Broadcaster,  10/29/2009

Canadians Support Local TV Matters Campaign

A Nanos Research study of more than 1,000 Canadians confirms strong support for local television stations securing financial compensation from cable and satellite companies.

An overwhelming majority of Canadians (70% of respondents) support the statement that "local TV stations should receive a portion of the amount that customers pay on their monthly bill for cable or satellite TV."

Asked if "the government should force the cable companies and broadcasters to negotiate payment for local TV signals", 72% agreed. And a clear majority, 57%, agreed that "local TV stations will close if cable companies don't pay for the local TV signals."

"Canadians value local TV. They believe they already pay for it and that the programming they value should be fairly compensated by the TV distributors," says Nik Nanos, President of Nanos Research. "They are concerned about the loss of their local television stations and believe the government should take action to prevent that from happening."

"Canadian consumers get it. They've heard both sides of the argument and clearly support our position that cable and satellite companies must sit down and negotiate," said Paul Sparkes, Executive Vice President, Corporate Affairs, CTVglobemedia. "We want to continue to deliver trusted local news and community programming, and Canadians are overwhelmingly behind us."

 The random telephone survey of 1,005 Canadians was conducted from October 10 through October 18, 2009. The margin of accuracy for a sample of 1,005 is +/- 3.1%, 19 times out of 20.

Established in 1987, Nanos Research is a full service public opinion research and management consulting firm. Nanos is regularly called upon by corporate, government and para-public clients in Canada and the United States to conduct research and provide strategic advice.

Broadcaster,  10/29/2009

Commissioner Says CRTC Will Not Return to Set-Fee Debate

A high-level commissioner for the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission says the regulator will hold steady on a distanced approach to the carriage fees debate between local television stations and cable and satellite companies.

"I want to emphasize that we are not about to go back to the question of a set fee imposed by the commission for the carriage of local conventional television stations - what's known as 'fee-for-carriage,"' Rita Cugini, Ontario's regional commissioner, said during a speech at a media luncheon on Wednesday.

"Our main reason for doing so is that broadcasters did not give us solid commitments on how the fees would be used to improve the Canadian broadcasting system."

Cugini said that the regulator will focus on whether local TV broadcasters should be allowed to negotiate fees with cable and satellite providers for payment for their signals.

Cugini also said the regulator is concerned that some broadcasters aren't planning to convert all of their over-the-air analog transmitters to digital in 2011, which would leave some rural parts of the country without local TV signals.

She noted that Bell TV has offered to make a small number of local and regional TV stations available through its satellite service at no monthly charge to customers.

Did signal substitution kill the Canadian conventional television industry?

Every week when Canadian television ratings are released, the bulk of top rated shows in this country are American shows that have been rebroadcast on Canadian conventional television networks.

According to critics, the lack of Canadian programming during primetime and the recent failure of the Canadian conventional television industry  is the consequence of a CRTC policy known as simultaneous signal substitution.

Critics say the policy has allowed Canadian over-the-air television broadcasters, such as the CTV and Global, to reap billions of dollars in windfall profits for many years by becoming resellers of American television programming.

In April of 2007, in response to growing pressure from taxpayers fed up with the lack of Canadian content during primetime, high television costs and the apparent lack of consumer choice, the CRTC commissioned Laurence Dunbar and Christian Leblanc to conduct a comprehensive review of the existing regulatory framework for broadcasting services in Canada.

Released in August 2007, the report tabled numerous recommendations including one which proposed the CRTC reassess the impact that simultaneous substitution was having on the Canadian broadcasting system.

Dunbar and LeBlanc concluded that rather than encouraging more Canadian programming on Canadian networks during primetime, simultaneous substitution rules actually provided an incentive for broadcasters to simulcast more American content during primetime.

In its report, Dunbar and LeBlanc clearly came down on the side of the critics. Supporters of simultaneous substitution – the CRTC, conventional broadcasters and various national arts organizations – however, continued to argue that the critics were wrong and the practice was necessary to foster a strong and financially viable domestic television industry.

The result was the CRTC did not act on the recommendations of Dunbar and LeBlanc and carried on with a business as usual report.

