Rogers focuses on past shortcomings for ethnic must-carry licence

GATINEAU, QUE. -- Rogers Communications Inc. is taking what it learned a year ago and is proposing to rectify what a previous CRTC panel said were shortcomings to run its national ethnic channel for a full five-year term. When the CRTC in 2017 granted Rogers the sole licence to operate its OMNI Regional as a mandatory channel broadcasters had to air on their slate of basic service television programs, it handed the licence on a shorter-than-requested three-year basis. It did so because Rogers’ application fell below the commission’s expectations, including on the “needs and interests” of ethnic and third-language communities, a lack of original, first-run programming (not reruns), and uncertainty about financing. On the first of a four-day hearing revisiting the license issue Monday, Rogers proposed to rectify those concerns. “We heard your concerns regarding our original concept for OMNI Regional and respectfully submit that our new proposal exceeds all of the criteria,” it said in its opening statement. The company is proposing to make “exceptional commitments” to original, first-run Canadian programming, including dedicating 42.5 hours of original first-run local and national news programming per week, 50 hours of first-run local, independently-produced programming per month, and a pledge to invest 50 per cent of annual gross revenues on that kind of original first-run Canadian content and double investments in programs of national interest to five per cent of those investments. Rogers also said it is devoting 55 per cent of its program schedule to Canadian content every day and 50 per cent during prime time, and 50 per cent of its schedule to third-language programming. In all, Rogers said the cost to broadcasters to run OMNI would start at 19 cents per subscriber per month in 2020, which would increase to 21 cents in the last year of the licence term in 2025. OMNI’s current licence term began in September 2017. Rogers Media’s vice-president of regulatory affairs Susan Wheeler said the company is seeking an exception in the condition of license for this type of discretionary service, which stipulates that a licensee cannot broadcast any paid advertising other than national advertising. However, a previous licensee, with 90 per cent third-language programming, was allowed to broadcast six minutes of local advertising during the broadcast hour, the committee noted. Rogers solicits advertising only where it has an over-the-air broadcast and splits the time evenly with independent producers. When asked by CRTC chairman Ian Scott whether limiting local advertising to six minutes in the hour would impact independent production, Wheeler answered in the affirmative. But she offered that the company would be willing to limit “our own sale” of local advertising because “we don’t want to encumber the independent producers ability to solicit local advertising.” The company even offered to give up its share of the three minutes to the independent if given the licence. The telecom is up against seven other applicants for the license, three others of which also appeared on Monday. Markham, Ont.-based Ethnic Channels Group Ltd. pitched its new national multilingual and multiethnic television service called Voices, unveiled this year. The service will offer news and information programming “and other high-quality programming reflective of Canada’s vibrant and growing multicultural communities,” it said in its application to the CRTC. It is proposing a wholesale rate of 23 cents per subscriber per month. That rate would not diminish if local advertising were limited to six minutes, president Hari Srinivas said, adding the company is fine with the six minute limit. The service is proposing a seven-year term on digital basic, which includes cable, IPTV and skinny basic packages, and said it is committing to eventually offer the programming in 25 different languages simultaneously by the fourth year of its licence term. The CRTC noted ECG was previously found to be in non-compliance with a condition of licence that required it to broadcast with closed-captioning. Company representatives replied that it was a one-off mistake that would not happen again due to its now more-rigorous compliance process. Other parties vying for the license include BCE Inc., Multicultural Described Video Guide, Independent Community Television Montreal, Amber Broadcasting Inc., Corriere Canadese, and jointly Telelatino Network Inc. and Asian Television Network International Ltd. The hearing continues Tuesday. — With reporting by Ahmad Hathout atahathout@thewirereport.ca and editing by Kyle Duggan at kduggan@thewirereport.ca

Rogers focuses on past shortcomings for ethnic must-carry licence

News | November 26, 2018

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Rogers focuses on past shortcomings for ethnic must-carry licence

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