"We are not nor have we even asked for mandatory carriage of this station where Canadians would have to be obliged to pay."
TVA Group Inc. is seeking a Category 2 licence with "an exception to Broadcasting Regulatory Policy 2009-562 by applying for mandatory access."
The applicant argued that Sun TV News requires short-term and time-limited mandatory access by broadcasting distribution undertakings for a maximum period of three years to effectively expose and promote its programming to viewers across Canada.
The applicant stated that it was not seeking mandatory basic distribution, but only to be made available on cable and satellite distribution undertakings, allowing the public to have access to Sun TV News without any obligation to choose it.
As TVA Group Inc. defines mandatory access, broadcasting distribution undertakings (cable and satellite distribution companies) would be require to carry the SUN TV news channel for a period of three years. It is my opinion that BDU's would be required to carry it, but they would not be required to have it on their basic services. They do have to offer SUN TV News to subscribers if they want it.
Kory Teneycke did not mention that when BDU's (cable/satellite companies) distribute broadcast signals, they are obliged to pay a per subscriber rate to each broadcaster of a signal. If the CRTC accepts the TVA Group Inc.'s proposal, the CRTC will also set the rate that BDU's must pay to TVA Group Inc. It might be 10, 15, or 25 cents per subscriber per month. That means that even if we subscribers do not want to have Faux News North on our cable/satellite services, we will be required to pay for it anyway because of TVA Group Inc.'s request for mandatory access.
Under Kory's proposal, BDU's will be required to carry SUN TV News/Faux News North. Cable/satellite subscribers will not be forced to watch it unless the BDU's decide to offer Faux News North on the basic service, or subscribers decided to order FNN as single channel or part of a package. However, all subscribers will be forced to pay for Faux News Network for a period of three years whether we like it or not. I will not like it!
Kory Teneycke is misleading Canadians when he states that Canadians will be obliged to pay for "Faux News North."
Interesting Links:
Broadcasting Notice of Consultation CRTC 2010-649 (Sun TV News licence application notice)
Broadcasting Act (1991, c. 11)
Note: I could not find in the CRTC glossary any official definition of mandatory access.
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UPDATE: Under Broadcasting Notice of Consultation, click 2010-1182. Save or open file DOCS-1420709-v1-2010-1188-2. On page 7, one will find the following:
We believe that the appeal of CNN for Canadians comes from its program formats and it’s on air personalities.
Canadians do not watch CNN for hard news, but more for interview style and more opinioned programs like Larry King Live, Anderson Cooper 360 and Campbell Brown. These 3 programs are CNN’s most watched shows in English Canada.
Essentially, SUN TV News will be a news/entertainment channel where conservative shock jocks will spew their pro-Harper and pro-Conservative CRAP. If one lives in Toronto and listens to CFRB radio (1010 AM), one can hear the news shock jocks spew their garbage. SUN TV is not going to have news journalists; it is going to have news entertainers who will interpret the news so that the channel can entertain Canadians, but not inform them.
6 comments:
Now I'm really confused. Is Kory right or not?
Do you know if Sun TV News sets their subscription rate to zero does that mean anyone with digital cable service will get their channel for free.
I'd say he is right on that we will not be required to watch SUN TV news on the basic-tier. He is wrong in saying that Canadian subscribes won't have to pay for the channel. Since the cable and satellite companies will be forced to carry the station and place it on their services somewhere, subscribers to the cable/satellite services will be required to pay for the station.
Hi Robert,
I think Sun TV News will want a few cents from subscribers. I do believe that Sun TV News wants to collect $4.6 million in subscriptions in the first year. I don't know how many cable/satellite subscribers there are in Canada. If one assumes that there are 4.6 million subscribers, Sun TV would get one dollar per year from each subscriber whether or not we actually get the channel.
I did notice Kory fisking his arguments against Avaaz. Essentially, fisking means that one dissects everything line-by-line because one is unable to make a case using an opponent's whole argument. Kory was nitpicking everything about Avaaz and the other opponents of SUN TV News.
"...Kory Teneycke is misleading Canadians when he states that Canadians will be obliged to pay for "Faux News North."..."
I think you left out a "not" there.
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