CRTC opts for 1-year licences to monitor new TV services
Canada’s broadcast regulator is cutting licence renewal periods for most TV service providers to one year so it can keep a watchful eye over the implementation of mandated new viewing options, including the full à la carte channel selection to be rolled out by Dec 1.
“The service providers’ actions . . . will be closely monitored in the year to come” to ensure they conform to “best practices,” the Gatineau-based Canadian Radiotelevision and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) announced Monday.
Providers will be expected to “keep their offers simple and transparent; offer deals and discounts regardless of the entry-level package selected; provide online tools allowing subscribers to easily add or remove channels; and offer different options to obtain a set-top box.”
The CRTC has also said it is renewing licenses for most providers for the year, rather than the typical seven-year term.
“This will enable the CRTC to closely monitor the TV providers’ practices as they implement the new TV choices,” the regulator said. The announcement follows a CRTC public hearing in September over the launch of basic cable packages mandated by the regulator as part of an update of its rules governing the broadcasting sector, unveiled in March 2015.
The CRTC has jurisdiction over which channels broadcast distributors must offer and is licensing agent for the service providers.
Consumer groups at the hearing said some providers were reluctant to promote the low-cost basic package and criticized Bell in particular for demanding that its fibre optic TV customers in Ontario and Quebec also sign up for its Internet service, a requirement Bell has dropped.
The CRTC said consumers are encouraged to shop around if their service provider’s offers don’t meet their needs or budget. As of Mar. 1 all licensed television service providers were compelled to offer a basic package priced at no more than $25 a month.
As of that date, TV service providers have also been required to offer channels individually or in packages of up to 10. Starting next month, providers will have to offer both pick-and-pay and small packages.
“Canadians will have greater flexibility in choosing how they subscribe to TV services,” CRTC chair Jean-Pierre Blais said in a statement.