CRTC’s satellite carriage rules an ‘incomplete tool’ for Quebec, says CBC

GATINEAU—The CRTC’s proposed guidelines for satellite television distribution come up short in the French-language, Quebec market, CBC/Radio-Canada told the commission Wednesday. The CBC told the commission that its satellite television policy does not require the distribution of enough local French channels for customers. “More than 75 per cent of all local French-language TV stations in Canada originate in Quebec. The commission’s proposed ‘one per province’ rule is therefore an incomplete tool for promoting carriage of much of this local programming,” Steven Guiton, the CBC’s vice-president and chief regulatory officer, said. “Correcting the Quebec situation is an immediate priority.” Wednesday marked the second day of the commission’s hearing to review its direct-to-home (DTH) satellite television policy. Under the current policy, not all local communities have access to their local stations through satellite. But on Sept. 1, 2011, a new policy with increased carriage requirements will take effect. Satellite distributors Bell TV and Shaw Direct will be required to carry five local English and five local French-language CBC stations, including one for each time zone. Distributors must also offer at least as many local CBC stations as local private stations carried. Distributors must also carry one television station per province from each major Canadian broadcasting group. But the CBC told the commission Wednesday its proposed changes do not take into account the situation in Quebec. Anne-Marie Migneault, the CBC’s director of regulatory affairs, said the commission’s regulatory framework was built for an English-language market. “Initially, the rules that were developed just looked at the English market. For instance, the ‘one per time zone,’ as well as the ‘one per province rule’ were clearly developed by people who were thinking about the English market, where English stations are spread all over the country,” she said. She said the CRTC’s satellite distribution policy should reflect the high number of local CBC stations in the province, and that satellite distributors should be required to carry as many local CBC stations as those of TVA or V. “It’s not special treatment,” she said. “Radio-Canada has the equivalent amount of stations as TVA in Quebec.” Louis Lalande, the CBC’s executive director of regional French services, took issue with Shaw’s offerings in the province. “In Quebec, Radio-Canada offers six stations, but Shaw only offers one of these: CBFT-Montreal. Yet Shaw offers five TVA stations and four V stations,” he said. “That’s totally unacceptable from a public policy perspective.” The CBC suggested that distributors in Quebec be required to carry at least three-quarters of each broadcasting ownership group’s French-language stations that meet the local programming requirements. The public broadcaster also suggested that each distributor maintain parity between ownership groups by ensuring the number of French-language stations offered is the same for each ownership group. Under these rules, distributors would have to carry five TVA, five Radio-Canada and two V stations in Quebec. Bloc Québécois MP Carole Lavallée, her party’s heritage critic, told the commission Wednesday that satellite television viewers should have access to their local stations. “That it is impossible, for example, for certain viewers in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean or in the Mauricie to access to their regional programming, is unacceptable in our view,” she said. Lavallée said the commission’s regulatory framework is too lax, and should be reworked to reflect a diversity of voices. CRTC chairman Konrad von Finckenstein said at the hearing he had not previously realized that Shaw only offered one Radio-Canada station in Quebec. “I’m frankly shocked by what … the MPs and Radio-Canada told us this morning,” von Finckenstein said. “This is the benefit of holding hearings like these because we realize what the reality is in the regions.” CRTC commissioner Louise Poirier said Tuesday the commission has received many complaints about a lack of access to local CBC stations. But Shaw told the commission Tuesday that viewers who buy their services make a conscious decision not to have access to the public broadcaster. “Those viewers who decide to become our customers have made a conscious decision that CBC Trois-Rivières is not something that they are interested in having. If they were, they would not be our customers. They would go over-the-air or they would subscribe to cable,” Jean Brazeau, Shaw’s senior vice-president of regulatory affairs, said. “We are being disadvantaged by the fact that we can’t have access to signing up those viewers to become our customers.” Shaw argued that it can’t offer all local stations because its satellites are already at maximum capacity. Bell also said Tuesday its satellites are at maximum capacity. The company carries 13 of 14 CBC stations and 10 of 13 Radio-Canada stations across Canada. It also carries seven of eight TVA stations and four of five V stations. Guiton said in an interview that carrying Radio-Canada isn’t optional. “The Broadcasting Act requires that local services be given priority. They are not operating the truck business or the coffee business. It’s a priority for them because they operate in the broadcasting system in Canada,” he said. “They must give priority to local stations, and how they do that, how they get to total carriage is something the commission can choose in terms of a capacity model, the speed at which it goes. It’s not optional. They have to give local services priority.” Guiton added it is urgent for the commission to review Radio-Canada station carriage in Quebec since the public broadcaster is investing in its regional programming and receives Local Programming Improvement Fund (LPIF) funding for its stations. “We’re really pushing hard and they’re not up there. Thirty per cent of the market can’t see them,” he said. Lavallée said that, in some remote areas, only satellite television distribution is available. “In regional centres, viewers have a choice between cable and satellite, but the more we distance ourselves from the centres, the less that is the case. Satellite often becomes the only option,” she said. “So viewers simply don’t have access to regional television.” The CBC also told the commission Wednesday it should maintain parity between the carriage of ownership groups' stations in each province outside of Quebec. Rogers Communications Inc. also appeared at the hearing Wednesday. The company argued that the CRTC’s new framework should consider mandatory carriage of local ethnic broadcasters, such as its OMNI stations, as well as high-definition stations. Rogers added that the commission should ensure Bell and Shaw do not give undue preference to the carriage of their own stations. The hearings wrap up Thursday in a rebuttal phase. kfournier@thewirereport.ca

CRTC’s satellite carriage rules an ‘incomplete tool’ for Quebec, says CBC

News | 11/17/2010 10:15 pm EST

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