CRTC restrictions lifted

[diane_phaneuf]

According to this article in the Globe and Mail
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servl...ts/Television/

CRTC unshackles TSN, Sportsnet

The sports television landscape changed dramatically yesterday when the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission released new policies on broadcasting.

The new rules will eliminate regulatory constraints on TSN and Rogers Sportsnet.

TSN, a national service, will be able to air as much regional content as it wishes. Sportsnet, a regional service, could, if it chooses, carry an unlimited amount of national programming.

"We basically get to play in the same sandbox," said Phil Lind, vice-chairman of Rogers Communications, which owns Sportsnet.

The rule changes, many of which will kick in next year, would allow TSN, if it wanted, to compete with Sportsnet for NHL regional TV rights.

Sportsnet wins big because it will be able to negotiate its cable fee with distributors. Currently, the CRTC decides how much money Sportsnet charges cable and satellite companies. Sportsnet is required to charge less than $1 a month for each subscriber. TSN's fee is about $1.40.

"The new rules level the playing field between the two sides, and that's the one thing we really did want," Lind said.

Ken Englehart, vice-president of regulatory affairs for Rogers, said: "The cable and satellite companies no longer have to carry us and we no longer have to give them our service. So we get to have a free market negotiation with them as to our rates."

The CRTC's move to deregulate appears to affect mostly TSN and Sportsnet. The Score remains protected as a news headline service.

John Levy, chairman and chief executive officer of Score Media, said he was thrilled by that decision.

"It allows us to continue with what we do," he said.

Many elements of the CRTC decision were not explained adequately in a news release, television executives said. However, it is clear that the sports channels are protected from major U.S. services such as ESPN. They're not coming into Canada.

It is believed the removal of genre protections will allow channels such as TSN and Sportsnet to expand programming to include sports movies and original dramas.

Deregulation will probably make it possible for companies such as Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment to start general-interest sports services.

The CBC, which was given a licence for a sports channel that would carry no more than 30 per cent live professional sports content, could perhaps air 100 per cent professional sports.

Basically means people in Alberta will be able to watch Leafs and Senator games on Sportsnet Ontario and vice versa with the other provinces.

People who ordered center ice should get a refund.

[browna]

Originally Posted by diane_phaneuf

People who ordered center ice should get a refund.

Since it can't kick in until 2009, and, the broadcasters still actually have to decide to put a plan in place..surely their not going to just unblock those regional games to the rest of the country come January 1st. They'll first set up a fee structure and get as much as they can out of the cable companies before they flick any switch to allow the current regional programming to be seen cross country..

What is also mean is that Ted Rogers is going demand more peice of the pie and charge more then his $1 per subscriber when dealing with the cable/sat companies...who will happily pass that onto the consumer.
And, there will be increased competition, which will likely increase bidding and rates, and again, recovering those incremental costs are likely to be passed on by those two networks, to subscribers.

It could I guess mean more money to the CFL/NHL with the increased chances of SPortnert able to go national, and CBC having a full Sportsnetowrk wide open to whatever they want to bid on, but as I said, most of those costs are passed on to you and I.

[corporatejay]

Basically means people in Alberta will be able to watch Leafs and Senator games on Sportsnet Ontario and vice versa with the other provinces.

People who ordered center ice should get a refund.

I don't think that's what it means. What it means is that they can apply for licenses that allow them to do either/or...not that they can broadcast to the whole country.

[flip]

Thank god. Not sure if Center Ice people should get a refund. You still get about 200 other games per season that us regulars can't get.

I've always wondered how I pay for all four sportsnet channels yet I only get to enjoy the content from one of them. Seemed to me like I was getting screwed.

Hmmm. and it appears TSN can show sports movies now if they so choose.

Edit: If CJ is right then this is still bunk. I hate it that I get ripped off so bad by stupid Sportsnet and the NHL. If I pay for the damn channel I should be able to view all of its content. That should be illegal to ever blackout a program except for if it is in your hometown (like the CFL sometimes does).

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by diane_phaneuf

Basically means people in Alberta will be able to watch Leafs and Senator games on Sportsnet Ontario and vice versa with the other provinces.

People who ordered center ice should get a refund.

