CRTC sticks with OMNI for multi-ethnic must-carry spot

Rogers Communications Inc.'s OMNI will continue to benefit from the sole licence to operate its multi-ethnic channel on basic TV packages as a result of a CRTC decision on Thursday. Rogers beat out seven other applicants for the licence, including BCE Inc. and Ethnic Channels Group Ltd. The CRTC outlined in its decision that “of all the applications, Rogers’ proposed service, along with its associated commitments, best meets the needs and interests of Canada’s diverse population and the criteria established by the Commission.” The decision granted OMNI another three year term, through to Aug. 31, 2023. Rogers previously got a temporary licence in 2017 for the OMNI Regional channel, a “not-for-profit” revamp of its long-time multi-ethnic channel OMNI. During a November 2018 hearing, Rogers told the CRTC it would rectify concerns the commission had identified when it issued the temporary licence. Those included a lack of original, first-run programming, not enough time on the schedule for newscasts, and no programming that was relevant to each region of the country, the CRTC said. The company appears to have assuaged those concerns, with the CRTC saying it chose OMNI Thursday due to “the exceptional commitments made by Rogers...most notably toward the provision of third-language news and information programming presented from a Canadian perspective, the amount of programming broadcast that is original, first-run content and the distribution of third-language and ethnic programming from various regions across Canada.” The CRTC granted an increase in OMNI Regional’s wholesale rate from $0.12 per subscriber per month to $0.19, which it said would allow Rogers to remain in a sustainable financial position should TV “subscribership in the next licence term decline at a faster rate than that seen in recent years.” It also imposed a condition of licence holding Rogers to its promise to operate the channel “on a break-even basis and to reinvest any profits of OMNI Regional into its programming.” That promise followed what Rogers executives warned as early as 2014 was a financial crisis at the original OMNI channel. That resulted in job cuts and cuts to news programming that left the company on the defensive from unions and in front of MPs about whether it was in violation of its licence conditions. Rogers then promised in 2016 to re-establish third-language daily newscasts in Italian, Mandarin, Cantonese and Punjabi if the CRTC approved the new “non-profit” OMNI Regional. “Today’s decision means OMNI Regional will have the resources to expand its programming and deliver the best experience for Canadians. OMNI Regional looks forward to announcing its plans in the coming months,” Rogers said in a press release. In approving Rogers’ channel, the CRTC also denied the other seven applications. Bell had proposed a channel called OurTV, while Ethnic Channels Group proposed a channel called Voices. Other applicants included Asian Television Network International Ltd. and Telelatino Network Inc., which is partially owned by Corus Entertainment Inc., Italian daily newspaper Corriere Canadese, published by former MP Joe Volpe, a B.C.-based company called Amber Broadcasting Inc., Independent Community Television (ICTV) Montreal, and Kosiner Venture Capital Inc. During the hearing last fall to consider those applications, the CRTC also heard from Telus Corp. and Shaw Communications Inc. that customers largely have not expressed much interest in OMNI, and instead choose to purchase select ethnic discretionary channels. “Everyone at ECG is understandably disappointed with the CRTC’s decision to award the new ethnic broadcast licence to Rogers and OMNI,” Ethnic Channels Group said in a statement. “We believe that our proposed service, Voices, was the best and most innovative option for Canadian viewers. That said, we respect the CRTC’s decision and thank them for the opportunity to participate in this process.” Evan Kosiner, president and owner of Kosiner, which had proposed a multicultural described video guide for TV content, said in a phone interview that there was talk among the applicants about potentially appealing the CRTC decision. “I’m definitely hearing among other applicants that it may happen in the next 30 days. The biggest concern is that the appeal process could take a couple of years, and at that point the CRTC licence has already come and gone,” he said. Kosiner argued “there were better suited applicants,” he said, noting that Ethnic Channels group, for example, already operates many ethnic channels and that some of the other applicants had better price points and value and served a bigger demographic. — With reporting by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca and editing by Ahmad Hathout at ahathout@thewirereport.ca

CRTC sticks with OMNI for multi-ethnic must-carry spot

News | May 23, 2019

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CRTC sticks with OMNI for multi-ethnic must-carry spot

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