ARCHIVED -  Public Notice CRTC 1996-122

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Public Notice

Ottawa, 4 September 1996
Public Notice CRTC 1996-122
CALL FOR REQUESTS TO AMEND THE LISTS OF ELIGIBLE SATELLITE SERVICES
In Public Notice CRTC 1995-216, dated 15 December 1995, the Commission stated that it intended to initiate a public process to consider revisions to the lists of Eligible Satellite Services ("the lists") immediately following the publication of the Commission's decisions regarding the licensing of new Canadian specialty and pay television services.
With today's publication of Decisions CRTC 96-595 to 96-617 approving applications for new Canadian specialty and pay television services, the Commission is now prepared to entertain requests to amend the lists.
I. Background
The Commission authorizes cable carriage of non-Canadian satellite services by their inclusion on its lists. There are separate lists for Class 1 undertakings and Class 2 undertakings that have between 2000 and 6000 subscribers, and for Part III undertakings and Class 2 undertakings that have fewer than 2000 subscribers.
The list of Part II Eligible Satellite Services (Part II list) contains those satellite services authorized for distribution on a discretionary basis by licensees holding a Class 1 licence, or a Class 2 licence for an undertaking that has between 2000 and 6000 subscribers. The Part II list is divided into Sections "A" and "B". The non-Canadian satellite services in Section "A" may be packaged with either Canadian pay or specialty services, while those in Section "B" may be packaged only with a Canadian pay television service.
The list of Part III Eligible Canadian Satellite Services (Part III Canadian list) and the list of Part III Eligible non-Canadian Satellite Services (Part III non-Canadian list) are somewhat less restrictive than the Part II list and contain satellite services authorized for distribution by those generally smaller licensees holding either a Part III licence, or a Class 2 licence for an undertaking that has fewer than 2000 subscribers. As the Commission's distribution and linkage rules do not apply to these two classes of licence, the services included on the Part III Canadian and non-Canadian lists may be distributed as part of the basic service.
II. Sponsored Requests
The Commission is only prepared to consider requests for non-Canadian services to be added to the lists that are submitted by a Canadian sponsor. Acceptable sponsors include the licensees of broadcasting distribution undertakings and the licensees of pay television or specialty service undertakings.
In addition, the request should provide evidence that the non-Canadian service has agreed to be sponsored by the Canadian party filing the request, and should include a statement from the service provider that it has obtained all of the necessary Canadian distribution rights for its programming. The request should also include a brief description of the service, a copy of the current program schedule, and evidence of discussions with distributors with respect to potential demand for the service. Further, the request should specify which list(s) and, if appropriate, to which section of the list the sponsor wishes the non-Canadian service to be added.
III. Future Process
Following the receipt of requests to amend the lists, it is the Commission's intention to issue a public notice calling for comments from interested parties on the specific services that have been proposed.
All requests for amendments to the lists will be assessed in the context of the Commission's general policy which, among other things, would preclude the addition of new non-Canadian satellite services that can be considered either totally or partially competitive with Canadian specialty or pay television services.
In addition, it should be noted that the Commission, in applying this policy, is prepared to take into account all existing licensed specialty and pay television programming undertakings, including those of all successful applicants listed in Public Notice CRTC 1996-120 of today's date. These include the new specialty services to which the Access Rules set out in Public Notice CRTC 1996-60 may not apply until, but no later than, 1 September 1999 unless Commission approval has been received to extend the implementation date of any such specialty service.
All requests for amendments to the lists should be addressed to Allan J. Darling, Secretary General, CRTC, Ottawa, Ontario, KIA ON2 and should be received no later than Monday, 4 November 1996.
Allan J. Darling
Secretary General

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