ARCHIVED - Broadcasting Regulatory Policy CRTC 2010-839

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Route reference: 2010-684

Ottawa, 10 November 2010

Addition of 17 new language tracks to Baby TV, a service already included on the lists of eligible satellite services for distribution on a digital basis

The Commission approves a request to add 17 new language tracks to Baby TV, a
non-Canadian service already included on the lists of eligible satellite services for distribution on a digital basis. The lists are available on the Commission’s website at www.crtc.gc.ca under “Broadcasting Sector.”

Introduction

1.      The Commission received a request from TELUS Communications Company (TELUS) dated 29 June 2010 for the addition of 17 new language tracks to Baby TV, a non-Canadian service already included on the lists of eligible satellite services for distribution on a digital basis (the digital lists) as an English- and French-language service.

2.      TELUS described Baby TV as a 24-hour television channel dedicated to infants and toddlers under 3 years of age. Daytime programming consists of 2 to 8 minute episodes, which are educational and entertaining. Evening programming consists of soft music with gentle images providing a soothing atmosphere. English- and French-language versions of Baby TV were originally added to the digital lists in Broadcasting Public Notice 2007-8. With the addition of 17 new language tracks, the service will now also be offered to Canadian distributors in Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, German, Turkish, Arabic, Hebrew, Japanese, Mandarin, Polish, Bahasa, Dutch, Russian, Thai, Tagalog, Hindi and Punjabi using the secondary audio programming (SAP) track to deliver these languages.

3.      The Commission’s general approach to the addition of third-language non-Canadian services to the digital lists is set out in Broadcasting Public Notice 2004-96. In the case of non-Canadian third-language services that provide narrowly targeted or “niche” programming, the Commission stated that it would continue to apply a case-by-case assessment to determine whether a proposed service would be partially or totally competitive with Canadian pay or specialty services.

4.      In Broadcasting Notice of Consultation 2010-684, the Commission called for comments on the proposed addition of 17 new language tracks to Baby TV pursuant to the approach described above. The Commission stated that it would rely primarily on the comments filed to identify the Canadian pay and specialty services with which the 17 additional language tracks of Baby TV might be totally or partially competitive and which therefore should be included in the assessment of the competitiveness of the service. The Commission therefore asked that parties wishing to argue that these additional language tracks would be competitive to name the specific Canadian pay or specialty service or services with which they considered the service would compete and to provide details to support their views, such as comparisons as to nature and genre of service, programming schedule, programming sources and supply, and target audience.

Comments received

5.      The Commission received no comments in response to Broadcasting Notice of Consultation 2010-684.

Commission’s analysis and determinations

6.      In the absence of opposing comments, the Commission concludes that there is no Canadian pay or specialty service with which the 17 additional language tracks of Baby TV would compete. Accordingly, the Commission approves the addition of the 17 additional language tracks of Baby TV to the digital lists. The lists of eligible satellite services are available on the Commission’s website at www.crtc.gc.ca under “Broadcasting Sector” and may be obtained in hard copy on request.

Secretary General

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