ARCHIVED - Letter
This page has been archived on the Web
Information identified as archived on the Web is for reference, research or recordkeeping purposes. Archived Decisions, Notices and Orders (DNOs) remain in effect except to the extent they are amended or reversed by the Commission, a court, or the government. The text of archived information has not been altered or updated after the date of archiving. Changes to DNOs are published as “dashes” to the original DNO number. Web pages that are archived on the Web are not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards. As per the Communications Policy of the Government of Canada, you can request alternate formats by contacting us.
Ottawa, 31 March, 2009
By E-Mail
Our File No.: 8622-C151-200905102
Ms. Susan Wheeler
Vice President, Regulatory Affairs
Rogers Media
susan.wheeler@rci.rogers.com
Ms. Alyson J. Townsend
President and CEO
Canadian Cable Systems Alliance Inc.
atownsend@ccsa.cable.ca
Dear Mesdames:
Re: Canadian Cable Systems Alliance Inc. (CCSA) request for Final Offer Arbitration to resolve a commercial dispute between the CCSA and Rogers Sportsnet Inc. (Rogers)
On 25 March 2009, the Commission received a letter from Rogers requesting clarification on what issues will be dealt with in the expedited public hearing. Rogers proposed this could be achieved through a pre-hearing conference call between the CCSA, Rogers, and the Commission prior to filing of written submissions. Moreover, to accommodate this conference call and prepare its submission, Rogers requested that the Commission extend the filing deadline for submissions from 26 March 2009 to 2 April 2009 in respect of the expedited oral public hearing scheduled for 17 April 2009.
In its letter, Rogers also raised concerns with respect to confidentiality. Specifically, Rogers requested that sections relating to background and timelines for negotiations contained in the CCSA application and the Rogers’ reply not be placed on the public record and that any discussion at the oral hearing regarding Sportsnet’s wholesale rates be held in camera. Rogers noted section 12(5) of the Broadcast Distribution Regulations (the Regulations) and argued that the irreparable harm that could come to Sportsnet would outweigh the public interest in the release of the information in the public interest in these circumstances.
On 26 March 2009, the Commission received a letter from the CCSA indicating that it agreed to Rogers’ request to extend the filing deadline for submissions, provided the CCSA is accorded the same treatment and that the hearing date of 17 April 2009 remains in effect. In addition, the CCSA indicated that it was not opposed to Rogers’ specific requests for confidentiality, noting that it would follow the procedures outlined in Information Bulletin CRTC 2009-38.
In its letter, the CCSA opposed Rogers’ suggestion of a pre-hearing conference call on the grounds that it was inappropriate. The CCSA noted that the Commission had just recently denied the same request by Rogers in its 20 March 2009 letter. In addition, the CCSA was of the view that Rogers has had full and appropriate notice of the issues and that the issues were outlined in the CCSA’s submissions to date. The CCSA further stated that to sever decisions on the issues between a pre-hearing conference call and the expedited hearing would only ensure that the decision-makers do not hear the entire story.
As noted by Rogers in its letter, the Commission has already indicated that it “…expects to receive detailed memorandums, with supporting evidence, on the issues raised by the parties in their respective submissions already on the record which includes, but is not limited to, the issue of whether the Commission can and/or should set rates for Sportsnet’s signals and if so, what these rates should be”.
By way of clarification, the Commission notes that it intends to address, in this hearing, the following issues with respect to the Sportsnet primary signal, the Sportsnet regional signals, the Sportsnet HDTV signals and the Sportsnet signals in Francophone markets:
whether it can and/or should set rates, terms and conditions; and, if so
what these rates, terms and conditions should be; and
for what period of time any set rates, terms and conditions would be in force.
In light of the above, the Commission does not consider a pre-hearing conference call to be necessary. The Commission however considers it reasonable to extend the filing deadline for submissions from 26 March 2009 to 2 April 2009.
With respect to confidentiality, the Commission notes that pursuant to section 12(5) of the Regulations, information filed by the parties in this proceeding must be kept confidential unless the Commission determines that it would be in the public interest to do otherwise. The Commission considers, on a preliminary basis, that it is in the public interest to disclose the information that has been put on the record of this proceeding from the date of the process letter dated 18 March 2009. Should they wish to, each party has until 2 April 20009 at 5:00 p.m. (ET) to make representations to the Commission clearly stating why it considers that the disclosure of this information would be harmful to them and how this harm outweighs the public interest in disclosure. If it chooses to do so, each party will have until 3 April 2009 at 5:00 p.m. (ET) to reply to the other party’s representations.
In addition, during the course of the oral hearing, the parties may be required to make submissions that would disclose information of a confidential nature. In this event, the Commission will require that anyone who is not authorized to hear such information exit the room for the duration of the confidential submission. The Commission will suspend the audio feed as required. At the hearing, the Commission requests that parties notify the Commission before disclosing any confidential information in order for the Commission to make the necessary arrangements.
For the purposes of this proceeding, the Commission assumes that the CCSA has authority to represent its members. The Commission expects its decision to be binding on the CCSA members that the CCSA is authorized to represent in this proceeding. If the CCSA needs additional authorization, it should take any necessary measures to do so.
In light of the change in the deadline requirement for the filing of submissions (i.e., extended to 2 April), the Commission has revised the hearing date from 17 April to
24 April 2009.
Yours sincerely,
Original signed by
Robert. A. Morin
Secretary General
CC: G. Lylyk, CRTC,
gerald.lylyk@crtc.gc.ca
Ken Engelhart, Vice President Regulatory Law, RCI
ken.engelhart@rci.rogers.com
Aivy Reinfelds, VP Television Development and Distribution, RSN
Tony Viner, President, RSN,
Doug Beeforth, President, RSN
doug.beeforth@sportsnet.rogers.com
Chris Edwards, VP Corporate & Regulatory, CCSA
- Date modified: