CRTC: Everybody Gets Stuck with Sun News Network

[jon]

Sun TV, other news channels must be offered to all television subscribers: CRTC
By Lee Berthiaume, Postmedia News
December 19, 2013 12:50 PM

OTTAWA — Cable and satellite companies will be required to offer Sun News Network and all other national television news channels for individual subscription or as part of a bundle starting next year, Canada’s broadcasting regulator said Thursday.

While the Canadian Radio-television Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) says the directive will give television subscribers more choice when it comes to news and opinion, it is also a possible harbinger of things to come for Canada’s TV universe.

The two-year-old Sun News Network had applied earlier that it be given guaranteed spot in all basic television packages to better compete with more established news networks offered by CBC and CTV.

While the CRTC rejected Sun News’s request in August, it also recognized there are obstacles facing start-up news services and launched a review of Canada’s national news specialty services.

The directive announced Thursday is the result of that review, and means all cable and satellite companies will be forced to offer Sun News as well as CBC News Network, CTV News Channel and two French-language news networks alone or in bundles by May.

“Canadian news services are an important part of our democracy,” CRTC spokesman Jean-Pierre Blais said in a statement.

“With the rules we are announcing today, Canadians, as citizens, will have access to the news services that are of interest to them and will therefore have an opportunity to be exposed to a variety of opinions on matters of public concern.”

The directive also gives any of the news networks an avenue for complaining if they feel television distributors are treating them unfairly as compared to their competitors.

Representatives for Sun News, who had earlier warned the controversial network would be forced into extinction if cable and satellite companies weren’t forced to carry it, were not immediately available for comment.

However, an article written by Sun Media’s parliamentary bureau described the directive as “a major decision” that will “(shake) up the broadcasting landscape.”

CBC and CTV did not immediately respond to questions about how the directive will affect them, but a CRTC spokesman predicted the effects would be minimal as their respective news networks are already offered to most television subscribers.

Michael Geist, an expert on broadcasting policy and regulations at the University of Ottawa, said Thursday’s directive is provides “a nice, small test case” as the government and CRTC look to overhaul the television industry.

The federal Conservative government has said it wants cable and satellite companies to offer individual channels for subscription.

Geist said there are other issues that will need to be addressed before a full pick-and-pay model is unveiled, but ensuring consumers have a full slate of choices is an essential requirement.

“So it’s nice to see it as a starting point for news,” he said. “But there’s little reason to believe it couldn’t be applied in other areas.”

[jon]

Sun News Network vans first appeared in Edmonton in late September.

[Doug]

I'm not a fan of Sun News Network, but I'm also not a fan of the unfavourable "cushy" regulatory environment for CBC News Network and CTV News Channel. Either the CRTC needs to give Sun News Network mandatory carriage like the other two or it needs to remove the mandatory carriage for CBC News Network and CTV News Channel. I'd prefer the former and, honestly, it's not like Sun News Network's going to get $1.00 (or more) from every subscriber. What's it going to cost the distributors, really, maybe an extra $0.20 per subscriber? They can easily afford that without increasing subscriber bills. Similarly, I'd also like to see BC1 given mandatory carriage to B.C. cable distributors. It's frustrating I can't even request it a la carte on my Telus Optik TV.

Cheers,
Doug