Quebecor applied for channel in new, non-competitive ‘information and analysis’ genre

Quebecor’s CRTC application for a must-carry Sun TV News channel sought to define the service in a new genre of “information and analysis.” According to a CRTC letter to Quebecor Media Inc., dated July 5, the company's application for its new Sun TV News channel sought a Category 1 (“must carry,” or Category A) licence for “an Information & Analysis channel, a completely new genre in Canada.” But the commission did not agree that the channel description amounted to a “new genre” and said Quebecor’s description of it sounded more like a news service. “It is noted … that in your proposal, news would be broadcast throughout the day. It is also noted that in promotional material, the proposed service is referred to as the Sun TV News Channel,” the commission wrote. In Quebecor’s Sun TV News proposal, spearheaded by the company’s vice-president of development, Kory Teneycke, the company applied for a three-year, Category 1 licence, which are intended for non-competitive markets. Quebecor appeared to want define its channel in a genre other than news so that it could operate in a non-competitive area. Twice in the past year the CRTC has issued policy instructions saying that it is not accepting Category A applications—particularly in the competitive areas of news and sports. The commission noted in its letter that, in CRTC decision 2010-198, it announced that it will not consider applications for new Category A services before October 2011. And last year, in broadcasting decision 2009-562, the commission said it is prepared to consider applications for competitive news specialty services, but that they should be filed as Category 2 applications, under which the channels must negotiate carriage with distributors. Serge Sasseville, vice-president of corporate and institutional affairs at Quebecor, told The Wire Report that the company will modify its application, but he wouldn’t say whether the new application will be for a Category 2 service. The company will "respect the CRTC process,” he said. “We’re pretty confident that, with the argument we’ll put forward in our modified application, that we’ll be able to get what we’ve been asking for in our initial demands,” Sasseville said. “If you put the right arguments to the CRTC, either Cat 1 or Cat 2, you can get what you want.” He added: “It’s pretty clear that they won’t allow a Category 1, but it’s not the only way.” Informally earning the nickname “Fox News North,” the proposed news channel is being pitched as one that will provide right-leaning, populist talk and analysis programming. The CRTC did not appear to officially accept Quebecor’s application, which was not published on the commission website in a formal notice of consultation. Nor has the commission outright denied Quebecor a broadcasting licence. In the letter, signed by Peter Foster, director general of television policy and applications at the CRTC, the commission expressed a willingness to work with the company on its application so that it can meet the regulatory requirements. The commission said there does not appear to be any regulatory conditions that prevent the company from using its local, over-the-air Sun TV licence in Toronto to operate its proposed news service. “t would appear to be a relatively straight-forward process for your proposal to be amended to be an application for a licence to operate a competitive news service, which could be considered without delay,” the letter said. “In fact, such a programming approach could be implemented without regulatory approval by the Commission.” If Quebecor chose to use its over-the-air Sun TV licence in Toronto, however, distributors across the country could carry the channel but they would not have to pay for carriage—the most lucrative aspect of the specialty television business. But Teneycke told The Globe and Mail this week that Quebecor is not interested in using its over-the-air licence for the channel. Sasseville said Quebecor is "going full steam ahead” and still expects to launch the channel by the planned date of Jan. 1, 2011. If the company goes ahead with a Category 2 service, it must go through a hearing process before the CRTC and negotiate carriage agreements with distributors before it launches. “We’re not particularly fazed by that letter. We’re focused on moving forward,” Teneycke told the Globe. “We’re confident that we’ll have a license in time for our projected launch, and one that will satisfy our needs on the business side.” The commission noted in the letter that if Quebecor persists in its application for a Category A service, the company will have to wait until after October 2011, “when the appropriateness of licensing new Category A or revisiting existing Category A services will be considered.” sdoyle@thewirereport.ca

Quebecor applied for channel in new, non-competitive ‘information and analysis’ genre

Broadcast | July 16, 2010

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