BELOW ARE A FEW OF what we think are the main talking points we pulled from yesterday’s CRTC releases on the LPIF, individual broadcasters’ one-year license renewals and the public notice on September’s hearing.
• The Regulator is clearly trying to rebrand the fee-for-carriage debate by banishing such language in favour of “value for signal.” The public notice on the hearing contemplates a negotiated new fee between broadcasters and carriers. This looks like a done deal and now it’s just about price. (Ed note: As for that price, TSN made $117 million from BDU subscriber fees in 2008. More people watch Global TV and CTV than do TSN. Does that mean the wholesale fee for OTA broadcasters will be more than that?)
• The increased $102 million LPIF is meant to be a temporary measure while the industry tries to help the Commission figure out where to go from here. We’ll see if that new dough is actually clawed back, or the LPIF done away with altogether if fee-for-carriage is, as expected, the new way of doing things come 2010 and beyond.
• Canwest got a big boost as Global TV in both Toronto and Montreal will now be reclassified as local broadcasters, not regional, making the company able to solicit local advertising in their markets.
• Look for local content to take a hit – and potentially more layoffs – but maybe not until after the next proceeding is finished, unless the broadcasters want to look REALLY cynical prior to the next round of policy-setting. The Commission “harmonized” local content requirements at 14 hours per week for large markets and 7 hours per week for small markets. That will be a big come-down for many stations. So, local shows that don’t perform well enough to turn a decent profit will face the axe at stations already meeting or surpassing the new minimums. (Ed note: In a memo to Canwest Global staff obtained by Cartt.ca, head of regulatory Charlotte Bell said of the new minimum hours: “We welcome the harmonization of local programming commitments however it is important to note that they remain minimum targets. In some markets where it is economically feasible to do more local programming, we will exceed these targets. In other more challenged markets, we will move closer to these new minimums.”)
• The distributors will make hay about how much more money is pouring into local broadcasters while at the same time, the minimum number of hours of content those broadcasters have to air has been slashed.
• Rogers did not get what it wanted for Citytv. It wanted relief from having to show Canadian drama in favour of concentrating on more local content and movies and it wanted to overlap more of its programming with its OMNI multicultural stations. The Commission said no to both requests.
• Canadians who don’t live in big cities (or in a provincial or territorial capital) won’t be getting high definition television over the air. The Commission has set the benchmark at cities with populations of 300,000-plus, with exceptions for the capitals. So Iqaluit will have digital transmitters but Kingston, Sudbury, Kelowna and their ilk won’t. The Commission has said that only “wherever possible,” will Canadians retain access to their existing local conventional television services. But that “(t)his may be accomplished through OTA transmission or via cable or satellite BDUs.”
• The Commission is truly adopting a “technology neutral” stance on TV by looking at entire ownership groups for licensing. To most consumers CFTO, Animal Planet, Movieola, HGTV and A-Channel Barrie are just different channels. Only to those of us in the industry do their regulatory distinctions make any difference.
• If the CRTC decides there should be group-based CPE and exhibition requirements, why shouldn’t the broadcasters be able to choose to air some of their Cancon on Bravo! instead of CTV, for example?
• The Commission talks a lot about video on demand in the documents released today and will have the submissions on the VOD proceeding placed in this file, too. This is a dark horse issue that is going to rise to the forefront. VOD is looking more and more like an excellent programming service without so many Cancon rules and less like a place to rent movies and TV shows, as it was originally envisioned, especially with the industry’s desire to insert far more advertising in the VOD streams.
