By Denis Carmel
MONTREAL – To nobody’s surprise, Videotron responded to BCE’s most recent complaint about its hybrid video-on-demand (HVOD) service Vrai in its usual sardonic way, calling BCE’s application a desperate application based on an incorrect interpretation of the rules and an abuse of procedures, and arguing it should be rejected categorically.
We think their response is … over the top (OTT).
But seriously, to quote the Public Interest Advocacy Centre’s (PIAC) intervention, “the HVOD Exemption Order, and the Digital Media Exemption Order (DMEO), will likely no longer apply once a new Broadcasting Act comes into force, assuming that the new law will bring currently exempt undertakings under the scope of the Act. However, this may take several years.”
At the heart of the issue is how you interpret the HVOD exemption order’s Section 12: “the undertaking offers its service over a broadcasting distribution undertaking provided that all of the programs for which the rights are held on an exclusive basis are also delivered and accessed over the Internet.”
Québecor seems to meet that test but responds to BCE’s allegation that the price difference between the service for Videotron’s subscribers and someone who would be accessing it as a direct-to-consumer (DTC) Internet service as undue preference by saying the price difference is akin to the price difference for Bell’s Crave service and then goes on to say that price difference encourages cord-cutting and cord-shaping. (Videotron did not say if it would file a complaint about this but clearly, the outcome of this proceeding may trigger it.)
Parties speak of violation of the spirit of the exemption order and of a negative effect on the broadcasting ecosystem.
PIAC said it supports Bell application but does not agree with Bell’s request that the service be suspended: “However, at this stage, PIAC does not believe it is necessary to order Videotron to suspend the provision of the BDU Vrai service. This would deprive consumers of Vrai programming, and content creators of an audience. Rather, Videotron should be given a chance to expeditiously revise its DTC offering.”
BCE can reply by February 15.
