Ethnic license now held by OMNI up for grabs next week
SECTION 9(1)(h) OF THE Broadcasting Act says the CRTC can “require any licensee who is authorized to carry on a distribution undertaking to carry, on such terms and conditions as the Commission deems appropriate, programming services specified by the Commission.”
It’s commonly known in the industry as the must-carry clause, the one applied to certain TV channels in which cable, satellite and IPTV are forced to offer in their entry packages. They include the main local broadcasters and a handful of other channels which the Regulator believes fills an “exceptional need.”
Rogers Media’s OMNI (and before that, CFMT) long filled an important niche. Licensed as a multicultural local broadcaster, with which came must-carry status, it offered programming in languages beyond the English and French norm. For more than two decades, it paid for its Mandarin, Cantonese, Italian and other language prime time programming with significant advertising dollars earned in the strips between 6-8 p.m. and 10-midnight with English shows like The Simpsons, Married, With Children and Star Trek which attracted millions of non-ethnic viewers.
However, as TV viewers shifted their habits to multiple platforms and such shows were made available anywhere and everywhere, advertisers lost interest and those dollars disappeared, leaving OMNI in dire straits. It was losing tens of millions.
Instead of shutting it down however, Rogers threw a hail Mary pass in 2016 when it asked the CRTC for OMNI to be made an ethnic specialty service, but keeping its spot on the dial and 9(1)(h) status. In 2017, facing political pressure not to force the closure of the only ethnic service on basic cable, the CRTC acquiesced and said yes – but only temporarily for three years – and in the meantime it would ask others to come forward with competing applications for that license.
A four day hearing will begin on Monday where a three-member panel of CRTC chair Ian Scott and vice-chairs Christianne Laizner and Caroline Simard will hear from eight applicants who want that license.
The Regulator’s official call for applications reads: “The Commission is issuing this call to fill the exceptional need for a national, multi-ethnic television service that can provide Canadians with programming, including news and information, in multiple languages from a Canadian perspective.”
This means it is a hearing to argue who gets the license for a channel providing Canadian news in languages other than English and French, not to re-argue whether the whole thing is a good idea or not. The Commission has already decided there is an “exceptional need” for such a service and that it shall be a 9(1)(h) service, so we’re not going to get into that argument here. Sorry intervenors who want to gripe about that.
All of the applications also reference Statistics Canada or other survey data noting the numbers of Canadians who are recent immigrants or who speak languages other than English or French. We won’t rehash those mounds of data here either. There are well over seven million Canadians whose first language is not one of our two official ones. There is a target for this market.
Some of the applications also quote research saying Canadians of all stripes think a channel like this is a good idea and they are willing to pay for it . So since the fee these applicants are asking for range from 4-cents to 40 cents per subscriber per month – and would be part of the already-mandated $25 maximum basic TV package anyway – we’re not going to debate that point here either.
The Commission wants it. Canadians say they want it and are fine with paying a little for it. There are certainly viewers for it.
So let’s just get down to the applications and what they propose to offer with such a TV channel.
Rogers Media (OMNI) – The Incumbent
- 55% total Canadian content, 50% in prime time.
- 80% ethnic programming
- 50% in third language
- Its Canadian programming expenditures would rise to 50% of revenues, 20 points more than it is now
- 21 hours of news programming each week in each of its four regional feeds
- Daily news will be primarily in six languages, the top six languages spoken in Canada other than English or French: Cantonese, Mandarin, Arabic, Spanish, Tagalog and Punjabi (one half hour each/day)
- 18 hours of locally reflective programming
- Monthly programming will target 20 groups and 20 different languages in all regions except Quebec, where it’s 18 groups and 15 languages
- Asking for $0.19 per subscriber per month in year one, rising to $0.21 in year five. It receives $0.12 now
- Will air 50 hours of independently produced shows each week
Rogers is the incumbent. People know OMNI and know what to expect. This application is a significant boost to what the channel is now offering (it’s essentially a doubling of what it is spending now) in terms of content, adding newscasts and independent productions, but less than what others say they can do. OMNI also remains a free, over-the-air station in its markets as well, an advantage none of the other applicants have.
Rogers’ application promises OMNI will be run “on a break-even basis” and promises the Commission that if not approved, it will be shut down. This , of course will cause more media job losses, but perhaps some of the others below could use some experienced people.
Without significant ad dollars though – and Rogers is projecting that line to be over 30% of total revenue – it won’t come close to breaking even.
Ethnic Channels Group (Voices) – The Always In-Language solution
- 75% Cancon, 85% in prime time.
