Television Retransmission Tariff, 2014-2018

Summary#

The Canada Gazette published the Television Retransmission Tariff, 2014-2018, which sets the royalties that retransmitters must pay for carrying distant television signals and describes how those fees are reported and shared among rights‑holder groups. In practice it fixes flat fees for very small systems, monthly per‑premises rates for larger systems, discounts for certain markets and premises types, and how money is split between collective societies.

What it does#

• Sets a flat annual royalty for very small systems and some uns­crambled services:
  • Small retransmission systems and uns­crambled LPTV/MDS: $100 per year.
• Sets monthly per‑premises royalties for other retransmitters based on system size. The published rates range from $0.49 per premises per month (2014, smallest tier) to $1.38 per premises per month (2018, largest tier).
• Gives reduced rates and specific discounts:
  • Francophone markets: pay 50% of the usual rate in many cases.
  • A TVA-only distant signal can get a 95% reduction if certain CRTC conditions are met and the system is not in a Francophone market.
  • “Duplicate” network distant signals: reductions of 75% (one signal) or 50% (two or more), with different percentages where TVA also applies.
  • Non‑residential premises discounts: hospitals and health care rooms 75%, schools 75%, hotels 40%.
• Specifies how the collected royalties are divided among collective societies. Major shares (examples):
  • Copyright Collective of Canada (CCC): about 53% (2014–15) rising to 54.13% (2016–18).
  • Canadian Retransmission Collective (CRC): 14.85% (2014–15) to 16.10% (2016–18).
  • Canadian Broadcasters Rights Agency (CBRA) and Canadian Retransmission Right Association (CRRA) receive notable portions (CBRA ~13.50% then ~10.72%; CRRA ~9.76% then ~10.65%).
• Requires retransmitters to report system details and subscriber counts to the collective societies. Reports are due as of December 31 each year and must be provided by January 31 of the following year, and updated when royalties are calculated.
• Includes transitional and reallocation rules (payment and interest rules, and reallocation deadlines) that reference a settlement date of September 30, 2019 and reallocation deadlines no later than January 31, 2020.

Who's affected#

• Retransmitters such as cable operators, master antenna systems, DTH (direct‑to‑home satellite systems), LPTV (low/very low power TV), and MDS (multichannel multipoint distribution systems).
• Collective societies listed in the tariff (for example Copyright Collective of Canada (CCC), Canadian Retransmission Collective (CRC), Canadian Broadcasters Rights Agency (CBRA), Canadian Retransmission Right Association (CRRA), SOCAN, and others).
• Premises that receive retransmitted distant signals: private homes, hotels, hospitals and other health‑care rooms, schools and educational institutions — some of these get reduced royalty rates.
• Indirectly, subscribers or customers of retransmission services could be affected if operators adjust prices because of these fees.

If it is unclear whether a specific small or specialized operator is covered, the tariff’s definitions and the CRTC maps (referred to in the tariff) determine coverage.

Why it matters#

• It determines how much retransmitters must pay for carrying distant TV channels. That affects the operating cost of local cable and satellite services and master antenna systems.
• The mix of flat fees, per‑premises rates and discounts changes the economics for very small rural systems versus larger providers. Small systems pay a modest $100 annual fee, while larger systems pay a per‑premises monthly amount that grows with system size and year.
• The allocation rules decide which rights‑holder groups get paid the most. That shapes who benefits from retransmission revenues (for example, the CCC receives the largest share).
• Reporting and record‑keeping rules create administrative work for retransmitters.
• The tariff covers the years 2014–2018 and includes transitional payment and reallocation steps with past settlement and reallocation deadlines; the document therefore formalizes how historical royalties for those years are calculated and distributed. If you need to know whether a particular system or payment was affected, the tariff’s definitions and the listed deadlines are the authoritative source.