OTTAWA – And then there were three.
Of the 22 broadcasters that applied for mandatory distribution on cable and satellite companies’ digital basic television service, only three brand new applications received CRTC approval.
Those 22 applications comprised services looking to renew their existing mandatory distribution, existing services seeking to obtain a first distribution order, and from brand new applicants.
NEW APPROVALS
In today’s decision, Accessible Media Inc. (AMI) was granted a license for a new French channel, AMI-tv Francais and also received mandatory distribution status on the basic service of all distributors in the country, as did Nouveau TV5, a national French-language specialty programming service.
“We are thrilled that the CRTC recognized the necessity for a French channel,” said AMI president and CEO David Errington in a statement. “We live in a bilingual country and we appreciate, as an organization, the importance of inclusion. We look forward to working with local blind organizations and community groups to deliver programming that will be both entertaining and relevant to our francophone audience.”
While AMI says it plans to open a Montreal bureau in the coming months, the launch date of the new French service has not yet been confirmed.
The Legislative Assemblies of Nunavut and the Northwest Territories also received mandatory distribution on the basic service of satellite companies in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories.
DENIED
That left a dozen other bids out in the cold, including high-profile bids by Sun News Network and Starlight: The Canadian Movie Channel that had their applications rejected by the CRTC. “The Commission has set the bar very high for obtaining mandatory distribution and has granted such applications only where the existing or proposed services make exceptional contributions to meeting the objectives of the Act,” the Commission said in its decision.
Sun News VP Kory Teneycke issued a statement following the CRTC’s denial ruling on its mandatory distribution bid: “We are disappointed that the CRTC did not rule in favour of our application for a mandatory distribution order. However, we are encouraged they have found merit in the main arguments laid out by Sun News on price, channel placement and distribution, and have provided a mechanism to address these issues.”
The other services that were also denied a mandatory distribution order were: Accents, All Points Bulletin, Canadian Punjabi Network, Described Video Guide, Dolobox TV, EqualiTV, Fusion, Maximum Television Canada, La télévision des ressources naturelles, and Vision TV – however, the Commission did renew Vision TV’s broadcast license for seven years.
Moses Znaimer, president and CEO of Zoomer Media Limited, Vision TV’s parent, said in a statement he was confident that Vision TV’s revenue would not be affected by the CRTC’s decision, as the channel has been able to ensure its presence on the digital basic service by negotiating renewal agreements with most of the distributors in Canada.
In the case of French-language service Avis de recherche, which also had its application denied, the CRTC decided to phase out its mandatory distribution order over the next two years to allow the channel time to adapt its business plan in light of this change.
RENEWED
Five services saw their existing mandatory distribution status renewed until 2018: Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN), AMI-tv, AMI-audio, Canal M, and the Cable Public Affairs Channel (CPAC).
While APTN’s placement is once guaranteed on basic cable, it did not receive the subscriber wholesale rate increase it was looking for in its application, which was an increase from $0.25 to $0.40. Instead, the Commission approved a monthly subscriber wholesale rate of $0.31.
Requests for rate increases by AMI TV’s English and French services, Canal M, and Nouveau TV5 also fell short of expectations, as the CRTC imposed lower rates than were requested by these not-for-profit organizations. The Commission said that “each application was examined in order to ensure reasonable rates that will allow services to fulfill their mandate, without unduly increasing television subscribers’ bills.”
“Canadians across the country will have access to programming that meets a real and exceptional need, and that would not be widely available without our intervention,” said Jean-Pierre Blais, CRTC chair, in a statement. “We are making sure, however, that television services remain affordable for Canadians by imposing reasonable rates for services offered on the basic service.”