- 90% ethnic programming
- 100% in third languages, simultaneously (see explanation below)
- 40 hours/week of original content in each of four regional feeds, 80% of which will be news
- 10 languages in year one, 15 in year two and 25 by year five, with everything in all languages
- Will produce an annual multicultural awards show
- 60% of revenues to be spent on CPE
- Will spend 3% of prior year’s annual revenues on PNI
- Asking for $0.23 per subscriber per month
This is an intriguing application and if it works, would become an on-demand, in language channel – something that is brand new. Voices would use multiple audio feeds and a single video feed where content would then be in the users’ language of choice, no matter what show is on the air. It’s the same principle and technology as described video programming. Viewers then wouldn’t have to wait for the news show in their language at 9:30 p.m., because all of the programming would be in their selected language, no matter the originating one. “It is based on the technical solution by which a BDU would transmit a single video feed, and then include in the channel map 25 channels that reference the same video but different audio feeds,” says the ECG application which insists this is deployable using existing carrier technology, despite some of the large carriers saying it’s impossible.
In fact, in the intervention by the Canadian Communications Systems Alliance, Westman Communications, one of its largest cable company members, said it was possible to do, but would require testing. As for the complaints by carriers about spectrum limitations, those may well be moot at some point soon since most are switching to IP delivery, where that would be far less of a factor.
The proposed service “will not use – at most – more bandwidth than a standard OTA digital signal,” says ECG. “Virtual channel mapping is a standard element of digital transmission. It is inherent in the technology that video channels are associated with – and may be associated with – separate audio channels. We are aware of no particular limitations in standard digital technology that would have any impact on ECGL’s proposed technical solution.”
If approved, the Commission would also have to force BDUs to use their technology in a way they may not want to.
ECG also forecasts little to no ad dollars for Voices (only 7% of revenues by year seven) and says it can make this work mostly from the subscription fee.
Bell Media (OurTV) – The Big Guy
- 70% Cancon, over whole schedule
- 100% ethnic programming
- 50% in third languages with some “cross-cultural” programming in English and French
- Six hour-long national newscasts in six languages: Mandarin, Cantonese and Tagalog, Arabic, Punjabi and Spanish.
- Will spend 5% of prior year’s revenue on PNI.
- Asking for $0.25 per subscriber per month
- 20 languages to be served, but will concentrate on the top six third languages spoken in Canada (Cantonese, Mandarin, Arabic, Spanish, Tagalog and Punjabi).
Bell’s OTV would be powered by the substantial resources of CTV News. “While international news may be available from other sources, only the establishment of a dedicated Canadian news organization can provide news and information from here, and about here,” says its application.
The newscasts will originate in three different locations. Punjabi and Tagalog would be done in Vancouver, Mandarin and Cantonese in Toronto, with Arabic and Spanish in Montreal.
Despite the fact ATN is part of a competing bid, Bell has an agreement with ATN for South Asian programming and cross-promotional and co-production opportunities.
Asian Television Network/Telelatino (CanadaWorldTV) – VOD-and-CBC-driven
- 60% Cancon
- 100% ethnic
- 60% in third languages, 40% in English and French
- Top six languages above will anchor their newscasts.
- 168 total hours per week of original content
- 2.5% spend on PNI
- 20 languages will be represented, but up to 40 on its tied video on demand platform
- Asking for $0.12 per month in its original application (although its financial plans show projections for $0.13 per month)
This interesting application’s point of difference is with its promise of 1,000 video on demand titles (although its unclear of the 9(1)(h) clause would extend to VOD content) to go with the channel and its CBC service agreement. “CanadaWorldTV could have access to fully produced current affairs content for versioning. The CBC may license content which could include a selection of well known programs such as Power & Politics, On The Money, Marketplace and the Fifth Estate,” says the submission.
The possibility exists of it going over-the-air with CBC through digital subchannels where it “can explore to offer the linear feed of the video as a digital subchannel on (the CBC) OTA television feed. The benefit will be additional reach,” adds the submission.
It’s worth noting Corus Entertainment owns 50.5% of Telelatino, which makes one wonder why it didn’t propose also being able to access the resources of Global News, too.
Amber Broadcasting (Amber News Network) – All new, all-news
- 90% Cancon
- 100% in third languages
- 100% news and current affairs programming
- 59.5 hours/week of news with current affairs programming to be made by independent producers
- Six 30-minute newscasts per day in six languages (the same six as above, except Hindi replaces Spanish)
- Will serve content for up to 25 languages
- Will be a national service, but hire 200 people spread through new bureaus across the country.
