CTV intensifies battle for carriage fees

CTVglobemedia Inc. says compensation for carriage of its signals by BDUs is essential if the broadcaster is to sustain the level of service it provides to local communities and its contributions to the Broadcasting Act. The statement comes in a release from CTV as a preview of its response to the CRTC's call for comments on fee-for-carriage and distant signals. Originally left out of the commission's upcoming Review of the regulatory frameworks for broadcasting distribution undertakings and discretionary programming services, fee-for-carriage and distant signals were added to the scope of the proceedings in November. The extended deadline for comments is today, and CTV wasted no time positioning itself for the upcoming debate. "Conventional TV has passed the tipping point. Ad revenues are shrinking year after year and our expenses continue to rise," said Paul Sparkes, executive VP of corporate affairs, CTVglobemedia in today's release. "Right now, cable companies pay nothing for our signal, yet they charge their customers to watch local news and programming. It's just not right."CTV will officially file its submission today jointly with CanWest MediaWorks Inc., but in its release the broadcaster laid out four key points of its proposal: All cable and satellite providers should be required to compensate local broadcasters for the distribution of Over-the-Air signals. Eligibility for the compensation should be linked to the provision of local programming. Cable and satellite providers who wish to provide out of market local television stations to subscribers allowing them to station shift or time shift should be required to obtain consent from the original broadcaster. In markets where Direct-to-Home penetration has reached 30% they should be compelled to provide local subscribers with their local television stations. "We are asking for a change in the CRTC's approach that allowed cable and satellite providers to use our signals without compensation," added Sparkes. "Cable and satellite providers should pay for the content they use to operate their businesses. The model for local TV needs to evolve to meet today's realities and compensating broadcasters for the use of their signals is a crucial part of the solution."CTV's argument comes as no surprise; the conventional broadcasters pressed hard for carriage fees during 2006's review of the over-the-air regulatory framework. Their request was denied when the commission ruled on the OTA framework in the spring of 2007, which made it all the more surprising that the CRTC decided to revisit the issue so soon. It seems unlikely anyone on either side of the argument has altered their stance since. In December Canadian Communications Reports offered a preview of the fee-for-carriage debate. "The time has come for adequate compensation for the carriage of local/regional television stations - whether we're talking about carriage of the local or regional stations within their licensed contours for a fee, or the ability to negotiate terms and conditions for carriage of stations out-of-market," CanWest's director of regulatory affairs Jon Medline wrote in a submission to CCR. "This has been discussed since 1971. Thirty-seven years is an awfully long time to wait, but this is a policy change whose time has come."Chris Edwards, VP, corporate and regulatory, at the Canadian Cable Systems Alliance, countered. "CCSA members believe that fee-for-carriage for conventional television is just wrong. It amounts to a tax on BDU customers to subsidize delivery of free television service to those who choose not to buy service from the BDUs," he wrote. "Our customers should not be forced to pay more for a service that their neighbours can get for free. That is just a new way to drive BDU subscribers away from the regulated system."

CTV intensifies battle for carriage fees

Broadcast | January 25, 2008

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