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Broadcasting Public Notice CRTC 2004-47
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See also: 2004-47-1
Ottawa, 9 July 2004 |
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Proposal by the Canadian Cable Television Association to amend the policy
regarding the use of local availabilities – Call for comments
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The Canadian Cable Television Association
(CCTA) proposed that the Commission amend its policy regarding the use of the
local availabilities contained in the programming of U.S. satellite services.
Under the CCTA’s proposal, a Canadian cable broadcasting distribution
undertaking, upon approval of an application, would be permitted to use these
local availabilities to distribute commercial advertising messages, as well
as messages promoting affiliated services offered by the cable undertaking.
The Commission seeks comment on the CCTA’s proposal and on the impact that
approval of the proposed policy amendments could have on the Canadian
broadcasting system. |
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Background
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1. |
In August 1994, Rogers Cable TV Limited
(Rogers), on behalf of the broadcasting distribution undertakings (BDUs) it
controlled, sought authority, by condition of licence, to alter the signals
of U.S. satellite services for the insertion of promotional material in the
local availabilities of such services. U.S. satellite services generally air
12 to 14 minutes of advertising each hour and reserve an additional 2 minutes
of air time (approximately) per hour for use by U.S. cable companies for
their own advertising or promotional material. These additional 2 minutes are
referred to as "local availabilities." In Proposal to insert certain
promotional material in the local availabilities of U.S. satellite services,
Decision CRTC 95-12,
18 January 1995 (Decision 95-12),
the Commission determined that the BDUs controlled by Rogers could: |
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by condition of licence, 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 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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The Commission added, however, that it was "not
prepared to consider applications to use such availabilities for the
broadcast of commercial advertising." |
2. |
In subsequent decisions, the Commission approved
applications proposing the similar use of local availabilities by the
licensees of other BDUs, including direct-to-home (DTH) licensees, and
imposed a condition of licence consistent with that set out in Decision
95-12. |
3. |
In New regulatory framework for broadcasting
distribution undertakings, Public Notice CRTC
1997-25, 11 March 1997, consistent with the
position it had taken in Decision 95-12,
the Commission rejected a proposal by Rogers Communications Inc. that would
have allowed cable licensees to sell their own local advertising for
insertion in the local availabilities of U.S. satellite services. Later, in
Application to insert certain promotional material in the local
availabilities of U.S. satellite services, Decision CRTC
98-271, 10 August 1998
(Decision 98-271), the
Commission concluded that BDUs should not be prohibited from charging a fee
to recover the costs they incur in inserting promotional material of licensed
programming services in the local availabilities of U.S. satellite services. |
4. |
In Advertising Internet Services on community
channels or during "local availabilities," Public Notice CRTC
1999-93, 27 May 1999, the Commission
clarified that the conditions of licence it had granted BDUs concerning their
use of commercial availabilities in U.S. satellite services did not authorize
the BDUs to insert commercial advertisements for their own or any other
retail Internet services. In Building on success - A policy framework for
Canadian television, Public Notice CRTC
1999-97, 11 June 1999, the Commission confirmed that it would "continue
to limit the opportunities for BDUs to use advertising availabilities on
foreign satellite services for the insertion of promotional material" in
local availabilities. The Commission further clarified "that BDUs may not
charge Canadian programming services an amount in excess of their share of
the direct costs associated with the insertion of promotional material in the
local availabilities of foreign satellite services." |
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Policy proposal by the Canadian Cable Television Association
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5. |
On 28 October 2002, the Canadian Cable
Television Association (CCTA) requested that the Commission amend its policy
regarding the use of local availabilities to allow a cable BDU, upon
application, to make use of all of the local availabilities contained in the
programming of U.S. satellite services to insert commercial advertising and
messages promoting affiliated non-programming services offered by cable
undertakings, including telephony and Internet services. |
6. |
The CCTA argued that the current policy does not
fully appreciate the economic value of the local availabilities to
distributors. The CCTA suggested that permitting cable BDUs to insert
commercials in the local availabilities would make these BDUs more
competitive and would provide them with additional resources to respond to
the impact of black market satellite use. It further stated that the
pressures of legal and illegal competition, as well as the costs associated
with meeting expanding regulatory obligations, make it imperative that the
cable industry be able to charge commercial rates for the local
availabilities. |
7. |
On 21 May 2003, the CCTA amended its proposal,
suggesting that the policy could stipulate that 25% of the additional
revenues earned by cable BDUs from the proposed use of the local
availabilities be directed to the Canadian Television Fund (CTF). According
to the CCTA, even with this redirection of 25% of the incremental revenue to
the CTF, cable BDUs stood to earn an additional $35 million to $40 million
annually. |
8. |
As a separate matter noted in Broadcasting
Public Notice CRTC 2004-48, also issued today,
the Commission has received an application by Vidéotron ltée (Vidéotron) that
raises issues similar to those raised by the CCTA proposal. The Commission
notes that it will consider Vidéotron’s application in light of the comments
received as a result of this call for comments on the CCTA’s proposal. |
9. |
Furthermore, in Channel placement of certain
services whose national distribution has been required pursuant to section
9(1)(h) of the Broadcasting Act - Call for comments on tools to
promote and improve the visibility of these services, Broadcasting Public
Notice CRTC 2004-46 (Public Notice
2004-46), also issued today, the Commission has
called for comments on what specific tools could be used to promote and
improve the visibility of services whose national distribution has been
required pursuant to section 9(1)(h) of the Broadcasting Act. The
Commission advises parties that, in considering the CCTA proposal, it will
also examine ways to improve the visibility of these services. Accordingly,
the Commission requests that comments submitted in the proceeding announced
in this public notice take into consideration the issues and questions raised
in Public Notice 2004-46, where appropriate. |
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Call for comments on the CCTA’s policy proposal
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10. |
The Commission seeks comment on the CCTA’s
proposal and on the impact that the proposed changes to the policy regarding
the use of local availabilities could have on the Canadian broadcasting
system. |
11. |
Specifically, the Commission seeks comment on
the following questions: |
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a) What are the advantages and disadvantages of the CCTA’s proposal for
the Canadian broadcasting system as a whole, and for the French- and
English-language markets, individually?
