Just the latest company to request a bump up in carriage fee
By Ahmad Hathout
Vues & Voix is asking the CRTC to add three cents to the monthly wholesale carriage fee commanded by its 24-hour radio station Canal M to maintain programming and avoid laying off much-needed paid staff, according to an application made public Thursday.
The company says the station, which creates content for visual- and hearing-impaired Canadians, is facing a “perfect storm” of lower revenues from cord cutting, a higher cost of living, aging digital infrastructure that needs an upgrade, and an increasing population of vulnerable people who have moved over to smartphones and social media for consumption.
Though the program runs mainly on volunteer staff – over 1000 hours of that type of labour per year – it says it uses employees and freelancers for certain critical roles, including technicians, social media strategists, sign language interpreters and experienced researchers.
“Canal M’s financial situation is such that without an increase in the monthly wholesale rate, we will no longer be able to maintain our current level of production and service,” Vuex & Voix says in its French-language application, which requests a bump from four to seven cents per broadcast subscriber per month.
“It goes without saying that the fees of the presenters and collaborators have not been increased, but reduced,” it adds. “The majority of people we hear on the air are not paid, and those who are, accept fees that are symbolic.”
The company says it has taken drastic steps to operate a leaner station as subscribers cut the cord on televisions that carry the network: it has made its content available on most streaming platforms; expanded its social media presence, including implementing subtitles on its YouTube videos; signed partnerships with organizations, including CBC/Radio-Canada to carry its programs; reduced programming costs by removing and discontinuing certain shows; and submits grant applications that are not guaranteed because of the increasing competition.
“We would like to point out that, despite all our efforts to reduce costs and maximize our collaboration with volunteers, our production capacity is seriously affected by the lack of funding,” it says. “For example, a weekly show from September to June had about 40 episodes, while we now produce short series of only 8 episodes, a reduction of 80%.”
At the same time, since its licence renewal in 2018, it has utilized more volunteer hours – from 50 hours of volunteer content per week, about 30 per cent of its spoken content, to 74 hours per week – now 45 per cent of its programming.
“Our small team of employees and volunteers are aware that we are providing an essential service and are working hard to fulfill our mission,” the application says. “But we are at the end of our rope and everyday miracles are no longer enough.”
Canal M is the latest in a line of programs that have requested a bump up in their wholesale carriage fee.
TV5 late last year requested a two-cent bump for its programming to alleviate financial problems. Around the same time, the commission rejected an application by Accessible Media Inc. (AMI) for an increase in the rates for its AMI-tv and AMI-télé programs. The Cable Public Affairs Channel (CPAC) has also warned the CRTC that, barring a bump up in its carry fee, it will not be able to sustain its programming beyond 2026.
Meanwhile, LGBTQ+ TV broadcasters and streamer OUTtv is asking the commission to consider granting it must-carry status with a wholesale rate of 12 cents per subscriber per month.
A bump up in wholesale fees would come at the expense of the broadcasters who have long requested from the CRTC financial relief or reprieve from their regulatory obligations because of what they say is a difficult financial environment on themselves. Those difficulties include a drop in subscribers due to the cord-cutting phenomenon that is, in part, responsible for those requests for a bump up in those must-carry fees.
