Broadcasters oppose AMI’s proposed mandatory carriage rate increase

Major broadcasters are opposed to Accessible Media Inc.’s (AMI) request to temporarily raise the mandatory carriage rates of its AMI-tv and AMI-télé channels, citing concerns about the potential financial impact on an already strained broadcasting industry. While they acknowledged AMI's importance for Canadians with disabilities, BCE Inc., Rogers Communications Inc., Quebecor Inc., and Cogeco Inc. filed interventions on April 4 stating that any mandatory carriage rate increase will harm traditional broadcast distribution undertakings (BDUs). AMI’s proposed interim rate increase is $0.01 per month per subscriber for its English AMI-tv service, and $0.02 per month per subscriber for its French AMI-télé service. Their wholesale rates currently sit at $0.20 per subscriber per month and $0.28 per subscriber per month, respectively. Bell, Rogers, Quebecor, and Cogeco took aim at the lack of mandatory carriage obligations for online streaming services, arguing that the CRTC should delay any rate changes for traditional BDUs until the Online Streaming Act's regulatory framework is finalized. “We emphasize that it is not the existence of 9.1(1)(h) services that is the problem,” said Bell, “it is the fact that only licensed BDUs are compelled to fund these services.” BDUs are not able to “pass along incremental charges to customers” for 9.1(1)(h) services because their basic service charge is capped at $25, explained Bell. “However, the wholesale fees of 9.1(1)(h) services continue to rise,” exacerbating the competitive disadvantage between traditional BDUs and virtual BDUs (vBDUs). The broadcasters said they are concerned with the precedent an increase of AMI’s rates before its 2026 licence renewal could set, warning other 9.1(1)(h) services could follow suit. This “could result in a much higher incremental cost for BDUs in the short term,” said Bell. Cogeco challenged AMI's characterization of the increase as "modest,” arguing that the proposed increases are actually significant and amount to monthly rate increases of 5 per cent per subscriber for AMI-tv and 7.1 per cent per subscriber for AMI-télé. “Such increases cannot be described as limited and modest in the current context, when inflation is jeopardizing the purchasing power of Canadian families and the economic slowdown is forcing households across the country to reduce expenditures which are not related to housing and food,” said Cogeco according to a French-language translation. The broadcasters called for a review of the funding model for mandatory carriage 9.1(1)(h) services, with Bell and Quebecor proposing the creation of a fund specifically for 9.1(1)(h) services as a way to equitably support them over the long-term. Such a fund, Bell said, “would ensure that all broadcasting undertakings, including online undertakings, contribute to the programming commitments that such services have made in furtherance of the broadcasting policy objectives of the Act.” – Reporting by Phalen Tynes-MacDonald at pcreed@thewirereport.ca

Broadcasters oppose AMI’s proposed mandatory carriage rate increase

News | April 10, 2024

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Broadcasters oppose AMI’s proposed mandatory carriage rate increase

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