Digital launch delays movement on small cable’s right to access U.S. signals

Small cable operators have finally won the right to purchase their TV signals from U.S. satellite providers. But a preoccupation with this fall’s digital launch means they will have to wait awhile before taking advantage of it. Alyson Townsend, COO and general counsel with the Canadian Cable Systems Alliance Inc (CCSA), says, "Right now, there are other issues that are pressing, such as the digital launch. …If we could, we’d like to (move ahead on this matter) along with everything else. It’s just a question of resources." Class 3s gained the right to source their satellite signals directly from U.S. satellite providers when the CRTC announced it would no longer require small cablecos to be licenced (PN 2001-59). Janet Yale, president and CEO of the Canadian Cable Television Association (CCTA), notes that the change could eventually result in cost savings for Class 3s, since they may be able to negotiate better deals with the U.S. signal providers. The current rules require cablecos to purchase their signals from a Canadian supplier. Townsend called the policy change "fortuitous" but "not something that was expected at this time." She adds that existing contracts with Canadian satellite companies are wide ranging and vary dramatically with different cable systems. Some are long-term, others are not. The CCSA has lobbied for the right to acquire signals from U.S. satellite suppliers in a number of regulatory submissions over the past few years. The CRTC rejected a bid by the alliance to source signals via PrimeTime, which proposed using U.S. satellites to deliver U.S.-approved signals to Canada (CCR, Feb. 8/98). The CCSA tried again late last year as part of discussions by a working group on the migration of analog signals to digital. "The only way we can source our signals is from our competitors, Cancom or Bell ExpressVu, but they are the ones that are causing us the greatest subscriber loss," David Saxe said right after the group’s report was released in February (CCR, March 14/01). Saxe is the CCSA representative on the migration committee. At that time, the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) argued that the matter should not be dealt with in debates on digital conversion, but in a review of regulations governing smaller cable systems.

Digital launch delays movement on small cable’s right to access U.S. signals

Broadcast | June 21, 2001

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Digital launch delays movement on small cable’s right to access U.S. signals

Broadcast | June 21, 2001

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