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Broadcasting Public Notice CRTC 2003-42
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Ottawa, 29 July 2003 |
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Distribution and linkage requirements for Class 1 and Class 2 licensees
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The Commission, by this notice, replaces the
requirements set out in Distribution and linkage requirements for Class 1
and Class 2 licensees, Public Notice CRTC
2001-90, 3 August 2001. The revisions to the distribution and linkage
requirements, as set out herein, are applicable only to Class 2 BDUs. In
accordance with the Commission’s determination in Exemption of cable
broadcasting distribution undertakings that serve between 2,000 and 6,000
subscribers, Broadcasting Public Notice CRTC
2003-23, 30 April 2003, the revised distribution and linkage requirements
that are now applicable to Class 2 licensees approximate those that apply to
direct-to-home (DTH) BDUs. |
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General
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1. |
The provisions set out in this public notice
govern the distribution, by licensees of broadcasting distribution
undertakings (BDUs) holding a Class 1 or a Class 2 licence, of the following
programming services as part of the basic service, as part of an analog
discretionary tier, or as part of a discretionary digital tier: |
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a) any pay television service and any television
pay-per-view service, the operator of which is authorized to provide the
service to all or any part of the licensed area of the BDU; |
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b) any specialty service, the operator of which
is authorized to provide the service to all or any part of the licensed area
of the BDU; |
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c) any Category 1 or Category 2 service, the
operator of which is authorized to provide the service to all or any part of
the licensed area of the BDU; |
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d) any satellite service contained in the list
of Part 2 eligible satellite services, other than a Part 2 eligible satellite
service that the licensee was authorized to distribute as part of its basic
service before 3 June 1993; any satellite service as set out in the new list
of Part 2, Part 3 and DTH Eligible Satellite Services for digital
distribution; as well as any non-Canadian religious satellite service; and
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e) any Canadian television service included on
the list of Part 3 eligible satellite services. |
2. |
The Commission has reorganized the distribution
and linkage requirements, which are now presented in two parts, one dealing
with the requirements applicable to Class 1 licensees, and the other dealing
with the requirements applicable to Class 2 licensees. The provisions set out
in this notice replace those contained in Distribution and linkage
requirements for Class 1 and Class 2 licensees, Public Notice CRTC
2001-90,
3 August 2001. |
3. |
In accordance with the Commission’s
determination announced in Exemption of cable broadcasting distribution
undertakings that serve between 2,000 and 6,000 subscribers, Broadcasting
Public Notice CRTC 2003-23, 30 April 2003, the
revised distribution and linkage rules applicable to Class 2 licensees
approximate those applicable to direct-to-home BDUs. In general, this means
that Class 2 licensees no longer have requirements related to: |
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2 modified dual status services;
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3 carriage of certain services as discretionary services; and
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4 carriage of certain services as digital discretionary services.
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4. |
The Commission has made no change to the
distribution and linkage requirements that apply to Class 1 licensees. |
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PART I
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Rules applicable to Class 1 licensees
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Rules regarding the distribution of programming services on an analog
basis
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5. |
Where a Class 1 licensee distributes any of the
following specialty programming services, the licensee is required to
distribute that service on a dual status basis, that is, as part of the basic
service, unless the operator of that service consents in writing to its
distribution as a discretionary service: |
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MétéoMédia/The Weather Network;
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MusiquePlus;
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Réseau des Sports;
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TV5;
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Le Réseau de l’information;
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12 Country Music Television; and,
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any other specialty programming service that may be designated by the
Commission for distribution on a dual status basis.
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6. |
a) Where a Class 1 licensee distributes any of
the following specialty programming services, the licensee is required to
distribute that service on a modified dual status basis, that is, on a
discretionary basis, unless the licensee and the programming service operator
agree to its distribution as part of the basic service: |
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The Comedy Network;
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History Television (History and Entertainment Network);
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Teletoon;
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CTV NewsNet (CTV News 1);
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Canadian Learning Television;
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CTV SportsNet (S3 CTV Regional Sports);
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ROBTv (Report on Business Television);
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TreeHouse TV;
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Prime TV;
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Space;
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Outdoor Life;
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Home and Garden Television (HGTV);
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Star TV (Star Entertainment);
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Cable Pulse 24;
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Headline Sports (Sportscope Plus);
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MuchMoreMusic;
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Talk TV;
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Food Network Canada;
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Canal Vie;
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Canal Nouvelles;
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Musimax;
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Canal Z, aux limites du savoir;
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Séries+ (Canal Fiction);
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Canal Évasion;
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Historia (Canal Histoire);
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arTV (La Télé des Arts);
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Showcase;
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Bravo!;
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WTN;
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Discovery Channel;
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Canal D (Arts et Divertissement); and
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any other specialty programming service that may be designated by the
Commission for distribution by Class I licensees on a modified dual status
basis.
