And Bell’s complaint against Videotron on Super Écran’s packaging is dismissed
By Denis Carmel
GATINEAU – In the context of Quebecor pulling its TVA Sports signal from Bell on the eve of the NHL playoff (for which the company was reprimanded), Quebecor had filed an undue preference complaint against Bell asserting that TVA Sports was not distributed as well as RDS (a Bell Media subsidiary) on Bell’s distribution networks.
(The first win came Monday when the CRTC told Bell it has to allow Videotron to ride on its network in northwestern Quebec.)
“The Commission notes that sports services rely on revenues resulting from broad distribution to be able to acquire costly sports rights. Therefore, the additional revenues RDS enjoys from subscribers to Bell, who might not otherwise want the service, grant Bell a competitive advantage, in particular to secure distribution rights for sports programs,” the decision reads.
Therefore, the Commission orders Bell to report back to the Commission, by no later than February 5, 2020, on a new packaging structure that would neither unduly disadvantage TVA Sports nor unduly prefer RDS.
In another decision issued the same day, this one about how Videotron sell’s Bell movie service Super Écran, the Commission also determined “although Videotron has conferred upon itself a preference by changing the packaging of channels and subjected Bell to a disadvantage, the preference and disadvantage are not undue at this time. Accordingly, the Commission dismisses Bell’s complaint.”
The CRTC came to this decision by arguing that “it is difficult to clearly establish the impact of the repackaging on the number of subscribers to Super Écran.”
“The CRTC ruled Groupe TVA was right: TVA Sports and RDS are two comparable channels and should be treated equitably. Now Bell must recognize the real value of TVA Sports, said France Lauzière president and CEO of Groupe TVA in a news release, in French.
