By Ahmad Hathout
Not-for-profit media company Accessible Media Inc. (AMI) has lodged a complaint with the CRTC alleging Videotron is not treating institutional subscribers in a way that conforms with industry standard when it comes to carrying AMI’s programs.
Since 2016, AMI and Videotron have been deadlocked on the terms of a distribution agreement in which Videotron must carry AMI-TV and AMI-tele as part of the 9.1(1)(h) rule.
Central to AMI’s undue disadvantage complaint, as outlined in a Part 1 application made public this week, is that Videotron allegedly will not budge on how to treat institutional customers, such as hotels and hospitals. According to the complaint, AMI alleges that Videotron wants to treat each institution as a single subscriber, even though each of these locations has many rooms and units from which the programs could be broadcast.
AMI said Videotron told it that it has 174 institutional customers that could be classified as transient subscribers. The consequence of Videotron’s configuration, AMI says, is that the Montreal-based company would only pay the current monthly rate of 28 cents for each of these institutions – amounting to roughly $48 per month.
“This approach is inconsistent with how every other BDU across the country treats transient subscribers, which are usually treated in the same way as bulk accounts,” AMI said in its application, noting there would be a discount applied. “While it is normal for programming services to share in the discounting BDUs usually provide institutional customers, there is generally a floor [maximum of 50 per cent].”
AMI alleges that, as recently as October 2023, Videotron said it would not allow the program owner to do an audit of the number of subscribers it has until it signs what is called a pre-audit memorandum of understanding.
But that puts AMI in a catch-22, it claims, because it alleges that Videotron will not change the wording in the MOU about the transient subscribers on which the complaint is based.
“The pre-audit MOU Vidéotron is insisting AMI sign to be allowed to perform an audit is an attempt to use the audit process to force AMI to agree to terms that would otherwise be contained in an affiliation agreement – terms that, based on Vidéotron’s current position, are highly prejudicial to AMI,” AMI alleges in its application, adding it has a right to audit the BDU without being forced to accept terms of reference.
AMI, which showcases programming dedicated to Canada’s disability community, is asking that the CRTC force Videotron to treat transient subscribers the same as what it claims is how the rest of the industry treats it, and allow it to audit Videotron’s subscriber numbers for a three-year period starting from May 1, 2021.
The application comes as AMI says it faces a harsh financial climate to continue to produce the programming that must be carried by BDUs. In February, the media company filed a Part 1 application asking the CRTC to hike the rate BDUs pay to carry English-language AMI-TV and French-language AMI-tele.
“At a time when Canadian businesses and the general public are facing higher costs due to inflation, the AMI Services are seeing significant revenue declines as BDU subscribers ‘cut the cord,’” AMI said in this most recent Part 1 application. “AMI’s annual revenues have declined by more than $2 million annually over what they were five years ago.
“The situation is exacerbated when a BDU like Vidéotron does not pay AMI its fair share of bulk transient accounts,” it added.
We’ve asked Videotron for comment and will update this story if/when we do get a response.
