TELUS reaches agreement with CAB on out-of-market signals
TELUS Communications Inc. has agreed to pay 50 cents a month for each subscriber to its yet-to-launch digital TV service who receives distant Canadian signals, and 25 cents per subscriber who receives a second set of U.S. 4+1 signals (Broadcasting Decision 2004-111). In exchange for the compensation, TELUS will not have to perform non-simultaneous program deletion on the out-of-market signals. Under the three-year agreement with the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) that expires Aug. 12, 2006, the amount paid per subscriber who gets a second set of U.S. 4+1 signals "shall at all times be the same as the monthly fee authorized by the commission as compensation payable to the CAB by the licensees of direct-to-home (DTH) broadcasting distribution undertakings for the carriage of a second set of U.S. network television signals." The DTH satellite TV distributors are currently paying a monthly fee of 25 cents per subscriber (CCR, Oct. 10/02), but the CRTC could authorize a change to the fee, subject to paragraph 14 of the deal between the CAB and the two DTH satellite TV distributors.

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