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b) Notwithstanding paragraph 6a) and except as
otherwise provided under a condition of its licence, where a Class 1 licensee
that operates an undertaking in a French-language market distributes any of
the following programming services, the licensee must distribute that service
solely on a discretionary basis. All of the following services, depending on
their availability, must be part of the same tier: |
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- 47 Canal Z, aux limites du savoir;
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- 48 Séries+ (Canal Fiction);
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49 Canal Évasion; and,
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Historia (Canal Histoire).
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c) Notwithstanding paragraph 6a) and except as
otherwise provided under a condition of its licence, where a Class 1 licensee
that operates a cable distribution undertaking in a Francophone market
distributes the service of arTV (La Télé des Arts), the licensee must
distribute that service on the existing discretionary tier having the largest
penetration, that is, the discretionary tier that is received by the highest
number of subscribers. The fee payable to the service provider shall be in
the amount of $0.55 per subscriber per month. |
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d) Notwithstanding paragraph 6a) and except as
otherwise provided under a condition of its licence, where a Class 1 licensee
operates an MDS distribution undertaking in a Francophone market, the
licensee must provide the service of arTV (La Télé des Arts) to any
subscriber that receives, on a discretionary basis, three or more
French-language specialty services. The fee payable to the service provider
shall be in the amount of $0.55 per subscriber per month. |
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e) Except as otherwise provided under a
condition of its licence, where a Class 1 licensee was already distributing
the U.S. specialty service, TV Food Network, on an analog basis on 4 July
2000, the licensee is required to distribute the service of Food Network
Canada on a modified dual status basis, that is, on a discretionary basis,
unless the licensee and the programming service operator agree to its
distribution as part of the basic service. |
7. |
Except as otherwise provided under a condition
of its licence, where a Class 1 licensee distributes any of the following
programming services, the licensee is required to distribute that service
exclusively as a discretionary service: |
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Fairchild Television;
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Talentvision;
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Telelatino;
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Odyssey;
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South Asian Television;
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any single or limited point-of-view religious specialty service;
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any other specialty programming service that is designated by the
Commission for carriage on a discretionary only basis;
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any pay television service or any television pay-per-view service
offered by a pay television undertaking; and
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any satellite service as set out in the list of Part 2 eligible
satellite services, other than a Part 2 eligible satellite service that the
licensee was authorized to distribute as part of its basic service before 3
June 1993; or any non-Canadian religious satellite service.
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8. |
Where a Class 1 licensee is authorized under the
Broadcasting Distribution Regulations or a condition of its licence to
distribute, on a discretionary basis, U.S. independent or duplicate network
stations, each such service must be distributed on a separate channel. |
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Linkage requirements with respect to programming services, other than
single or limited point of view religious services, distributed as
discretionary services
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9. |
The non-Canadian satellite services specified in
the list of Part 2 eligible satellite services may only be offered by Class 1
licensees in a package with Canadian pay television and/or Canadian specialty
services, and such a package must be distributed on a discretionary basis,
subject to the following linkage requirements: |
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a) a Canadian pay television service may be
linked in a given discretionary tier with no more than five channels
containing any of the non-Canadian-originated services specified in either
Section A or Section B of the list of Part 2 eligible satellite services, but
in no case can a licensee distribute more than five channels of
non-Canadian-originated services linked with Canadian pay television
services, regardless of the number of Canadian pay television services
distributed by the licensee; |
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b) (i) each Canadian specialty service may be
linked, when distributed on a discretionary basis within a given
discretionary tier that may include one or more Canadian specialty and/or pay
