[Satellite TODAY Insider 05-05-11] The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has established a ruling that will force domestic satellite providers Bell TV and Shaw Direct to carry local programming on their platforms, the CRTC announced May 4.
The regulator will require Bell TV and Shaw Direct to carry any television station subsidized by the Local Programming Improvement Fund, including an affiliate of each national network, five English and French CBC stations, one station from each major Canadian broadcasting ownership group and two stations from each of the other Canadian broadcasting ownership groups as of September 1.
“Canadians in all markets should have access to their local television stations, regardless of how they receive their programming. The carriage of additional local stations will put satellite distributors on the same footing as cable companies and provide their subscribers with more choice in local news and information,” CRTC Chairman Konrad von Finckenstein said in the ruling.
Bell and the CRTC have had a long history of legal battles regarding similar rulings. In August 2010, Bell Canada dropped its lawsuit against the CRTC to fight a bid by Canada’s major networks to begin charging cable and satellite companies 50 cents per-subscriber for their signals. Bell asserted that the CRTC could not implement these policies or negotiate with cable companies without holding a formal hearing.
In May 2010, Bell proposed a Freesat/FreeHD service, a solution the company said would save Canadian broadcasters millions of dollars in terms of constructing new digital infrastructure and that consumers would only be required to purchase a compatible satellite dish and digital receiver to acquire service.
CRTC initially rejected the idea in June 2010 but approved it two months later. While CRTC granted FreeHD’s license request, the commission mandated that the company operate under the same rules as other Canadian satellite providers. This rule prevented FreeHD from offering only local stations in its basic package and requires the broadcaster to include at least one CBC channel, one Radio-Canada station, the APTN channel and the Weather Network. Larger pay packages also must follow rules requiring certain services and channels to be optional to consumers, the CRTC said.
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