ARCHIVED - Broadcasting Notice of Consultation CRTC 2010-663

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Ottawa, 7 September 2010

Call for comments on the proposed addition of National Geographic Wild to the lists of eligible satellite services for distribution on a digital basis

1.      The Commission received a request from Shaw Communications Inc. (Shaw) dated 16 April 2010 to add National Geographic Wild (NatGeo Wild), a non-Canadian English-language service, to the lists of eligible satellite services for distribution on a digital basis (the digital lists).

2.      Shaw described NatGeo Wild as a 24-hour non-Canadian English-language service dedicated to wildlife and nature programming with a variety of documentaries, series, events and specials.

3.      The Commission’s approach to requests for the addition of non-Canadian English- and French-language services to the digital lists is set out in Call for proposals to amend the lists of eligible satellite services through the inclusion of additional non-Canadian services eligible for distribution on a digital basis only, Public Notice CRTC 2000-173, 14 December 2000. Under this approach, the Commission assesses such requests in the context of its general policy, which, among other things, precludes the addition of a non-Canadian satellite service that can be considered either totally or partially competitive with Canadian specialty or pay television services.

4.      The Commission will rely primarily on the comments filed to identify the Canadian pay and specialty services with which NatGeo Wild might be totally or partially competitive and which therefore should be included in the assessment of the competitiveness of the service. Parties wishing to argue that NatGeo Wild would be competitive should therefore name the specific Canadian pay or specialty services with which they consider NatGeo Wild would compete and provide details to support their views, such as comparisons as to the nature and genre of service, programming schedules, programming sources and supply and target audience.

Call for comments

5.      The Commission calls for comments on Shaw’s request to add NatGeo Wild to the digital lists. Parties submitting comments on the request should also submit a true copy of their comments to the Canadian sponsor, Shaw, at the following address:

Shaw Communications Inc.
40 Elgin Street
Suite 1400
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 5K6

Fax: 613-688-6753

Email: cynthia.rathwell@shawdirect.ca

6.      Proof that comments have been sent to Shaw must accompany the original version of the comments sent to the Commission.

7.      Comments on Shaw’s request must be received by the Commission no later than 7 October 2010. A copy of the comments must be received by Shaw no later than the deadline for receipt of comments by the Commission. The Commission cannot be held responsible for postal delays and will not notify a party whose intervention is received after the deadline date. The comment will not be considered by the Commission and will not be part of the public file.

8.      Shaw may file a written reply to any comments received concerning its request. This reply should be filed with the Commission, and a copy sent to the person who submitted the comments, by no later than 21 October 2010.

9.      The Commission will not formally acknowledge comments. It will, however, fully consider all comments and they will form part of the public record of the proceeding, provided that the procedures for filing set out below have been followed.

Procedures for filing comments

10.    Interested parties can file their comments to the Secretary General of the Commission in only one of the following formats:

by using the
[Broadcasting interventions/comments form]

OR

by mail to
CRTC, Ottawa, Ontario  K1A 0N2

OR

by fax at
819-994-0218

11.       The Commission advises those who file and serve by electronic means to exercise caution when using e mail for service of documents or notification, as it may be difficult to establish that service has occurred.

12.       Parties must ensure that, before initiating service through electronic mode, they will be able to satisfy the Commission, upon request, that service of the notification was completed.

13.       Submissions longer than five pages should include a summary.

14.       Each paragraph of the submission should be numbered. In addition, where the intervention is filed by electronic means, the line ***End of document*** should be entered following the last paragraph of the document, as an indication that the document has not been damaged during electronic transmission.

Important Notice

15.       All information that you provide as part of this public process, except information granted confidentiality, whether sent by postal mail, facsimile, e-mail or through the Commission’s website at www.crtc.gc.ca, becomes part of a publicly accessible file and will be posted on the Commission’s website. This information includes your personal information, such as your full name, e-mail address, postal/street address, telephone and facsimile number(s), and any other personal information you provide.

16.       The personal information you provide will be used and may be disclosed for the purpose for which the information was obtained or compiled by the Commission, or for a use consistent with that purpose.

17.       Documents received electronically or otherwise will be put on the Commission’s website in their entirety exactly as you send them, including any personal information contained therein, in the official language and format in which they are received. Documents not received electronically will be available in PDF format. 

18.       The information that parties provide to the Commission as part of this public process is entered into an unsearchable database dedicated to this specific public process. This database is accessible only from the web page of this particular public process. As a result, a general search of the Commission’s website with the help of either its own search engine or a third party search engine will not provide access to the information that was provided as part of this public process.

19.       The Commission encourages interested parties to monitor the public examination file and the Commission’s website for additional information that they may find useful when preparing their comments.

Examination of documents

20.    A list of all comments will also be available on the Commission’s website. An electronic version of all comments submitted will be accessible from this list. To access the list, select “Lists of interventions/comments” under “Public Proceedings” from the Commission’s website.

21.    The public may examine public comments and related documents at the following Commission offices during normal business hours.

 Location of Commission offices

Toll-free telephone: 1-877-249-2782
Toll-free TDD: 1-877-909-2782

Central Building
Les Terrasses de la Chaudière
1 Promenade du Portage, Room 206
Gatineau, Quebec  K1A 0N2
Tel.: 819-997-2429
Fax: 819-994-0218

Regional Offices

Metropolitan Place
99 Wyse Road
Suite 1410
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia  B3A 4S5
Tel.: 902-426-7997
Fax: 902-426-2721

205 Viger Avenue West
Suite 504
Montréal, Quebec  H2Z 1G2
Tel.: 514-283-6607

55 St. Clair Avenue East
Suite 624
Toronto, Ontario  M4T 1M2
Tel.: 416-952-9096

Kensington Building
275 Portage Avenue
Suite 1810
Winnipeg, Manitoba  R3B 2B3
Tel.: 204-983-6306
TDD: 204-983-8274
Fax: 204-983-6317

2220 - 12^th Avenue
Suite 620
Regina, Saskatchewan  S4P 0M8
Tel.: 306-780-3422

10405 Jasper Avenue
Suite 520
Edmonton, Alberta  T5J 3N4
Tel.: 780-495-3224

858 Beatty Street
Suite 290
Vancouver, British Columbia  V6B 1C1
Tel.: 604-666-2111
TDD: 604-666-0778
Fax: 604-666-8322

Secretary General

Date modified:

2010-09-07