OTTAWA – The CRTC today denied a request by Shaw Communications to add American cable specialty The Sportsman Channel to the eligible satellite list.
Shaw made the request back in January and the Commission denied it today, siding with those who intervened (WildTV, World Fishing Network, CTVglobemedia, CFTPA, the CAB) saying The Sportsman Channel’s programming overlapped far too much with Wild and WFN. Canadian channels are generally protected from the entry of foreign channels in their genres thanks to CRTC policy promoting Canadian broadcasting.
(Ed note: With 10 days to the delivery of the new BDU and specialty regulations by the Commission, this decision, released so close to that date, may suggest that the border won’t be thrown open to American channels as a few had hoped during the April hearing.)
WildTV “considered TSC to be totally competitive with its national Category 2 specialty programming undertaking known as Wild TV. It argued that TSC’s programming is identical in nature to Wild TV’s programming and is designed to reach exactly the same target audience (sportsmen and sportswomen of all ages). WTI further argued that TSC is essentially a duplication of the service that Wild TV already provides, since at least 31 of the programs carried by both services are identical,” reads today’s decision.
