OTTAWA – The CRTC’s first call for comments on its vertical integration policy is centering on audit provisions for BDUs and on the potential creation of a standard form non-disclosure agreement.
The Commission said Monday that it is seeking comments on the timeframes and other modalities around audits, the wording for a standard form non-disclosure agreement, and to whom such agreements should apply.
During its recent VI hearing, stakeholders such as independent broadcasters expressed their concern to the CRTC about delays after submitting an audit request to a vertically integrated BDU. The Commission said that it is therefore encouraging responses that address:
– the standard information to be provided by BDUs to programming services annually, and on receipt of an audit request;
– the format of the information on which the auditor’s opinion will be sought;
– the modalities of the audit process itself, particularly step-by-step timeframes for the conduct and completion of audits; and
– the method and timeframe by which auditors will be selected by parties and possible disputes resolved.
Other stakeholders expressed concern that VI entities would be able to gain a competitive advantage through the sharing and use of information obtained over the course of negotiations or other interaction between programming services and the BDUs that distribute those services. The Commission committed to developing what needs to be included in non-disclosure agreements and to whom such agreements should apply, with the objective of establishing a standard form non-disclosure agreement.
Responses as they relate to non-disclosure agreements should address:
– format (e.g. who should sign the agreement);
– carriage information;
– packaging and marketing plans in advance of finalizing contracts;
– discussions around business plans for certain systems;
– subscriber numbers;
– affiliation payments for each service;
– serving technology (analog or digital) by system;
– individual tier penetration by system;
– subscriber wholesale rates by system; and
– bulk discounts by system, and/or discounts and promotional allowances
Comments are due by February 15, and the deadline for replies is March 6, 2012.