- Asking for $0.30 per month
The Surrey, B.C. based company holds a radio station license for CJCN-FM (under Akash Broadcasting) and has lined up multiple former OMNI executives to help drive its TV application through, including former OMNI national vice-president Madeline Ziniak and former Rogers Media EVP of programming and operations Malcolm Dunlop.
This is an ambitious application which would create a new all-news network and has the most aggressive ad sales targets calling for $1.5 million in ad revenue in year one, rising to $10 million in year five. Without the ad sales, ANN will not be profitable, according to the company’s financial projections.
Corrcan Media Group (no name) – The newspaper application
- 60% total Cancon
- 100% ethnic Cancon from noon to midnight
- An eclectic mix of programming with news and current affairs primarily for four languages: Mandarin, Cantonese, Punjabi and Italian (the company publishes Corriere Canadese, the Italian language Canadian newspaper).
- 14.5 hours per week (seven half hours) of news serving those four languages.
- 16 more languages to be served with 30-minute newscasts, five days/week.
- 125 total Cancon hours per week
- A national service, so no regional feeds
- Asking for $0.20 per month
This application by the owners of the Corriere Canadese newspaper is another hoping for $10 million in ad sales by year five, or 30% of its total projected revenue. This level may be too ambitious since neither OMNI’s nor Bell’s applications, for example, do not contemplate ad sales at that level in any of their projections.
The Corrcan application also says it can mine the depths of its newspaper’s editorial content for programming ideas and also describes some unusual programming strategies, including multiple language voice-overs on top of photos of daily newspapers from around the world as a news show technique and the airing of government travelogue-style videos to hit its mandate.
Independent Community Television (TELE1 and TELE2) – The not-for-profit
- 100% Cancon from 6 a.m. to 3 a.m.
- 25% of the schedule will be daily national news and 18% local current affairs, in 10 languages: Mandarin, Cantonese, Punjabi, Tagalog, Spanish, Arabic, Italian, German, English and French
- 18 one-hour shows per week, each of a different language than above
- 19 half-hours, each of a different language than the others, for a total of 47 languages.
- 21 hours of live music per week.
- 14% of airtime and budget will go to independently produced kids and drama made by ethnic or Indigenous producers for all Canadians
- Asking for $0.40 per month for TELE1 and zero for TELE2
- TELE2 will fill other programming needs for ethnic and Indigenous communities such as sports and commissioned drama programming.
“Decades of corporate control over Community television and Ethnic television licenses has not achieved the Broadcasting Act’s targets for reflection and representation for Indigenous and ethnic communities despite millions of dollars of public funding invested in these goals,” reads the ICTV application.
The folks behind this application really don’t like Rogers or OMNI. Unlike other applications which mostly extoll their own virtues, this one really took Rogers to task, saying “the corporate giant failed their licence responsibilities by misusing the funds as a revolving door for productions on its community access stations RogersTV and not providing the required news programming desperately needed to promote social cohesion.”
It does contemplate spreading the wealth among many groups in Canada and training members of indigenous and ethnic groups in video production to try and develop the production scene among those groups.
One of the things we don’t understand from this application is it assumes it will be able to get the rights to major sports such as the NHL in order to broadcast it in other languages. It does not say how it would pay to get those rights. “Russian speaking audiences will for the first time have access to NHL programming in their language, while Russian advertisers will have a new audience to target. Advertising revenues from this stream are hard to predict, but have the potential to bolster ICTV’s budget with revenues from a market with virtually no competition,” reads its application.
Rogers paid $5.2 billion for the rights to NHL hockey in Canada.
Multicultural Described Video Guide (MDVG) – The outlier
- This is not a channel at all but would fill a void where using multiple audio signals, or a “virtual audio mux”, it will deliver a described program guide in 23 languages
- That means there are no commitments to hours, or Cancon or CPE
- Asking for $0.04 per month for its must-carry rate
“Although this application is coming from a bit left-field,” it says, there’s no doubt such a guide does fill a void. Like the ECG model, it too would require the distribution of multiple audio feeds.
“A television transport signal has multiple audio channels embedded. This is how Described Video, Second Audio Program and even 2.1, 5.1 and 7.1 Dolby Digital audio tracks are assigned within one broadcast feed. KVCI seeks to embed twenty audio channels with a single video channel, to meet the criteria set out within this application,” it reads.
The company “requests as part of the Broadcasting Decision and 9(1)(h) order for this service that BDUs be allowed to de-mux the audio or assign “virtual channel numbers” to this service. This makes each audio channel essentially similar to that of what one hears through a service such as Stingray Digital or a radio channel provided by a television operator.”
We’ll see what the Commission thinks of all of this starting Monday with Rogers up first.
