GATINEAU – The CRTC today approved Bell ExpressVu’s request to distribute partial or omnibus channels which contain original local and regional programming.
Satellite providers simply don’t have the transponder space to carry every single Canadian local over-the-air TV station signal (and they don’t want to, since much of the network programming is exactly the same, region to region), but subscribers in smaller centres still want to see their local news. That’s why many ExpressVu and Star Choice customers still have basic cable, as well as satellite.
So, earlier this year, ExpressVu asked for permission from the Commission to carry partial or omnibus channels so that customers would be able to find local news from many more regions.
The Commission agreed, as long as the BCE-owned DTH company gets written approval from the affected stations first, and that any surrounding ads are kept. Also, ExpressVu said it doesn’t plan to cut back on the number of regional channels it currently carries in order to make them partials.
“In cases where it would use partial channels, Bell ExpressVu would devote a unique channel number to the broadcast of specific excerpts of the local programming of each particular station offered on this basis. Where omnibus channels are used, each omnibus channel would consist of compilations of the programming of several different stations,” says the decision, released today.
“Bell ExpressVu suggested that the use of P/O channels would conserve satellite capacity, while ensuring distribution of the widest range of local programming without increasing program duplication.”
The Canadian Association of Broadcasters, along with TVA and CanWest Global, objected to the notion of partials and have long espoused a policy of “carry one, carry all”, where if a DTH company carries one station from a market, it must carry all from that region.
However, the Commission, as it noted in today’s decision, already set that notion aside during the license renewals for ExpressVu and Star Choice released in 2004.
“… (A)lthough the distribution of a station in its entirety would provide benefits to the station and to subscribers that are not possible with P/O distribution, the Commission concludes that P/O distribution provides a reasonable means of ensuring access to the greatest possible range of unique local and regional programming for all of Bell ExpressVu’s subscribers, while minimizing the impact on its capacity,” said the Commission.
“As is conceded by almost all parties, P/O distribution of unique programming provides clear benefits for subscribers and for Bell ExpressVu and also offers benefits for programming services that are not currently distributed.”
Click here for the full decision on the license amendment.
– Greg O’Brien