Fast forward two years and we find a Canadian television production and broadcasting industry that appears to be in its death throes. For the week ending October 11th, 2009, the top 15 shows in Canada were all simulcast viewings of shows developed and produced in the United States. Not one of the top 15 shows during primetime was developed and produced in this country.

In addition, rather than fostering a strong and financially viable broadcasting industry” CTV and Global are now begging the government for money, selling off stations for a dollar and pleading with the CRTC to even further reduce their Canadian content requirements.

Despite earning windfall profits for decades by reselling U.S. programs and despite receiving close to a billion dollars annually in subsides, conventional broadcasters are still not financially viable.

In summary, the policy of simultaneous commercial substitution has been a miserable failure.

Rather than throw more money at conventional broadcasters, perhaps it’s time the CRTC and federal government took the Dunbar / Leblanc report off the shelf, dusted it off, and thought about implementing many, if not all, of its well reasoned recommendations.

Broadcaster,  10/6/2009

'Canwest Employees Deserve Better' -- CEP

"Media workers at Canwest stations should not be forced to pay the price with their pension and severance payments for financial problems that are of the company's own making."

That reaction to today's announcement that Canwest has filed for Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act protection for some of its operations, from Peter Murdoch, Vice-President, Media for the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada.

"Employees have done everything they can to sustain this company," says Murdoch. "Thousands have already lost their jobs, and there has been no wage increase for years. Though management salaries have been excessive -- $49 million to eight people from 2001 to 2008, while during that same period over 1,000 Canwest employees lost their jobs.

"Those who are left are on pins and needles," he says, "including pensioners."

Murdoch adds that governments, banks, and media conglomerates have all ignored the warnings about the dangers of massive media convergence and unsustainable debt.

"CEP will be front and center to ensure that employees are first in line for company obligations."

Murdoch also says the federal government should step up to the plate. "The federal government has been irresponsible in monitoring and policing pension plans, and where is it now to backstop this?

"Yet another major company has filed for bankruptcy protection under Prime Minister Stephen Harper's watch," adds CEP President Dave Coles. "It's time for this government to stop congratulating itself and to take action to prevent more working people from falling victim to this recession," says Coles.

CEP represents more than 25,000 newspaper and broadcast employees across Canada, including workers at the National Post and Global TV who are affected by today's announcement.

Canwest Global files for creditor protection

Buried under approximately four billion dollars of debt, Canwest Global Communications Corp., owners of the Global Television Network, specialty channels – MovieTime, DejaView and Fox Sports World – and the National Post newspaper, has successfully filed for bankruptcy protection.

The filing did not include CanWest chain of twelve Canadian daily newspapers and their online operations or its specialty channels acquired from Alliance Atlantis in 2007, TVtropolis, Mystery TV or Men TV.

After the proposed restructuring, which is expected to last 4 to 6 months, Canwest says creditors would receive shares of the media company while current shareholders would own just 2.3 per cent of the shares of the new Canwest.

In a written statement posted on the company website, company CEO Leonard Asper said the filing should not affect what Canadians see on the Global Network or read in their daily newspapers.

“Throughout this process, all our operations will continue uninterrupted including a strong programming lineup on Global and our specialty channels,’’ Mr. Asper said.

Broadcaster,  10/6/2009

DEVELOPING STORY -- Canwest Files for Court Protection

Canwest Global Communications said Tuesday it is filing for creditor protection in a deal with a key group of lenders, as it seeks court approval to restructure a mountain of debt.

Business units that will be filing for creditor protection include the Canwest Television Limited Partnership, which holds Global Television, MovieTime, DejaView and Fox Sports World, and The National Post Company.

After the restructuring, Canwest creditors would receive shares of the media company. Canwest's current shareholders would own just 2.3 per cent of the shares of the new Canwest. Canwest's current shares are under review by the Toronto Stock Exchange for possible delisting, a move that is expected when publicly traded companies file for creditor protection.

Leonard Asper and other members of Canwest's founding family have agreed to invest up to $15 million in the restructured company. Canwest didn't say how much voting control or operational involvement the Aspers would have after the restructuring. The family has controlled Canwest through a special class of multiple-vote shares.

