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Ottawa, 6 March 1986
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Decision CRTC 86-183
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Winnipeg Videon Incorporated Part of Winnipeg, Manitoba - 852499300
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Portage Community Cablevision Ltd. Portage La Prairie, Southport and MacGregor, Manitoba - 852349000 - 852339100
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Interlake Cable TV Ltd. Beausejour, Selkirk and Stonewall, Manitoba - 852492800 - 852490200 - 852491000
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Valley Cable Vision Limited Carman, Morden, Steinbach, Winkler and Altona, Manitoba - 852356500 - 852353200 - 852354000 - 852357300 - 852355700 - 852355700
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Westman Media Co-operative Ltd. Brandon, Carberry, Minnedosa, Neepawa and Rivers, Manitoba - 852438100 - 852439900 - 852440700 - 852441500 - 852442300
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Headingley Communitec Ltd. Headingley, Manitoba - 852645100
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Elie Communitec Ltd. Elie, Manitoba - 852644400
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Following a Public Hearing in Winnipeg on 3 December 1985, the Commission approves the applications by the licensees of the broadcasting receiving undertakings serving the communities noted above, to change the authorized distribution of the television service by deleting the distribution of K58BP (CBS) Glasston, KXJB-TV (CBS) Valley City (as a back-up signal to K58BP), and KTHI-TV (NBC) Fargo. These signals are currently received at a distant headend located at Tolstoi, Manitoba and delivered to the cable television undertakings by the Manitoba Telephone System's inter-city broadband network (ICBN). The Commission approves the replacement of these signals by those of WJBK-TV (CBS) and WDIV (NBC) Detroit, Michigan, received via satellite from the Canadian Satellite Communications Inc. (CANCOM) network.
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The Commission also approves the applicants' request for a licence amendment by deleting the condition relating to the use of a back-up head-end location at Drayton, North Dakota for the provision of KXJB-TV and KTHI-TV.
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The Commission notes that the Tolstoi head-end and the ICBN will continue to be used for the reception and delivery of KGFE (PBS) Grand Forks and WDAZ-TV (ABC) Devil's Lake, North Dakota. In the case of certain undertakings, the ICBN will also be used for the delivery of the two CANCOM signals herein approved.
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Based on the technical evidence available to it at the hearing, including the results of monitoring programs conducted by the applicants and the assessment provided by the Department of Communications, the Commission agrees with the applicants that there are serious and persistent problems with the technical quality and reliability of the North Dakota CBS and NBC network signals, as received at the Tolstoi head-end site. The existence of these problems was also supported by evidence of dissatisfaction on the part of Manitoba cable subscribers with the quality of these signals as revealed by a number of surveys which were submitted with the applications. The Commission is confident that the replacement of the technically deficient North Dakota signals by the CBS and NBC network signals distributed by CANCOM will improve the reliability and the quality of service provided to subscribers.
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Since 1981, the cost of delivering the North Dakota signals to rural cable systems in Manitoba via the ICBN has been subsidized by the two Winnipeg cable television licensees at the rate of 25¢ per Winnipeg subscriber per month. At the hearing both Winnipeg Videon and Greater Winnipeg Cablevision Limited confirmed that these subsidy arrangements will continue.
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With the exception of Winnipeg Videon, none of the applicants will require any increase in monthly subscriber fees to add the CANCOM signals. This is because the Manitoba Telephone System has agreed to reduce its ICBN charges to each of the rural cable operators by an amount equal to the payment that these operators will make to CANCOM for the provision of two signals. The authorized monthly subscriber fees for the rural systems currently range between $8.70 and $15.00.
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In the case of Winnipeg Videon, the Commission approves an amendment to the licence for this undertaking by increasing the maximum monthly subscriber fee from $6.34 to $6.73. This fee increase of $0.39 may only be charged to subscribers at such time as the two CANCOM services are available to them. The 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.
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In its deliberations with respect to these applications, the Commission has considered the views of interveners, including several individuals, that replacement of the North Dakota television signals by CANCOM services from Detroit would deprive Manitoba cable subscribers of programming which is generally of greater relevance to their needs than programming originating in Detroit, and that the applications did not adequately take into account the community of interest which exists between the residents of Manitoba and North Dakota. On balance, however, the Commission finds that these concerns are outweighed by the concerns regarding the poor technical quality of the NBC and CBS network signals from North Dakota. The Commission is also satisfied that the CANCOM services provide an effective solution to these problems.
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The Commission acknowledges the interventions submitted by the CTV Television Network Ltd. (CTV), the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and others, regarding the importation by Canadian satellite of distant U.S. signals. Most of the concerns raised by these interveners have been addressed by the Commission in previous decisions, including Decision CRTC 83-126 which authorized CANCOM to carry the 3+1 U.S. signals and Decision CRTC 84-915 which approved applications by cable television licensees in Saskatchewan to replace North Dakota signals with those from Detroit.
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During the hearing, CTV reiterated its concern with respect to the adverse economic impact which the expanding audience of the Detroit stations could have on the potential revenues that Canadian broadcasters derive from advertising placed by multinational companies. Based on the evidence available, and taking into account such factors as the size and dispersed nature of the Canadian audience for CANCOM's U.S. services in comparison with their much larger American audiences in the Detroit area, the impact and effectiveness of simultaneous signal substitution requirements in Canada, and the fact that CANCOM's services are only available on cable, the Commission is satisfied that approval of these applications will not unduly alter the present status of these stations. Moreover, given the fact that multinational advertisers have traditionally chosen to conduct separate campaigns in the two countries, the Commission is not persuaded that the concerns with regard to the distribution of the two Detroit network signals in Manitoba are justified. The Commission, however, will continue to follow the situation closely.
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Concerns such as those raised by CTV continue to be carefully examined by the Commission in considering applications for the exhibition of the CANCOM 3+1 signals in markets other than "core", taking into account, on a case-by-case basis, the size of each market as well as the range and quality of services available. Applicants claiming exceptional circumstances will continue to be required to substantiate such claims based on clear evidence.
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The Commission has also taken note of the views expressed in the intervention by the Government of Manitoba regarding CANCOM's fee structure.
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Fernand Bélisle
Secretary General
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