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Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2006-207
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Ottawa, 2 June 2006 |
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Bragg Communications Incorporated
Bridgewater, Nova Scotia |
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Access Communications Incorporated
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia |
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Bay Communications Incorporated
St. Margaret’s Bay and Kentville, Nova Scotia |
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Halifax Cablevision Limited
Halifax, Nova Scotia |
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K-Right Communications Limited
Bedford, Debert, Great Village, Masstown, Mount Uniacke, New
Glasgow, Sydney and Truro, Nova Scotia; and Charlottetown, Prince Edward
Island |
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Application 2005-1585-1
Broadcasting Public Notice CRTC 2006-17
10 February 2006 |
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Licence amendment to replace condition of licence relating to the
use of local availabilities in non-Canadian satellite services
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1. |
The Commission received an application by
Bragg Communications Incorporated, on behalf of itself and four of its
wholly owned subsidiaries, namely Access Communications Incorporated,
Bay Communications Incorporated, Halifax Cablevision Limited and K-Right
Communications Limited, all carrying on business as Eastlink
(collectively, Eastlink), to amend the broadcasting licences for the
cable broadcasting distribution undertakings (BDUs) serving the
above-mentioned locations. Specifically, Eastlink requested that the
Commission amend a condition of licence applicable to most of these BDUs
relating to the use of local availabilities. The condition of licence
reads: |
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The licensee may, at its option, insert certain promotional
material as a substitute for the "local availabilities" (i.e.
non-Canadian advertising material) of non-Canadian satellite
services. At least 75% of these local availabilities must be made
available for use by licensed Canadian programming services for the
promotion of their respective services, for the promotion of the
community channel and for unpaid Canadian public service
announcements. A maximum of 25% of the commercial availabilities may
be made available for the promotion of discretionary programming
services and packages, customer service information, channel
realignments, cable FM service and additional cable outlets.
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2. |
Eastlink proposed that this condition of
licence be amended so as to authorize the BDUs to use the local
availabilities in non-Canadian satellite services to promote
non-programming services, including its telephone and Internet services,
and "bundles" that include these non-programming services. |
3. |
The BDUs serving Bedford and Mount Uniacke,
Nova Scotia, do not currently have any condition of licence relating to
the use of local availabilities. The Commission has considered the
present application, as it relates to those systems, as an application
for such a condition of licence, with the amendments requested. |
4. |
Eastlink’s request is essentially
the same as those contained in two other applications that are the
subject of decisions issued today, namely Broadcasting Decisions CRTC
2006-205 and 2006-206
(Decision 2006-205 and Decision 2006-206),
both also entitled Licence amendment to replace condition of licence
relating to the use of local availabilities in non-Canadian satellite
services. Decision 2006-205 deals
with an application by Rogers Cable Communications Inc. in respect
of some 71 BDUs in Ontario, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador.
Decision 2006-206 deals with an application
by Shaw Communications Inc. on behalf of six wholly owned subsidiaries
operating some 37 BDUs in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan
and Ontario. |
5. |
Six parties filed interventions to two of
the applications, and four parties intervened to all three applications.
The interveners fell into one or another of three groups. Two incumbent
cable operators and the Canadian Cable Telecommunications Association
were in support of the applications, two programmers and the Canadian
Association of Broadcasters also supported the applications, but with
certain qualifications, and the Association of Canadian Advertisers and
three incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) either opposed the
applications or submitted comments stating, among other things, that,
should the Commission approve the applications, it should also act
quickly to remove marketing restrictions that apply to the promotion of
telecommunications services by ILECs. |
6. |
The views of the three applicants
and of the six interveners regarding the proposed use of local availabilities
to promote non-programming services, such as Internet and local telephony,
are discussed in Promotion of non-programming services using local
availabilities, Broadcasting Public Notice CRTC 2006-69
of today’s date (Public Notice 2006-69).
In that notice, the Commission sets out its conclusion, based on its
analysis of the arguments presented in those applications and interventions,
that it is appropriate to update its policy with respect to the use
of local availabilities to permit BDUs to use these availabilities
to promote non-programming services, subject to certain conditions. |
7. |
Specifically, the Commission concluded that
BDUs that seek and receive amendments to their conditions of licence so
as to use local availabilities for this purpose will be authorized to
use a maximum of 25% of local availabilities for the promotion of
discretionary programming services and packages, customer service
information, channel realignments, cable FM service, additional cable
outlets and non-programming services, including Internet and telephone
services. |
8. |
In Public Notice 2006-69,
the Commission added that the promotion of non-programming services
in local availabilities should generally be limited to those non-programming
services that are made available in conjunction with programming services,
and that are offered by the BDU, by an affiliated company or by a
third party pursuant to a marketing arrangement with the BDU. The
Commission noted that, should a complaint arise, BDUs should ensure
that they are in a position to provide, at the Commission’s request,
a report with respect to their use of local availabilities. With respect
to the costs of broadcasting promotions in local availabilities, the
Commission reiterated that BDUs may only charge Canadian programming
services their share of the direct costs associated with the insertion
of their promotional material in local availabilities. |
9. |
Consistent with the Commission’s updated
policy regarding the use of local availabilities, the Commission
approves the application by Eastlink, and amends the licences for
the cable BDUs serving the above-mentioned locations by deleting, where
applicable, the existing condition of licence relating to the use of
local availabilities and by adding, in each case, the following
condition of licence: |
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The licensee may, at its option, insert certain promotional
material as a substitute for the "local availabilities" (i.e.
non-Canadian advertising material) of non-Canadian satellite
services. At least 75% of these local availabilities must be made
available for use by licensed Canadian programming services for the
promotion of their respective services, for the promotion of the
community channel and for unpaid Canadian public service
announcements. A maximum of 25% of the local availabilities may be
used to provide subscribers with information regarding customer
service and channel realignments, and for the promotion of
discretionary programming services and packages, cable FM service,
additional cable outlets and non-programming services, including
Internet and telephone services.
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Secretary General |
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This decision is to be appended
to each licence. It is available in alternative format upon request,
and may also be examined in PDF format
or in HTML at the following Internet site: http://www.crtc.gc.ca |
Date Modified: 2006-06-02 |