television services, with no more than one channel containing any of the
non-Canadian-originated services specified in Section A of the list of Part 2
eligible satellite services or the non-Canadian-originated services referred
to in paragraph 10 of this notice; |
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(ii) a Class 1 licensee may designate one of the
U.S. superstations specified in Section B of the list of Part 2 eligible
satellite services, and distribute the signal of that superstation within a
given discretionary tier that may include one or more Canadian specialty
and/or pay television services, provided that the superstation is included in
a tier that is distributed on a digital basis only; |
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(iii) a Class 1 licensee is not permitted to
link services on the list of Part 2 eligible satellite services with a
Canadian specialty service distributed on the basic service; and |
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c) a Class 1 licensee is not permitted to offer
a tier containing only non-Canadian services. |
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Linkage requirements with respect to single or limited point of view
religious services distributed as discretionary services
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10. |
Each Canadian single or limited point of view
religious pay or specialty service may be offered by Class 1 licensees in a
package only with other Canadian single or limited point of view religious
pay or specialty services, and with any non-Canadian religious satellite
services, and all such services must be distributed as discretionary
services, subject to the following linkage requirements: |
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a) each Canadian single or limited point of view
religious pay service may be linked in a single discretionary tier with no
more than five channels containing eligible non-Canadian religious satellite
services, but in no case can a single discretionary tier, whose Canadian
component consists only of single or limited point of view religious pay
services, contain more than five channels containing eligible non-Canadian
religious satellite services, regardless of the number of Canadian single or
limited point of view religious pay services included in that tier; |
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b) each Canadian single or limited point of view
religious specialty service may be linked, within a discretionary tier that
may include one or more Canadian single or limited point of view religious
services, with no more than one channel containing any of the eligible
non-Canadian religious satellite services; and |
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c) a Class 1 licensee is not permitted to offer
a tier containing only non-Canadian religious satellite services. |
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Rules regarding the distribution of programming services on a digital
basis
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11. |
Except as otherwise provided under a condition
of its licence, where a Class 1 licensee distributes any of the following
programming services, the licensee is required to distribute that service
exclusively as a discretionary service on a digital basis: |
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Sport/Specials Pay-Per-View; and,
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any other pay television, pay-per-view or specialty programming service
that may be designated by the Commission for carriage exclusively as a
discretionary service on a digital basis.
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12. |
A Class 1 licensee is not permitted to
distribute a Category 1 specialty programming service on a stand-alone basis
unless the Category 1 service is also distributed as part of a package. |
13. |
A Class 1 licensee is not permitted to package
an Adult Category 2 programming service in such a way that subscribers are
obligated to purchase the service in order to purchase any other programming
service. Licensees are required to take measures to fully block the reception
of both the audio and video portions of any Adult Category 2 programming
service to subscribers who request that it not be receivable in their home
(in either unscrambled or scrambled mode). |
14. |
Except as otherwise provided under a condition
of its licence, where a Class 1 licensee distributes any of the following
programming services, the licensee is required to distribute that service
exclusively as a discretionary service: |
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a) any pay television service or any television
pay-per-view service offered by a pay television undertaking; |
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b) any satellite service as set out in the list
of Part 2, Part 3 and DTH Eligible Satellite Services for digital
distribution as well as any non-Canadian religious satellite services. |
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Linkage requirements with respect to programming services, other than
single or limited point of view religious services, distributed as digital
discretionary services
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15. |
Any Canadian television service that is included
on the list of Part 3 eligible satellite services and that a Class 1 licensee
is authorized to distribute may be linked with a second set of 4+1 U.S.
