Decision
CRTC 97-516
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Ottawa, 28 August 1997
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Vidéotron ltée
Chicoutimi, Quebec – 199703088
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Licence amendment
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Following Public Notice CRTC 1997-59 dated 16 May 1997, the Commission approves the application by Vidéotron ltée to be relieved from the requirement of subsection 10(1) of the Cable Television Regulations, 1986 (the regulations) to satisfy the requirements set out in section 9 if it wishes to distribute the pay-per-view service "Canal Indigo".
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The applicant indicated that it submitted its application in order to be able to offer, to a limited number of homes in its authorized service area, access to a terminal linked to its UBI electronic distribution network, without first requiring a subscription to basic service. The applicant added that its offering would only be available to those homes not already subscribing to cable service.
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Radio Saguenay ltée, licensee of CKRS-TV and CFRS-TV Jonquière, respectively affiliated to the CBC and TQS, submitted an intervention opposing Vidéotron ltée’s application. The intervener argued that approval of this application would result in a fragmentation of its audience, with a resulting loss of advertising revenues for its stations.
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The Commission is satisfied with the applicant’s reply to the intervention. It considers that approval of the application would not unduly affect existing services. The Commission also notes that the applicant’s proposal is consistent with Public Notice CRTC 1997-25 entitled New Regulatory Framework for Broadcasting Distribution Undertakings, wherein it stated that a distributor may offer subscribers pay-per-view services or VOD services without requiring them to purchase the distributor’s basic service.
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This decision is to be appended to the licence.
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Laura M. Talbot-Allan
Secretary General
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This document is available in alternative format upon request.
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