Leonard Asper said in a statement that the company believes the restructuring can be implemented in four to six months while Canwest continues to operate under the re-structuring plan.  "This pre-packaged financial restructuring is intended to minimize business disruption and preserve the value of these business operations," Asper said.

"Because it has the support of the Ad Hoc Committee (of creditors), we believe that we can use the stability offered by the CCAA to implement this plan in four to six months, which will renew the financial prospects of our operations and put Canwest on a stronger footing for the future."

The filing does not include specialty channels Canwest bought from Alliance Atlantis in 2007, nor does it include the subsidiary that owns other newspapers, among which are the Montreal Gazette, the Calgary Herald, the Edmonton Journal and the Vancouver Sun and Province, or the company's online operations.

Canwest has been selling pieces of its business in recent weeks to show lenders that it's making progress on reworking its operations.

Most recently it sold off its majority stake in Australian broadcaster Ten Network Holdings, in addition to past sales of its E!-branded TV stations and U.S. political magazine The New Republic.

The so-called Ad Hoc Committee was formed by an influential group of creditors that own a specific part of Canwest's overall debt.

Canwest says the committee represents more than 70 per cent of the eight per cent senior notes issued by Canwest Media Inc., one of Canwest's main subsidiaries.

Under CCAA, any restructuring has to be approved by all classes of creditors and by the court that's overseeing the case.

In the meantime, the Canwest operations affected by the filing are expected to continue uninterrupted.

CRTC calls for input on television services

At the request of the federal government, the CRTC announced today that it will hold a public hearing in December on whether local Over-the-air television stations should have the ability to charge cable and satellite operators to carry their signals.

The federal regulator estimates the practice known as fee-for-carriage (FFC) could net conventional broadcasters over $352 million annually. The CRTC has twice turned down the request by broadcasters to implement FFC but has been forced to examine it again by the government.

The hearing will begin on December 7, 2009, in Gatineau, Que. In a notice issued today, consumers and members of the industry are invited to share their views on how negotiated compensation may or may not impact:

the affordability of cable and satellite television services

the availability of local television services, including local news, information and public affairs programming

the industry as it adapts to a digital communications environment, and

current or future business models facilitating access to local television stations after the transition from analog to digital signals.

Given the scope of this hearing and comments already received from the public, it is expected that other issues closely linked to affordability will be raised. These include such issues as consumer choice, the availability of low-cost basic television service, smaller packages of pay and specialty services, the ability to select pay and specialty services on a stand-alone basis, as well as the challenges posed by the transition to digital local broadcasting. As a result, the CRTC will also accept comments on these issues.

Canadian have until November 2, 2009 to submit their comments by filling out an online form on the CRTC site, writing to the Secretary General, CRTC, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0N2, or sending a fax, at 819-994-0218

Broadcaster,  10/2/2009

CRTC Seeks Public Input on Value of Local Television

At the Government of Canada’s request, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission will hold a public hearing on the implications and advisability of implementing a compensation regime for the value of local television signals.

The hearing will begin on December 7, 2009, in Gatineau, Que. The CRTC is considering whether local television stations should be allowed to negotiate compensation from cable and satellite companies for their signals.

"We are examining various facets of the Canadian broadcasting system as it adapts to an environment that is rapidly changing," said Konrad von Finckenstein, Q.C., Chairman of the CRTC. "We are discussing a number of regulatory changes with the industry to ensure the system’s future health.  It is important that consumers make their voices heard on the issues that affect them the most."

In a notice issued today, consumers and members of the industry are invited to share their views on how negotiated compensation may or may not impact the affordability of cable and satellite television services the availability of local television services, including local news, information and public affairs programming the industry as it adapts to a digital communications environment, and current or future business models facilitating access to local television stations after the transition from analog to digital signals.

Given the scope of this hearing and comments already received from the public, it is expected that other issues closely linked to affordability will be raised. These include such issues as consumer choice, the availability of low-cost basic television service, smaller packages of pay and specialty services, the ability to select pay and specialty services on a stand-alone basis, as well as the challenges posed by the transition to digital local broadcasting. As a result, the CRTC will also accept comments on these issues.