OTTAWA – With just a few weeks left to go before the CRTC’s widely anticipated hearing on vertical integration, the Commission has provided interveners with a sneak peek into what exactly it plans to focus on.
The Regulator posted its agenda and issued a letter on Monday saying that its panel intends to focus on five key areas:
1. Perceived problems and benefits with respect to the Canadian broadcasting system resulting from vertical integration;
2. Concerns with respect to exclusivity of content distribution, including distribution over mobile and broadband platforms;
3. Requirement for protection of independent broadcasters or independent distributors;
4. Adequacy of current ex ante regulatory measures to address concerns resulting from vertical integration; and
5. Requirement for a Code of good business practices that would apply to vertically integrated companies.
The letter continued that interveners should also be prepared to offer their views on such related issues as:
– Adequacy of the current undue preference and reverse onus regime;
– With respect to dispute resolution:
• Adequacy of existing dispute resolution mechanisms;
• Relevant factors (and their importance) to be considered by the Commission in assessing disputes;
• Requirement to adjust these factors as a function of the service or platform;
– Additional information and documentation (e.g. affiliation agreements), if any, to be filed with the Commission;
– Measures to address the sharing of certain information between parts of a vertically integrated entity;
– Enforcement tools at the Commission’s disposal to deal with breaches of its rules. In this regard, it is noted that in paragraph 106 and following, of Telus Communications Company’s April 27, 2011 submission, it is posited that section 12(2) of the Broadcasting Act is sufficiently broad to support the imposition by the Commission of a payment akin to an administrative monetary penalty upon a party, for breaches of its rules. A party found offside the rules would then pay the amount into a fund that benefits the broadcasting system such as the new Public Participation Fund;
• Comment on the Commission’s legal authority to impose such an obligation and how it would be implemented;
• Comment on other enforcement tools at the Commission’s disposal to discipline behaviour and how these would be implemented.
The Commission also said that it would like comments on the composition of BDUs’ basic service (e.g. should there be a mandatory “skinny” basic service?); and re-imposition of the payment of benefits in the case of transfers of ownership or changes in control of distribution undertakings.
The hearing is scheduled to begin on June 20, 2011 in Gatineau and Cartt.ca will be there.