network signals that the licensee is authorized to distribute provided that
these signals are offered on a discretionary digital basis only. |
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Linkage requirements with respect to single or limited point of view
religious services distributed as digital discretionary services
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16. |
Any Canadian single or limited point of view
religious programming service, and any non-Canadian religious satellite
service set out in the List of Part 2, Part 3 and DTH eligible satellite
services for digital distribution, may be offered on a "stand-alone" digital
discretionary basis. Such services may also be offered in a package with
other Canadian single or limited point of view religious services or with
non-Canadian religious satellite services. Class 1 licensees are not
permitted to offer such services in packages with any other type of Canadian
or non-Canadian programming service. |
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PART II
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Rules applicable to Class 2 licensees
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Rules regarding the distribution of programming services on an analog
basis
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17. |
a) Except as otherwise provided under a
condition of its licence, where a Class 2 licensee that operates a cable
distribution undertaking in a Francophone market distributes the service of
arTV (La Télé des Arts), the licensee must distribute that service on the
existing discretionary tier having the largest penetration, that is, the
discretionary tier that is received by the highest number of subscribers. The
fee payable to the service provider shall be in the amount of $0.55 per
subscriber per month. |
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b) Except as otherwise provided under a
condition of its licence, where a Class 2 licensee operates a multipoint
distribution system (MDS) undertaking in a Francophone market, the licensee
must provide the service of arTV (La Télé des Arts) to any subscriber that
receives, on a discretionary basis, three or more French-language specialty
services. The fee payable to the service provider shall be in the amount of
$0.55 per subscriber per month. |
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Linkage requirements with respect to programming services, other than
single or limited point of view religious services, distributed as
discretionary services
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18. |
The non-Canadian satellite services specified in
the list of Part 2 eligible satellite services may only be offered by a Class
2 licensee in a package with Canadian pay television and/or Canadian
specialty services, and such a package must be distributed on a discretionary
basis, subject to the following linkage requirements: |
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a) a Canadian pay television service may be
linked in a given discretionary tier with no more than five channels
containing any of the non-Canadian-originated services specified in either
Section A or Section B of the list of Part 2 eligible satellite services, but
in no case can a licensee distribute more than five channels of
non-Canadian-originated services linked with Canadian pay television
services, regardless of the number of Canadian pay television services
distributed by the licensee; |
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b) (i) each Canadian specialty service may be
linked, when distributed on a discretionary basis within a given
discretionary tier that may include one or more Canadian specialty and/or pay
television services, with no more than one channel containing any of the
non-Canadian-originated services specified in Section A of the list of Part 2
eligible satellite services or the non-Canadian-originated services referred
to in paragraph 22 of this notice; |
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(ii) a Class 2 licensee may designate one of the
U.S. superstations specified in Section B of the list of Part 2 eligible
satellite services, and distribute the signal of that superstation within a
given discretionary tier that may include one or more Canadian specialty
and/or pay television services, provided that the superstation is included in
a tier that is distributed on a digital basis only; |
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(iii) a Class 2 licensee is not permitted to
link services on the list of Part 2 eligible satellite services with a
Canadian specialty service distributed on the basic service; and |
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c) a Class 2 licensee is not permitted to offer
a tier containing only non-Canadian services. |
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Linkage requirements with respect to single or limited point of view
religious services distributed as discretionary services
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19. |
Each Canadian single or limited point of view
religious pay or specialty service may be offered by a Class 2 licensee in a
package only with other Canadian single or limited point of view religious
pay or specialty services, and with any non-Canadian religious satellite
services, and all such services must be distributed as discretionary
services, subject to the following linkage requirements: |
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a) each Canadian single or limited point of view
religious pay service may be linked in a single discretionary tier with no
more than five channels containing eligible non-Canadian religious satellite
services, but in no case can a single discretionary tier, whose Canadian
component consists only of single or limited point of view religious pay
services, contain more than five channels containing eligible non-Canadian
religious satellite services, regardless of the number of Canadian single or
limited point of view religious pay services included in that tier; |
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b) each Canadian single or limited point of view
religious specialty service may be linked, within a discretionary tier that
may include one or more Canadian single or limited point of view religious
services, with no more than one channel containing any of the eligible
non-Canadian religious satellite services; and |
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c) a Class 2 licensee is not permitted to offer
a tier containing only non-Canadian religious satellite services. |
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Rules regarding the distribution of programming services on a digital
basis
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20. |
Where a Class 2 licensee distributes any of the
Category 1 specialty programming services, the licensee will not be permitted
to distribute any of these services on a stand-alone basis unless the
Category 1 service is also distributed as part of a package. |
21. |
A Class 2 licensee is not permitted to package
an Adult Category 2 programming service in such a way that subscribers are
obligated to purchase the service in order to purchase any other programming
service. Licensees are required to take measures to fully block the reception
of both the audio and video portions of any Adult Category 2 programming
service to subscribers who request that it not be receivable in their home
(in either unscrambled or scrambled mode). |
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Linkage requirements with respect to single or limited point of view
religious services distributed as digital discretionary services
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22. |
Any Canadian single or limited point of view
religious programming service, and any non-Canadian religious satellite
service set out in the List of Part 2, Part 3 and DTH eligible satellite
services for digital distribution, may be offered on a "stand-alone" digital
discretionary basis. Such services may also be offered in a package with
other Canadian single or limited point of view religious services or with
non-Canadian religious satellite services. Class 2 licensees are not
permitted to offer such services in packages with any other type of Canadian
or non-Canadian programming service. |
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Secretary General |
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This document is available in alternative
format upon request and may also be examined at the following Internet site:
http://www.crtc.gc.ca |