The CRTC’s long-awaited decision on mandatory carriage came out today. While everyone’s attention was on Sun News Network, which was denied a mandatory carriage order but thrown a bone with a review of rules concerning the distribution of Canadian news channels — see my analysis of that decision here — there were a bunch of decisions here. For the most part, proposals for new services were denied and existing services were renewed, some at slightly higher rates.
The exceptions are these:
- TV5’s proposal for mandatory distribution across Canada, in exchange for providing a second feed focused on francophone communities outside Quebec, was approved
- AMItv Français, a French-language described video service that would be a sister network to AMItv, was approved
- The Nunavut and Northwest Territories’ request for mandatory distribution of their parliamentary channel on Bell and Shaw satellite services was approved
- ARTV has been awarded an order requiring all digital cable providers offer the service to subscribers, though that can be on a discretionary basis, and at a negotiated rate
- Avis de recherche was denied renewal of its mandatory distribution order, though it is being given until Aug. 31, 2015, to work out a new business model if it wants to stay alive
Here, in chart form, is what was proposed and what the CRTC decided for each channel:
| Channel | Description | Language | Current fee | Requested fee | Approved fee | Conditions | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ACCENTS | Francophone minority communities | French | N/A | $0.25 | Denied | Licence denied as it was dependent on mandatory distribution | |
| All Points Bulletin | Police bulletins | English | N/A | $0.06 (E) | Denied | Licence renewed as non-mandatory service | |
| AMI-audio | Readings of news articles | English | $0.04 (E) | $0.04 (E) | $0.04 (E) | Licence renewed | |
| AMItv | Described video | English | $0.20 (E), $0 (F) | $0.20 (E), $0 (F) | $0.20 (E), $0 (F) | Licence renewed | |
| AMItv Français | Described video | French | N/A | $0 (E), $0.30 (F) | $0 (E), $0.28 (F) | New licence approved | |
| APTN | Aboriginal | English, French and Aboriginal languages | $0.25 | $0.40 | $0.31 | Licence renewed | |
| ARTV | Arts and culture | French | N/A | N/A | N/A | Service has access rights across Canada, but remains discretionary | Licence was renewed as part of larger CBC licence renewals |
| Avis de recherche | Police bulletins | French | $0.06 | $0.08 | $0.06 | Service remains mandatory only in Quebec, only until Aug. 31, 2015 | Licence renewed as non-mandatory service until 2020 |
| Canadian Punjabi Network | Punjabi programs | Punjabi | N/A | $0 | Denied | Had requested mandatory distribution only in areas with high Punjabi-speaking population. Licence denied as it was dependent on mandatory distribution | |
| Canal M | Audio reading service | French | $0.02 (F) | $0.04 (F) | $0.02 (F) | Licence renewed | |
| CPAC | House of Commons and other public affairs programming | English and French | $0.11 | $0.12 | $0.12 | Licence renewed | |
| Described Video Guide | Audio service of described video programming information | English | N/A | $0.02 (E) | Denied | Licence denied as it was dependent on mandatory distribution | |
| Dolobox | User-generated content | English | N/A | $0.06 to $0.08 | Denied | Service remains licenced but has yet to launch | |
| EqualiTV | Programming about people with disabilities | English | N/A | $0.25 | Denied | Service remains licenced but has yet to launch | |
| FUSION | Youth/user-generated content | English | N/A | $0.32 (E), $0.16 (F) | Denied | Licence denied as it was dependent on mandatory distribution | |
| IDNR-TV | Natural resources | English/French | N/A | $0 | Denied | Licence renewed as non-mandatory service | |
| Legislative assemblies of Nunavut and NWT | Legislative hearings | English/other | N/A | $0 | $0 | Applies only to satellite services | Terrestrial distributors in the territories already carry these channels |
| Maximum Television | Video-on-demand | English | N/A | N/A | Denied | Licence denied as it was dependent on mandatory distribution | |
| Starlight | Canadian movies | English | N/A | $0.40 | Denied | Licence denied as it was dependent on mandatory distribution | |
| Sun News | Right-wing news | English | N/A | $0.18 (E), $0.09 (F) | Denied | The CRTC is looking at setting new rules about distribution of Canadian news channels. Will continue as non-mandatory service | |
| TV5 and TV5 UNIS | Francophones outside Quebec | French | N/A | $0.30 | $0.28 (F), $0.24 (E) | Both channels combined must produce at least 50% Canadian content; Order comes into effect only after TV5 UNIS’s launch | Dissenting opinion from Candice Molnar saying service does not qualify for distribution order. Licence renewed |
| Vision TV | Faith programming | English | N/A | $0.12 | Denied | Licence renewed as non-mandatory service | |
| TOTAL | $0.60 (E), $0.44 (F) | $2.72 (E), $2.47 (F) | $0.91 (E), $1.07 (F) | New distribution orders in effect until Aug. 31, 2018. |
(F) denotes fees in markets with a majority francophone population, and (E) denotes all other markets. For simplicity, I’ve included Quebec-only distribution orders as French-language markets, though the two definitions are not identical.
Note that this isn’t an exhaustive list of mandatory carriage channels. CBC News Network (in French-language markets), RDI (in English-language markets) and The Weather Network/MétéoMédia also have mandatory distribution at non-zero rates.
UPDATE: L’Express Ottawa speaks to the people behind ACCENTS, who say the CRTC’s decision was flawed and they don’t believe TV5 will properly fulfill the mandate of giving a voice to francophones outside of Quebec.