Bell asks CRTC to lift regulations on satellite TV distributors

BCE Inc. asked the CRTC to lighten licensing requirements for ExpressVu, the company’s satellite TV division, and called for all satellite relay distribution undertakings (SRDUs) to be exempt from regulation because of declines in the market. ExpressVu’s current conditions of service require it to contribute at least five per cent of its gross annual broadcasting revenues to the creation and presentation of Canadian programming. According to a Part 1 application from Bell, posted by the CRTC on Tuesday, those contributions from the “small and declining” SRDU business have shrunk to the point that they no longer provide any meaningful support to the broadcasting system. Bell blamed streaming services for the decline in revenues and subscribers in the traditional broadcasting industry, claiming the effects of which are exacerbated by a “heavy regulatory burden.” “Given the de minimus amount of revenue generated by our SRDU, it is no longer reasonable or equitable to require it to make ongoing contributions to Canadian programming,” said Bell. The CRTC last considered licensing requirement exemptions for SRDUs in 2011, but, in its decision the following year, declined to exempt them due to the “lack of effective competition in the signal transport sector” and significant contributions SRDUs were making to Canadian programming. Bell states its SRDU business has significantly declined since then and “is no longer capable of providing meaningful support to the broadcasting system.” The telecom claimed that the licensed broadcasting revenue of its SRDU is “well below” the revenues of small broadcasting distribution undertakings (BDUs) that are within the contribution requirement exemption threshold of 2,000 subscribers. Using data from the CRTC’s Communications Monitoring Report, Bell estimated that the average revenue exemption threshold for small BDUs is $1.5 million. While it shared ExpressVu’s revenues in confidence with the CRTC, Bell said the service generates much less than that estimated threshold. “It is logically inconsistent that retail BDU providers with two thousand subscribers or less are exempt from contribution requirements while SRDUs, their wholesale partners, are required to contribute despite the fact that they earn significantly less revenue,” argued Bell. Considering ExpressVu is one of Canada’s two licensed SRDUs, Bell said it suspects Shaw Broadcast Services, now owned by Rogers Communications Inc., is also in a similar position. Bell requested a policy review from the CRTC on the matter. “SRDUs are niche wholesale businesses that no longer make material contributions to Canadian programming or to the broadcasting system,” said the telecom. It argued that the CRTC’s stance that there is insufficient competition in the signal transport market no longer holds up. Bell claimed the expansion of fibre networks across the country, even into rural areas, provides additional terrestrial relay distribution undertaking competition to SRDUs. Bell added that if the CRTC grants regulatory exemption to SRDUs, it “does not mean that the commission must relinquish its role in protecting competition in the market. The commission’s traditional role in managing disputes between SRDUs, BDUs, and program undertakings can be entrenched within a new SRDU exemption order.” – Reporting by Phalen Tynes-MacDonald at pcreed@thewirereport.ca

Bell asks CRTC to lift regulations on satellite TV distributors

News | March 27, 2024

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Bell asks CRTC to lift regulations on satellite TV distributors

News | March 27, 2024

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