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b) What impact could the CCTA proposal have on the promotion of Canadian
programming services in the French-language market and in the
English-language market?
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c) If the Commission were to modify its policy regarding the use of
local availabilities, should the modified policy apply to DTH and other
BDUs as well as cable BDUs?
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d) What are the implications of allowing BDUs to advertise, within the
local availabilities, affiliated services, such as telephony and Internet
services?
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e) What impact would the CCTA proposal have on Canadian advertising
inventory and rates in the French-language market and in the
English-language market?
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12. |
The Commission will accept comments that it
receives on or before 7 October 2004. |
13. |
Following the Commission’s review of these
comments, it may call for further submissions if it considers that additional
information is necessary. The Commission will then determine if changes to
its current policy are appropriate. |
14. |
The Commission will not formally acknowledge
comments. It will, however, fully consider all comments and they will form
part of the public record of the proceeding, provided that the procedures for
filing set out below have been followed. |
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Procedures for filing comments
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15. |
Interested parties can file their comments to
the Secretary General of the Commission by using ONE of the following
formats: |
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- Intervention/Comments form
available from the Commission’s web site by indicating and selecting the
public notice number under the Decisions, Notices and Orders section
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OR
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OR
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- by mail to
CRTC, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0N2
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OR
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16. |
Submissions longer than five pages should
include a summary. |
17. |
Please number each paragraph of your submission.
In addition, please enter the line ***End of document*** following the last
paragraph. This will help the Commission verify that the document has not
been damaged during transmission. |
18. |
The Commission will make comments filed in
electronic form available on its web site at
www.crtc.gc.ca but only in the official language and format in which they
are submitted. Such comments may be accessed in the Public Proceedings
section of the CRTC web site. Copies of all comments, whether filed on paper
or in electronic form, will also be placed on the public examination file. |
19. |
The Commission encourages interested parties to monitor the
public examination file and the Commission’s web site for additional
information that they may find useful when preparing their comments. |
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Examination of public comments and related documents at the following
Commission offices during normal business hours
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Central Building
Les Terrasses de la Chaudière
1 Promenade du Portage, Room G-5
Gatineau, Quebec K1A 0N2
Tel: (819) 997-2429 - TDD: 994-0423
Fax: (819) 994-0218 |
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Metropolitan Place
99 Wyse Road
Suite 1410
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia B3A 4S5
Tel: (902) 426-7997 - TDD: 426-6997
Fax: (902) 426-2721 |
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405 de Maisonneuve Blvd. East
2nd Floor, Suite B2300
Montréal, Quebec H2L 4J5
Tel: (514) 283-6607
Fax: (514) 283-3689 |
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55 St. Clair Avenue East
Suite 624
Toronto, Ontario M4T 1M2
Tel: (416) 952-9096
Fax: (416) 954-6343 |
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Kensington Building
275 Portage Avenue
Suite 1810
Winnipeg, Manitoba R3B 2B3
Tel: (204) 983-6306 - TDD: 983-8274
Fax: (204) 983-6317 |
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Cornwall Professional Building
2125 - 11th Avenue
Room 103
Regina, Saskatchewan S4P 3X3
Tel: (306) 780-3422
Fax: (306) 780-3319 |
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10405 Jasper Avenue
Suite 520
Edmonton, Alberta T5J 3N4
Tel: (780) 495-3224
Fax: (780) 495-3214 |
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530-580 Hornby Street
Vancouver, British Columbia V6C 3B6
Tel: (604) 666-2111 - TDD: 666-0778
Fax: (604) 666-8322 |
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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 |