GATINEAU – The CRTC’s decision on who will get, or even whether to grant, a mandatory carriage TV licence under section 9(1)(h) of the Broadcasting Act for a national, multilingual and multi-ethnic television service, will come on Thursday at 11 a.m.
The Commission held a four-day hearing at the end of November to hear from Rogers, which owns the existing 9(1)(h) license under the OMNI brand until August 2020, as well as applications from Ethnic Channels Group (Voices), an ATN/Telelatino partnership (CanadaWorld), Bell Media (OurTV), Corrcan Media Group (no name), ICTV (Tele1/Tele2), Amber Broadcasting (Amber News Network), and Multicultural Described Video Guide.
TV carriers must carry the signal in their basic channel lineups but it's worth noting CRTC chair Ian Scott (pictured) said the Commission may decide not to grant anyone this must-carry license after the current one expires.
Each applicant had their own hook, and proposed wholesale fee, which we covered in a series of stories linked below.
The Last Must-Carry: To OMNI, or not to OMNI
The Last Must-Carry: Poking holes in the applicants
The Last Must-Carry: Commissioners challenge assumptions
The Last Must-Carry: What makes you so special?
The Last Must-Carry: Eight vying for mandatory carriage on the TV dial
