Satellite distribution policy more important in face of vertical integration, says CBC’s Lacroix

OTTAWA—Regulators must ensure Canadians can access all of the CBC’s services on satellite now that it is poised to be the only major broadcaster not controlled by a broadcasting distributor, CBC president and CEO Hubert T. Lacroix said Wednesday. “It is clear to me that the current phenomenon of concentration in this industry makes the existence of strong and independent public broadcasting services more necessary than ever,” Lacroix said, speaking at the CBC’s second annual public meeting in Ottawa. “This concentration also requires the establishment in Canada of a regulatory framework that will guarantee an open system where Canadians will have access to a large variety of programs, including ours, regardless of who owns the distribution networks.” Lacroix’s comments are in line with the CBC’s stance on the CRTC’s direct-to-home (DTH) satellite distribution policy review, which will be under discussion at a commission hearing scheduled Nov. 16 to 18 in Gatineau. Satellite providers are currently required to carry at least one television station from each national television network and a minimum of five English-language and five French-language CBC stations. At issue is whether satellite distributors should also be required to distribute all local, conventional television signals within their local markets. Some satellite television subscribers do not receive their local, over-the-air television stations on their satellite packages. CBC and Canwest Global Communications Corp. have argued that local distribution by satellite providers is essential to their services, but incumbent satellite providers Bell Canada and Shaw Communications Inc. have said distribution of all local stations is not feasible due to a lack of satellite capacity. In a submission to the CRTC, Bell has suggested that it negotiate with broadcasters to offer partial distribution of local content in certain markets. But Lacroix said the playing field has changed due to the vertical integration of media companies—with Shaw purchasing Global and Bell acquiring CTV Inc.—and that this should be reflected in the commission’s satellite policy. “We’re in a unique position to really reaffirm the importance of the public broadcaster … because we are the only national broadcaster that is not owned by a cable or satellite distribution company,” Lacroix told reporters following the public meeting in Ottawa. “We will suffer if Canadians don’t have access to our signal through a regulatory framework allowing Canadians to always have access to the signal, services and television services of CBC and Radio-Canada across Canada.” But Bell spokeswoman Jacqueline Michelis told The Wire Report in an email that Bell TV carries “most” CBC channels. Out of 59 stations, the company does not carry the CBC station in Windsor, and Radio-Canada stations in Regina and Chicoutimi. The CBC’s Fredericton/Saint John and Charlottetown stations are carried on a part-time basis, as are Radio-Canada’s stations in Toronto, Trois-Rivières and Rimouski, she said. On Monday the CBC announced that its local Edmonton and Regina stations are now available on Bell TV. “For us, it’s very important that people in Saskatchewan can have access to all our programming,” Lacroix said. “This choice of who receives which signal ... becomes very important when you are not the .” Shaw Direct, which did not comment Wednesday, does not carry, or carries on a part-time basis, CBC stations in Windsor, Fredericton/Saint John, St. John’s and Charlottetown, as well as local Radio-Canada stations in Regina, Toronto, Québec, Chicoutimi, Sherbrooke, Trois-Rivières and Rimouski. Ian Morrison, a spokesman for watchdog group the Friends of Canadian Broadcasting, said in an interview that the CRTC must ensure that, in addition to those of the CBC, satellite distributors should also carry other independent broadcasters’ signals. “There are a number of independent broadcasters in the television field that require similar help for distribution,” he said. “The CBC is not unique in that regard.” Broadcasting expert Martha Fusca, president and CEO of Stornoway Communications, said independents need the distribution as much if not more than the CBC. She added that the new satellite policy should give equal importance to small and large broadcasters. “With all this integration—when there are so few unaffiliated broadcasters left—it is going to be very important for the CRTC to ensure there is space in our broadcasting industry for a diversity of voices,” she said. “The CRTC seems to believe market forces will prevail, but they’ve created the current market. They will have to continue to monitor the market that they created to ensure that this market actually allows for smaller broadcasters.” During the CBC’s public meeting Wednesday, Lacroix also announced that the broadcaster is embarking on a new five-year plan to guide it into 2015. The plan will be based on three principles: promoting Canadian content, reinforcing the broadcaster’s regional presence, and pursuing the innovation and development of online platforms. But Lacroix came under fire on exactly those points during the meeting’s question and answer period with the public. One attendee criticized the CBC’s use of American programming and the “dumbing down” of its content. But Lacroix said the CBC broadcasts American shows Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune during prime time with the intent of increasing the audience ratings for Canadian shows. “ brings about a million people to our shows that immediately follow at 8 p.m.,” he said. “It allows us to bring more Canadians to great Canadian programs, exposing them to our programming and allowing us to raise the awareness on the rest of our programming schedules.” Lacroix added that some American shows save the broadcaster money. “They’re cheaper to put on our schedule than producing a program,” he said. But Morrison said the shows aren’t cheap. “We have identified that the CBC probably paid in excess of $12 million a year over a five-year period ,” he said. Members of the public also challenged the CBC’s commitment to regional programming following cuts to programming over the past two years. But Lacroix said the CBC protected the regions during the cuts, and that only 15 to 17 per cent were affected. “There are different ways of increasing our presence . You will see us more and more present on the web. I think you’ll see us more on more than one platform. You’ll see all sorts of ways by which we reach into communities,” he said. Lacroix also addressed concerns that its popular, free, French-language online television service, Tou.tv, is cannibalizing its television content. Lacroix said the service is one more way to deliver content to Canadians. kfournier@thewirereport.ca

Satellite distribution policy more important in face of vertical integration, says CBC’s Lacroix

Broadcast | October 20, 2010

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