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Public Notice
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Ottawa, 30 July 1998 |
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Public Notice CRTC 1998-79 |
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Revised process for consideration of new English-language pay and
specialty television applications
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1. The Commission has decided to postpone the
consideration of applications for new English-language pay and specialty
television services until after the completion of a separate process to
examine what appropriate licensing framework could be established for such
services. |
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BACKGROUND
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2. Following the 1996 pay and specialty
services public hearing, the Commission announced that it did not intend to
issue a call for further applications for services, but that it would
consider applications on a case-by-case basis. After receiving a number of
applications, the Commission issued Public Notice
CRTC 1997-33, in which it
announced that all applications proposing new pay and specialty services
received and deemed complete before 30 September 1997 would be considered at
a public hearing. A total of 50 English-language applications were received
by the Commission. |
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3. Subsequently, in Public Notice
CRTC 1997-33-2, the Commission
announced that the public hearing would be postponed until no later than the
first quarter of 1999. At that time, applicants were advised that amendments
to applications would be accepted until 30 September 1998. The Commission
hereby advises applicants for English-language services that the deadline for
filing amendments to applications is no longer in effect. |
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4. In the same public notice, the Commission
announced a moratorium on the addition of any new foreign services to the
lists of eligible satellite services. This moratorium will continue to be in
effect until further notice. |
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5. The decision set out in Public Notice
CRTC 1997-33-2 to postpone the
public hearing was taken in light of a number of factors, including: the
emerging competitive environment; the evolving structure of the broadcasting
industry; the Commission's September 1998 public hearing to review its
approach to Canadian television programming; and the timeframe within which
the cable industry will expand analog distribution capacity and/or introduce
digital distribution technologies. |
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6. In order to ascertain the capacity of the
cable industry to accommodate new services, the Commission required the
licensees of all Class 1 cable systems with 20,000 or more subscribers to
submit capacity reports with information on their analog channel capacity,
detailed channel line-ups, proposed upgrades, and plans and timeframes for
the deployment of digital technology. Reports were required to be filed by 31
January 1998, with updates to be submitted every three months thereafter
until 31 August 1999. |
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7. The cable capacity reports, and the first
updates, have now been received and examined by the Commission. Summaries
have been placed on the public file for examination by interested parties and
will continue to be updated to reflect subsequent reports as they are
received. |
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CAPACITY AND OTHER ISSUES
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8. The cable capacity reports indicate that,
given the large number of licensed English-language services, most cable
systems outside of Quebec have limited, if any, additional capacity. Inside
Quebec, because fewer French-language services have been licensed, the
capacity constraints are not generally as severe. |
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9. Plans for the deployment of digital
distribution technology remain behind expectations, with only one major cable
operator indicating that it expects to reach the threshold of 15% of
subscribers receiving one or more programming services on a digital basis by
September 1999. Standards for digital distribution are still evolving,
creating further uncertainty about its implementation. |
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10. While alternative distribution services
have been licensed and are in operation, the subscriber base for these
alternative distributors remains limited. |
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THE COMMISSION'S DETERMINATION
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11. Given these factors, the Commission has
determined that, prior to re-scheduling a licensing hearing, the Commission
will hold a public process to examine what appropriate licensing framework
could be established for new pay and specialty services. A public notice
setting out the timing of the process and a more detailed description of the
issues to be addressed will be released in the fall of 1998. Issues are
likely to include the extent to which the Access Rules should apply to new
services, particularly in the context of channel capacity constraints; the
viability of services licensed on a digital-only basis; and distributor
participation in the ownership of pay and specialty services. |
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12. The Commission is confident that this
process will result in a more clear delineation of the terms and conditions
under which new pay and specialty services could be licensed in the emerging
competitive environment. |
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13. The revised process described herein
affects only applicants for English-language services, as well as the
application for a service to be called "Le canal des nouvelles
technologies/The New Technology Channel" which is competitive with two
English-language applications. The Commission reiterates that the cable
capacity reports indicate that channel capacity is not as significant an
issue in Quebec. Applications for new French-language specialty services that
were filed with the Commission by 30 September 1997, pursuant to Public
Notice CRTC 1997-33, will be
heard at a public hearing beginning 7 December 1998, as set out in Public
Notice CRTC 1998-46. |
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Laura M. Talbot-Allan
Secretary General |
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This document is available in alternative
format upon request. |