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Decision
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Ottawa, 7 February 1984
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Decision CRTC 84-84
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General Cablevision Limited
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Ear Falls, Ontario - 831805700
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Following a Public Hearing in Hull, Quebec on 15 November 1983, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission announces that it approves the application to change the services authorized for distribution on the broadcasting receiving undertaking serving Ear Falls, by deleting the carriage of KTHI-TV (ABC) Fargo, North Dakota via microwave, and by adding the distribution of WJBK-TV (CBS), WDIV (NBC), WTVS (PBS) Detroit, Michigan and KOMO-TV (ABC) Seattle, Washington, to be received via satellite from the Canadian Satellite Communications Inc. (CANCOM) network.
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The Commission notes that the signal of KTHI-TV is not available to the licensee since the microwave system required to receive this signal is not in operation.
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The licensee is currently authorized to charge a basic monthly subscriber fee of $6.00. A separate authority for an additional fee of $3.50 per month for costs associated with the microwave delivery of the KTHI-TV signal ceases with the deletion of the licensee's authority for the distribution of this signal.
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General Cablevision Limited has now applied to amend its licence by increasing the maximum monthly subscriber fee from $6.00 to $13.00 to cover the costs of providing the 3+1 U.S. CANCOM signals noted above. The Commission approves this proposal. The $7.00 increase may only be charged to subscribers at such time as the CANCOM services are available to them.
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This increase is justified based on the charge to be paid by the licensee to CANCOM for these new services and to cover the direct incremental costs related to the exhibition of the CANCOM signals, and is in accordance with the guidelines for rate increases associated with the addition of the CANCOM 3+1 U.S. signals, set out in Public Notice CRTC 1983-109.
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The Commission acknowledges the intervention submitted by the Ear Falls T.V. Committee in opposition to the application by General Cablevision Limited. The Committee is a licensee of the Commission and operates under funding provided by the Town of Ear Falls to distribute, in unscrambled form, four Canadian television signals received via satellite from CANCOM, as well as educational and locally-produced programming, using five television transmission channels. In accordance with the Cable Television Regulations, the signals broadcast on these transmitting channels must be distributed on the Ear Falls cable television undertaking as priority signals.
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The Committee argued that the Commission should licence it to provide the 3+1 U.S. television signals on an over-the-air basis, rather than authorize the distribution of these signals by General Cablevision Limited. While the Commission has considered all possible options in its deliberations, it is satisfied that cable television represents the most appropriate means of making these signals and other new services available at a reasonable cost to residents of Ear Falls.
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At the hearing, in the interest of all local residents, the Commission encouraged the two parties to cooperate in order to ensure the continuing availability in Ear Falls of a broad and attractive range of television programming services, including community programming. The Commission is encouraged to note that negotiations between the two licensees are underway, and are expected to continue, towards establishing a positive basis for their future cooperation and co-existence.
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J.G. Patenaude Secretary General
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