APTN says it’s moved too often, asking for secure position on the dial

The Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) is often bumped around on the dial, which is leading to the loss of viewers and posing challenges for marketing, Jean LaRose, CEO of APTN Inc., said in an interview. “In Vancouver, as an example, we’ve been bounced all over the place,” LaRose said. He said carrier Shaw Communications Inc. tends to move the channel at least once per year in the Vancouver market. “The problem with Shaw is we’re all over the map. We get two, or in the worst case scenario, sometimes three channel changes a year in any given market.” APTN has 9(1)(h) status under the Broadcasting Act, so that broadcasting distributors are required to carry the channel on basic television subscription services. But under CRTC regulations, carriers are not required to guarantee must-carry services specific channel positions. The CRTC only requires that over-the-air stations be carried on certain portions of the dial, on channels two to 13. LaRose said he is concerned that vertically integrated distributors like Shaw, BCE Inc., Rogers Communications Inc. and Quebecor Inc. will increasingly give prominence to their own channels, moving independent services like APTN to obscure places on the dial. “Those BDUs , if they’re owned by one of the big conglomerates, will definitely want to put their own content front-and-centre. We will basically have to survive with what’s left,” he said. Independent broadcasters are expressing concern about the growing reach of vertically integrated players as the commission consults for a proceeding on consolidation in the broadcasting industry. LaRose said he expects to raise the issue with the CRTC during the proceeding. APTN has negotiated a “semi-fixed” channel placement with Rogers, he said, which has agreed not to place APTN higher than channel 70 (APTN is now carried on channel 70 with Rogers). He said APTN, a not-for-profit, member-owned service, has also reached an agreement with Bell for fixed spots. Bell carries the service on channel 269 for APTN East, channel 270 for APTN North, and channel 808 for high-definition. But LaRose said he is concerned that, as a result of Shaw’s purchase of Global Television and BCE’s acquisition of CTVglobemedia Inc., independent 9(1)(h) services like APTN will not be assured good or stable dial positions. In Vancouver, where Shaw carries APTN, the channel was positioned at about 120 a few months ago, but is now carried on channel 70, LaRose said. “Usually in Vancouver we’re moved once a year. In some years it’s been twice a year. We’ve been there for four or five months, so maybe we’re due for a switch again. I don’t know,” LaRose said. He said APTN has approached Shaw about resolving the issue but has had little success. Michael Ferras, vice-president of regulatory affairs at Shaw, said by email that carriage “is a sensitive issue for all parties.” He said the transition to digital television distribution is causing channel realignments. “Shaw is very sensitive to the impact of channel re-alignments with respect to our customers, our programming partners, and in the context of an extremely competitive distribution environment,” Ferras wrote. “As we build out capacity, and harvest analog capacity for digital distribution, it is necessary to realign channels. We try to minimize this as much as possible, but as we go through the digital transition and add new services, including HD channels, it is an operational necessity.” Ferras said whenever lineup changes are made, Shaw tries to keep channels in the same vicinity and takes steps to inform customers of the changes. “We evaluate all possible alternatives,” Ferras said. “Once we get closer to a digital line-up and accommodate HD carriage, channel placements will be easier to maintain, but will always be sometimes necessary.” LaRose said realignments on digital services causes the channel to drop out of viewers’ favourites lists, and if they can’t find the channel in the list, they think it’s gone off-air. He added that inconsistent channel positions also make it difficult to market the service because they can’t guarantee where it can be found. APTN tried sending out flyers with television guides to let viewers know about lineup changes, but the costs were too high, LaRose said, adding that the channel cannot afford to run ads for every market. The APTN website does not list the channels where viewers can find the service. LaRose said the channel considered listing its dial positions on the site, but added it does not have the resources to keep track of positions in each market and update the website when necessary. “We have been looking to see if a repository of such listings exist and if we ever do find one, we will certainly post it,” he said. LaRose said APTN tells viewers to check with their local television providers to see what channel it’s on, but many consumers see that as an inconvenience. Independent broadcasting services that don’t have mandatory carriage have also expressed concerns about negotiating channel carriage in a vertically integrated system. Now that distributors own content, independents have said they must negotiate with their competitors for carriage. Paul Temple, senior vice-president of regulatory and strategic affairs at independent broadcaster Pelmorex Communications Inc., agreed that channel positioning for independent companies is likely to come up in the CRTC’s hearing on vertical integration. Temple said the CRTC requires distributors to notify channels before they move them on the dial. Jacqueline Michelis, a spokeswoman for Bell, said by email that channel placement has become less important in the digital world as customers increasingly use on-screen guides and search and favourites tools to access programming. "But we still rarely relocate our channels--in part because there are many customers who tend to remember the numbers of their favourite channels. So we move them around as little as possible," Michelis wrote. sdoyle@thewirereport.ca

APTN says it’s moved too often, asking for secure position on the dial

Broadcast | December 15, 2010

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