Nope. Regional restrictions are based on the contracts with the NHL. Has absolutely nothing to do with CRTC regulations. You still need to buy Centre Ice if you want to watch the Leafs and Sens lose on Sportsnet.

[diane_phaneuf]

The current Canucks game is being watched by people in Ontario with sportsnet pacific.

Sportsnet seems to have started this allready.

The Canucks game against the Wild was also available to people throughout Canada on sportsnet pacific

[Machiavelli]

^ It's not working for me, and I'm in Ontario.

[diane_phaneuf]

Originally Posted by Machiavelli

^ It's not working for me, and I'm in Ontario.

Weird someone on the Canucks board isnt saying the truth, thats where i got that. My bad if its false

[getbak]

That story is from October 31, and says the CRTC announced the changes the day before. This is the only seemingly related announcement on the CRTC's website from October 30: http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/NEWS/RELEA...08/r081030.htm


Here is the section that relates to TSN and Sportsnet:

2. Pay and specialty services
Competition in mainstream sports and national news

The Commission will permit direct competition between Canadian services in mainstream sports and national news. Existing services in these genres have achieved maturity: they are strong, healthy, popular and highly competitive despite the differences in their programming. They have also established brands that are attractive to consumers and instantly recognizable.

Previously, pay and specialty services were granted guaranteed access to the broadcasting system and not allowed to compete directly with one another. This policy was designed to encourage a diversity of programming genres and to ensure that these services could contribute to the creation of Canadian programming. The Commission considers that the provisions of guaranteed access and genre protection are no longer necessary for mainstream sports and national news services to achieve these objectives.

In the future, the CRTC will consider opening other genres to competition by examining the following criteria:

* the economic health of existing services, based on profitability and revenues
* the popularity of existing services, based on brand recognition as well as audience and subscriber information
* the availability of programming
* the current diversity within a given genre, and
* the consequences that might result from the introduction of competition.

Increased programming flexibility

The Commission has simplified and streamlined the rules that apply to pay and specialty services. These services will now be able to draw programming from all program categories. However, the Commission has set limits on certain categories to prevent a service from transforming itself and competing directly with another service. During each broadcast month, no more than 10% of their programming may be drawn from the categories of theatrical feature films, professional sports and music, among others.

It looks like someone at the Globe and Mail did a lot of reading between the lines and made assumptions that don't appear to be in the CRTC's announcement.

From what's actually written in the CRTC's announcement, it means that TSN and Sportsnet will be looked upon as competing services in the eyes of the CRTC. For the last 10 years, they've been treated as serving similar but different audiences - i.e. TSN is a national broadcaster providing sports programming to a national audience, and Sportsnet is a regional broadcaster providing programming that is unique to each region.

The reality is that in the past, TSN has shown Leafs games to the Southern Ontario market only, while showing something else to the national market. Also, the bulk of the programming on Sportsnet is the same nationwide (the only difference may be different start times for some shows), with the NHL regional broadcasts being the only truly "regional" programming they offer. When they first started, they used to show a lot more region-specific programming, like WHL games, but that seems to have disappeared over the years.


From what I see in the CRTC's announcement, TSN and Sportsnet will now be on the same playing field. What it really means is what it mentions in the story, Sportsnet will not be a "must carry" on cable systems, and they will be free to negotiate their price with each cable/satellite company.

From a viewer's perspective, I don't expect anything to change (except possibly a price increase for those who want to subscribe to Sportsnet). TSN had always been free to carry regional broadcasts (and it has in the past when it was the regional home of the Leafs); and Sportsnet had always been free to carry national broadcasts (as it did when it held the national NHL rights for a few years, and like it does with NFL and MLB games).

Ironically, the G&M story says that The Score should not be affected, but I'd think that they could be changed the most because this ruling would seem to imply that they could petition the CRTC to increase the amount of live sports they're allowed to carry (which right now is very limited).



I don't know where the idea that regional broadcasts would no longer be subject to regional limits came from, there's nothing even implied in either the G&M story or the CRTC announcement that would lead anyone to make that conclusion.

The regional contracts are between the broadcaster and the NHL team, and there's nothing the CRTC can do to change that. The NHL makes more money from Center Ice than it would from allowing regional games to be shown nationwide, so there's no way they would allow it.