CCR Short Takes

CCTA granted right to appeal pole access decisionThe Supreme Court of Canada last week granted the Canadian Cable Television Association the right to appeal a lower court decision on access to electric utility poles. Canada’s highest court will now be asked to decide whether the CRTC has the right to mandate access to poles and at what price (CCR Update, May 16/02). Vision applies to CRTC for 3-cent increase to wholesale rateVision TV has applied for an amendment to its licence that would allow it to increase its wholesale rate to 11 cents from 8 cents per subscriber per month – Broadcasting Public Notice 2002-25. The non-profit broadcaster states that it needs the increase "to preserve the balance and diversity in its programming, which are essential to fulfilling its mandate, and to protect its operational integrity". The requested 3-cent jump in the wholesale rate is less than the 7-cent increase Vision TV asked for but was denied during its licence renewal last year (CCR, March 1/02, Dec. 19/01, Nov. 22/01). Vision states that it operates "a frugal undertaking with operating expenses well below the industry average" and that it "does not have the same ability to amortize costs over multiple services or the same opportunities to raise capital as most other specialty services". Its Category 1 channel ONE: Body, Mind & Spirit has been incorporated as a company that could turn a profit, but it notes that "to some extent the benefits remain unknown due to the uncertainty of success of the new digital channels". Vision tells the CRTC that it has "pursued and exhausted all internal remedies to its financial crisis". Comments on the application are due June 19. Yale reiterates call for long-term government funding of CTFJanet Yale, president and CEO of the Canadian Cable Television Association, has reiterated calls for permanent government funding for the private-public Canadian Television Fund. Speaking May 21 at Diversity and Canada’s Cultural Agencies conference in Ottawa, Yale said, "This year’s results really prove the need is greater than ever. We have had historic and unprecedented demand for programming. I think that is in part a reflection of all the new digital services that are now beginning to ask the fund for money." She added, "The fund is clearly oversubscribed this year more than ever before. And we will as an industry and as an organization be pushing very hard for a multiyear commitment on the part of the government for a renewal of the fund." Yale is also chair of the CTF. "Our challenge as an industry is to continue to grow opportunities for personalization and to celebrate cultural achievements and differences through the implementation of new technologies, as well as an ongoing support for diversity of content," she stated. Cabinet rejects appeals on Vancouver ethnic TV licenceThe federal Cabinet dismissed the appeals calling for a review of the granting of a licence for an over-the-air ethnic station in Vancouver to Multivan Broadcast Corporation. In Order in Council P.C. 2002-779, dated May 8 and released May 9, the government declined to set aside Broadcasting Decision 2002-39 or refer it back to the CRTC. "Multivan can now get down to business," says Multivan’s counsel Greg Kane. Cabinet considered the petitions but was "not satisfied that that decision derogates from the attainment of the objectives of the broadcasting policy set out in subsection 3(1) of the Broadcasting Act". CCSA inks agreement with Motorola on channel mappingThe Canadian Cable Systems Alliance, representing small cablecos across the country, has completed an agreement with Motorola for channel mapping. Motorola has agreed to provide customized channel maps for CCSA members going digital through HITS QT (Headend in the Sky – Quick Take). HITS QT costs 15 per cent to 20 per cent of the price of traditional HITS. But HITS QT doesn’t offer two-way RF communications so control functions and different services such as the program guide are encoded in signals coming off the satellite. Therefore, a channel coming off a transponder is mapped to a channel on the television dial. Several standardized maps have been created for use, but small cablecos also have the option of having customized channel maps created (CCR, March 15/02). CanWest cuts 37 jobs at CHTV, looks to sell off some assetsCanWest Global Communications Corp. eliminated 37 jobs at CHTV in Hamilton this month. The positions will be phased out or transferred to its Toronto operations. Thirty-one new positions were added at the station to expand local coverage when it was acquired in 2000 by CanWest. The debt-laden broadcaster is also looking to sell off non-core assets, including its community newspapers and its broadcasting operations in New Zealand. Competition Bureau wants CRTC’s mandate clarifiedKonrad von Finckenstein, commissioner of the Competition Bureau, wants the mandate of the CRTC clarified with respect to broadcasting transactions. Both the CRTC and the Competition Bureau currently review and approve certain broadcasting transactions. "We are in favour of a clear division of responsibilities and jurisdictions," he said May 7 in an appearance before the Standing Committee of Canadian Heritage studying the broadcast system. "We would continue to review the commercial implications of broadcasting transactions and their competitive effects on market power. The CRTC should not review broadcasting transactions from the perspective of commercial viability," he added. "The CRTC’s review should be focussed solely on the impact the proposed merger would have on the attainment of the core cultural objectives: the production and distribution of Canadian content and according to us, its logical corollary, the maintenance of a diversity of voices." Astral Media recently argued in Federal Court that the Competition Bureau should stop stepping into the jurisdiction of the CRTC. The bureau is attempting to stop the Quebec portion of Astral’s $225-million deal to buy 19 radio stations in Quebec and the Maritimes from Télémédia Communications Inc. The CRTC has approved the deal, with conditions (CCR Update, May 15/02). CRTC grants Talk TV 7-cent wholesale rateThe CRTC on May 21 approved a 7-cent wholesale rate for CTV Television Inc.’s specialty channel Talk TV when carried on basic cable, as requested by the broadcaster – Broadcasting Decision 2002-143. "The commission has analysed the financial documentation provided by CTV. The rate proposed by the applicant is lower than the average wholesale fee authorized for other specialty services licensed in 1996 and other rates charged for basic service," the CRTC notes in granting the wholesale fee. When Talk TV was licensed on a modified dual basis, it did not anticipate any basic subscriber revenues but it has since been added to some basic cable packages. Talk TV follows Home and Garden Television (HGTV) in applying for and getting a wholesale rate after being licensed (CCR, Dec. 6/01). CRTC approves new benefits in Shaw takeover of Corus VCShaw Communications Inc.’s revised benefits package in conjunction with the acquisition of Corus VC has been approved by the CRTC – Broadcasting Decision 2002-138. Shaw will give $3.5 million over seven years to universities in western Canada. The financial support would be provided for advanced research in next generation digital network architectures and multimedia systems, including the convergence of technologies and content innovation. Shaw indicated that it would work with the universities to jointly determine which projects should be considered and short-listed in accordance with established criteria. The CRTC rejected Shaw’s initial offer of committing the funding to building a high-definition encoding facility and to subsidizing the cost of converting existing content to HD format. The CRTC considered these expenditures to be part of the normal course of business.

CCR Short Takes

Broadcast | May 23, 2002

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