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Ottawa, 30 September 1986
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Decision CRTC 86-969
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Vidéotron Ltée
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Quebec City, Lévis and adjacent communities, Quebec - 860391200 - 861043800
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Following public hearings in Sainte-Foy, Quebec on 16 June 1986 and Hull, Quebec on 17 June 1986, the Commission renews the licence for the broadcasting receiving undertaking serving Quebec City and adjacent communities. It also approves the application to amend this licence by changing the authorized service area by consolidating under the same licence the currently authorized service areas of Quebec City and Lévis and adjacent communities.
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The Commission will issue a Class 1 licence to Vidéotron Ltée (Vidéotron) for the period of 1 October 1986 to 30 September 1990. The operation of this undertaking will be regulated pursuant to Parts I and II of the Cable Television Regulations, 1986 (the regulations) (SOR/86-831 dated 1 August 1986) and the licence will be subject to the conditions specified in this decision and in the licence to be issued.
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The Department of Communications (DOC) has advised the Commission that it is prepared to renew the Technical Construction and Operating Certificate for a period of only three years, expiring 30 September 1989. Accordingly, approval of the renewal granted herein beyond that date, to 30 September 1990, is subject to the receipt of further technical certification from the DOC.
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The Commission notes that, as a result of the approval of the proposed consolidation, no further action is necessary on the Vidéotron renewal application for Lévis and adjacent communities (860382100), which was scheduled for consideration at the Sainte-Foy public hearing. This licence will, therefore, expire on 30 September 1986.
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With respect to the proposed amalgamation of licences, the licensee indicated at the hearing in Hull that its purpose was mainly: [TRANSLATION] "to reduce the volume of administrative procedures, as much for the Commission as for us at Vidéotron, without compromising the quality of service - on the contrary". The licensee pointed out, among other things, that the programming services offered subscribers were almost identical in all of the areas to be amalgamated since they originate with Intervision Québec and also that it charged its subscribers a uniform monthly fee. Further, the licensee said that it has no intention of changing its present policy of decentralization with respect to community programming and subscriber services.
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With respect to audio programming services, the licensee is reminded that, pursuant to section 16 of the regulations, it must distribute all the mandatory audio programming services, including local AM stations. The Commission notes, in this regard, that in Public Notice CRTC 1986-182 dated 1 August 1986, which announced the new regulations, it stated:
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The Commission recognizes that the mandatory carriage of all local stations will create problems of spectrum availability in some major urban areas...in those instances where major problems relating to spectrum availability do arise, licensees may apply for a condition of licence to modify the priority carriage requirements.
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The Commission recognizes that the problem of spectrum availability may arise in the Metropolitan Quebec City area, particularly if all of the local AM stations are distributed throughout the territory amalgamated under the new licence. If such is the case, the licensee should submit to the Commission as soon as possible an application for exemption from section 16 of the regulations, specifying which stations it would not be able to distribute in all or part of its authorized service area.
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The licensee has also proposed to continue the distribution of a number of alpha-numeric and special programming services. In accordance with the regulations, the licensee may distribute any alpha-numeric service without further Commission authorization. The licensee is authorized to continue the distribution of the following special programming services, without advertising material: Loto-Québec lottery results, television listings, Télé-éducative, Arts and Entertainment, Télé-fonctionnaires, Sports and Leisure, and Télé des Jeunes. It is authorized to distribute French Television Programming (TVFQ-99) on the basic service.
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Because of its special programming and alpha-numeric services, Vidéotron offers a wide range of very diversified, quality services. The licensee stated at the hearing that these play an important role in the development of this undertaking and that it intends to increase both the quantity and quality of these services. The Commission has noted, among other things, the licensee's plans to improve the Arts and Entertainment service through enhanced coverage of local artistic and cultural events. It also plans to increase both the quantity and quality of the "Télé des Jeunes" service.
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The Commission has taken note of the concerns expressed at the Hull hearing by the Syndicat des employés de Vidéotron SCFP, Local 2815, regarding community programming and invites the licensee to examine the breakdown of its programming expenditures to ensure that the resources it allocates to community programming and to special programming services are so divided as to permit the production of quality community programming based on the principle of public access. The Commission also expects that the amalgamation of licences herein authorized will not lead to a reduction in the community programming services currently available, particularly through the merger of adjacent production centres. In this regard, Vidéotron is expected to file annual reports with the Commission describing in general terms the programming and the human, financial and technical resources that it has allocated at each production centre.
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The licensee is authorized to charge its subscribers a maximum basic monthly fee of $13.66 for the delivery of programming services on its basic service. This amount forms the base portion of the basic monthly fee for the purpose of section 18 of the regulations.
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It is a condition of licence that the licensee delete commercial messages from television signals received from broadcasting stations not licensed to serve Canada and substitute suitable replacement material in place of such messages upon receipt of notice in writing from the Commission.
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The Commission has taken note of the written intervention submitted by the Municipal Corporation of the Town of Saint-Charles in support of Vidéotron's application for renewal of its licence.
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Fernand Bélisle
Secretary General
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