Commission favoured Bell
MONTREAL – Quebecor has filed for leave to appeal a “baffling” CRTC decision that ruled against its French-language sports service TVA Sports in a carriage dispute with Bell.
The company said Friday that it is asking the Federal Court of Appeal for a review of the Commission’s January 17th decision in the final offer arbitration process between the two companies that selected Bell’s per-subscriber wholesale rates for the distribution of TVA Sports in the francophone market, defined as the province of Quebec.
“Quebecor fails to understand the CRTC's position in this case”, reads the company’s statement. “TVA Group's offer was fully consistent with CRTC precedents, but the Commission made a decision based on principles and interpretations that depart from those applied in its previous decisions. The process has therefore become arbitrary and there are no longer any reference points or clear rules to follow.”
Quebecor added that the CRTC's decision-making criteria “violates the principle of consistent decision-making by which any administrative tribunal such as the CRTC must be bound”, and claims that the CRTC exceeded its authority “by violating the doctrine of legitimate expectation, whereby a party appearing before a public body is entitled to expect that the body's decisions will be in keeping with the expectations it has created by its past promises, commitments and practices.”
In its application, Quebecor contends that the Commission's decision “ignored the considerations deemed decisive” in its past arbitration decisions, such as proportionality of revenues to subscriber base, penetration rate, and the rates paid by other broadcasting distribution undertakings to carry TVA Sports and similar services.
"TVA Group's offer was reasonable and reflected the fair value of TVA Sports, without placing any undue burden on consumers", added Quebecor president and CEO Pierre Karl Péladeau. "It is unfair to leave such a wide and unwarranted gap between the rates for TVA Sports and (Bell-owned) RDS. In an aggressively competitive environment, in which our industries must fight global giants that are not subject to any regulatory or fiscal obligations, the CRTC ought not to mortgage local programming services that are succeeding by innovating and carrying quality content, thereby enriching both industry workers and the country as a whole. The CRTC should issue clear guidelines about the application of each relevant criterion in its decisions. Without consistency, CRTC decisions will appear arbitrary and the credibility of its proceedings will be undermined."
