CRTC finds Rogers in the wrong in OneSoccer carriage dispute

Rogers Communications Inc. has given an undue preference to itself by refusing to carry Timeless Inc.’s OneSoccer, according to the CRTC. “The commission finds that the preference and disadvantage are undue since they have had a material adverse impact on Timeless… on Canadians, and on the achievement of certain objectives of the Broadcasting Act,” the commission wrote in its Thursday decision. The CRTC looked into the matter after the independent soccer channel petitioned the commission to force Rogers to carry its programming. OneSoccer holds exclusive rights to many soccer broadcasts, including World Cup qualifying games, Canadian Premier League matches and the annual Canadian Championship between CPL teams and teams in Major League Soccer. Its content is also carried by Telus Corp. in Canada, Fox Sports in the United States, BT Sports in the United Kingdom and Flow in the Caribbean. Rogers argued OneSoccer is niche and unappealing to Canadians, therefore, its refusal to carry the sports programming on its network does not constitute a violation of the Broadcasting Distribution Regulations. Rogers also noted that under the commission’s framework, discretionary services do not have access rights and a broadcasting distribution undertaking (BDU) has no obligation to distribute them. “The fact that distributes similar services of which the primary content is soccer-related, but refuses to distribute OneSoccer on the grounds that the content will not be attractive to viewers, equates to treating OneSoccer in a dissimilar manner. has chosen to distribute soccer services that have similar content and attract the same type of audience as OneSoccer, but has made the choice not to distribute OneSoccer,” the commission wrote in its decision. The commission then found that the preference was undue because Rogers’ refusal to carry it on its linear television platform will, in the long term, make it harder for Timeless to survive. The commission also noted that Rogers carrying OneSoccer would have positive outcomes for the objectives of the Broadcasting Act. Ninety per cent of OneSoccer’s programming is Canadian and it is likely the only service that broadcasts only Canadian soccer and soccer-related content. “Therefore, distribution of OneSoccer on linear television would benefit the Canadian broadcasting system by enhancing the availability of Canadian content on television, an objective defined in the act,” the commission wrote. The commission is directing both parties to submit, by no later than Apr. 11, proposed remedies for resolving the undue preference and disadvantage. Both parties will then be permitted to submit final replies by no later than Apr. 21. – Reporting by Jenna Cocullo at jcocullo@thewirereport.ca and editing by Paul Park at ppark@thewirereport.ca

CRTC finds Rogers in the wrong in OneSoccer carriage dispute

News | March 23, 2023

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CRTC finds Rogers in the wrong in OneSoccer carriage dispute

News | March 23, 2023

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