefficient and unnecessary.”
McKeen said all exempt systems should just be required to carry a preponderance of Canadian programming (50%) and a minimal but core of basic services; packages should also have 50% Canadian services.
There is no need to regulate further, he said, because there is no real threat to Canadian broadcasters. In Bragg’s EastLink service, 99% of customers chose packages, and of the stand-alone channels offered, 91% of them are Canadian.
Natalie MacDonald, EastLink’s director of regulatory affairs, said the Commission should not mandate carriage of new services “simply because they are new. The CRTC should instead provide an opportunity to seek carriage, with the onus on the service to establish it is essential. If guaranteed access is granted, it should be for a limited timeframe.”
Glenn Wanamaker is Cartt.ca’s Quebec Editor.
