CRTC grants MSNBC, Bloomberg TV entry, Canadianized versions of the channels killed

A CRTC decision on September 16 to allow entry of U.S. cable news network MSNBC and the U.S.-based financial channel Bloomberg Television into Canada on a digital basis is a sign that the commission is becoming more flexible in the news area, according to the president of the Canadian Cable Telecommunications Association (CCTA). The regulator greenlighted carriage of the two U.S. services despite that fact that both MSNBC and Bloomberg Television had formed partnerships with Canadian broadcasters to launch Canadianized versions of the channels. "I think that the commission clearly recognized that foreign news services do offer a foreign perspective that in general is very different from that of Canadian services," says Michael Hennessy. "I think that probably if you couple this decision with the commission’s willingness to explore its policy in terms of third-language services then there is clearly a signal from the commission that there is a willingness to be much more granular when it comes to applying its competition tests." The Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) opposed the entry of the MSNBC and Bloomberg Television, saying that approval would set a dangerous precedent discouraging non-Canadian broadcasters from partnering with Canadians in favour of direct entry into the Canadian market. In a joint venture with Shaw Communications Inc. and Rogers Broadcasting Ltd., MSNBC was licensed for and launched MSNBC Canada. Last December, the three partners told the CRTC that the Canadian programming requirements for MSNBC Canada, which had acquired about 285,000 subscribers, were disruptive and financially burdensome (CCR Update, Dec. 19/03). The three parties asked for CRTC approval to replace the MSNBC Canada signal with the U.S. MSNBC channel. Bloomberg Television and a Shaw Communications subsidiary had also received a license for Bloomberg Television Canada. But Shaw advised the CRTC late last year that it no longer planned to launch the channel. The CCTA has argued that inserting Canadian programming into these news channels disrupts the flow of the programming (CCR, Sept. 10/04). The CRTC determined that MSNBC and Bloomberg Television were not "totally or partially competitive" with existing Canadian news channels. CTV Inc. and the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. had argued that the two services were competitive. CTV told the CRTC that MSNBC was competitive with its news specialty TV channel CTV Newsnet and Bloomberg Television was competitive with its financial news service Report on Business TV (ROBTv). ROBTv broadcasts Bloomberg programming weekdays from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. "While the commission acknowledges that two hours of programming each morning on ROBTv is identical to Bloomberg’s programming, the commission is satisfied that this, in itself, does not constitute a degree of overlap in the programming on the two services that would render the Bloomberg service totally or partially competitive with ROBTv," the CRTC states. "The commission notes that Bloomberg will continue to make this programming available to ROBTv, and has filed an undertaking with the commission that it will not withhold rights to its programming." The CRTC agreed with Shaw, noting in its decision that the two U.S. services could not be considered competitive because "the content of each service is provided by different hosts, reporters, guests, analysts and experts, all with their unique perspectives on business news." Hennessy says the decision bodes well for the eventual entry of the U.S. channel FOX News into Canada. "I think (the MSNBC and Bloomberg ruling) is an excellent decision. I think it is probably great news for fans of FOX News," he says. The CCTA has also applied for the right to carry FOX News and NFL Network in Canada, applications on which the CRTC has not yet ruled. Like MSNBC and Bloomberg, FOX News was granted a Category 2 digital specialty channel licence, in conjunction with partner Global Television. But since then, FOX News has opted for direct entry into the Canadian market. Canadian Heritage has asked a three-member panel to examine ways to increase the number of non-Canadian, third-language, public TV channels. The announcement of the panel’s establishment made August 17 followed the CRTC decision not to grant Italian public broadcaster RAI International carriage rights in Canada because it was deemed competitive with Telelatino in contravention of CRTC policy (CCR Update, August 19/04).

CRTC grants MSNBC, Bloomberg TV entry, Canadianized versions of the channels killed

News | 09/29/2004 4:00 am EDT

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