ARCHIVED - Broadcasting Regulatory Policy CRTC 2011-328
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Route reference: 2011-164
Ottawa, 17 May 2011
Addition of Masala Television to the lists of eligible satellite services for distribution on a digital basis
The Commission approves a request to add Masala Television to the lists of eligible satellite services for distribution on a digital basis and amends the lists accordingly. The revised lists are available on the Commission’s website at www.crtc.gc.ca under “Broadcasting Sector.”
Introduction
1. The Commission received a request dated 18 January 2011 from Ethnic Channels Group Limited (ECGL) to add Masala Television (Masala TV) to the lists of eligible satellite services for distribution on a digital basis (the digital lists).
2. ECGL described Masala TV as an Urdu-language niche service that provides in-depth programming on South Asian-based cooking, as well as related lifestyle programming.
3. In Broadcasting Public Notice 2004-96, the Commission stated that requests to add non-Canadian general interest third-language services to the digital lists would generally be approved, subject to any requirement it deemed appropriate. 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 such services are partially or totally competitive with Canadian pay or specialty services.
4. Consistent with this approach, in Broadcasting Notice of Consultation 2011-164, the Commission called for comments on the proposed addition of Masala TV to the digital lists. The Commission stated that it would rely primarily on the comments filed to identify the Canadian pay and specialty services with which Masala TV might be totally or partially competitive and which therefore should be included in the assessment of the competitiveness of the service. The Commission also stated that parties wishing to argue that Masala TV should not be authorized for distribution in Canada should provide detailed support for their position.
5. The Commission did not receive any comments in response to Broadcasting Notice of Consultation 2011-164.
Commission’s analysis and determination
6. In the absence of opposing comments, the Commission concludes that there is no Canadian pay or specialty service with which Masala TV would compete. Consequently, the Commission approves the addition of Masala Television to the digital lists and amends the lists of eligible satellite services accordingly. 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
Related documents
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Call for comments on the addition of Masala Television to the lists of eligible satellite services for distribution on a digital basis, Broadcasting Notice of Consultation CRTC 2011-164, 8 March 2011
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Improving the diversity of third-language television services – A revised approach to assessing requests to add non-Canadian third-language television services to the lists of eligible satellite services for distribution on a digital basis, Broadcasting Public Notice CRTC 2004-96, 16 December 2004
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