Three new services win coveted mandatory carriage; CRTC rejects bids by Sun News Network, Starlight

OTTAWA – And then there were three. Of the 22 broadcasters that applied for mandatory distribution on cable and satellite companies’ digital basic television service, only three brand new applications received CRTC approval. Those 22 applications comprised services looking to renew their existing mandatory distribution, existing services seeking to obtain a first distribution order, and from brand new applicants. NEW APPROVALS In today’s decision, Accessible Media Inc. (AMI) was granted a license for a new French channel, AMI-tv Francais and also received mandatory distribution status on the basic service of all distributors in the country, as did Nouveau TV5, a...