OTTAWA-GATINEAU – The CRTC has taken away the dual carriage status of five specialties as of Sept. 1 this year.
Currently, eight specialties have dual status on the basic tier: MuchMusic, CBC Newsworld, Le Réseau de l’information (RDI), TV5, VisionTV, VRAK.TV, The Weather Network/MétéoMédia, and YTV. The commission has announced that TV5, Vision TV, VRAK.TV, The Weather Network/MétéoMédia, and YTV will lose their dual status this fall. It has granted mandatory digital basic carriage for Newsworld and RDI. The commission did not receive an application from MuchMusic to be granted mandatory digital basic carriage.
In addition, the CRTC received applications to add some existing digital channels to the list of mandatory digital basic. The commission approved the applications from Avis de recherche but denied them from All Points Bulletin and Canal Savoir.
The CRTC noted that analog dual status services that were denied mandatory carriage on digital basic will continued to be carried as part of digital basic on cable BDUs that offer subscribers a digital-only option. The cablecos will have to carry those services on digital basic until at least Jan. 1, 2010, unless the channels agree to carriage on another basis. After that date, the cablecos must continue to carry the services on digital basic until at least 85% of their subscribers have a set-top box and subscribe to at least one digital service, or Jan. 1, 2013, whichever comes first.
In unveiling its digital migration framework last year, the commission noted “that the existing dual status designations do not necessarily reflect current priorities and may create competitive inequities between established specialty services and those that have been licensed in more recent years” and that the dual status would end this fall. However, it acknowledged “that there may be certain services for which basic carriage could be justified in a digital environment.”
The commission set out its reasons for approving or denying applications for mandatory digital basic carriage. It felt that Newsworld/RDI should be carried on digital basic because of its bilingualism, and its newsgathering locally, nationally, and internationally. Avis de Recherche’s aim of helping law enforcement solve crimes “is unique and complementary to existing programming,”
In denying applications, the CRTC said that The Weather Network/MétéoMédia “are not of exceptional importance” because weather information is readily available elsewhere, including radio, print media, and the Internet.
All Points Bulletin, an English-language service similar to Avis de Recherche, could not show that it was relevant and practical, the commission said, while Canal Savoir’s proposed plan for adding educational programming “lacks detail and is not solid.” Both YTV and VRAK.TV offer programming aimed at younger viewers similar to what other services broadcast, the decision stated. In denying the application from VisionTV, the commission said, “The current broadcasting system provides a range of religious programming to Canadians” and that in fact all broadcasters are supposed to provide diverse perspectives. As for TV5, the commission said that several broadcasters air programming from francophone countries outside of Canada.
The full decision is here.
