Carriage Dispute Procedure Update

Summary#

This final regulation updates the Broadcasting Distribution Regulations to point to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission’s newest dispute-resolution guidance, Broadcasting and Telecom Information Bulletin CRTC 2019-184. It says that, for certain carriage disputes where no commercial agreement exists, the Commission’s decided rates and terms apply from the day the service was first made available. The regulation came into force on April 8, 2021.

What it does#

• Replaces subsection 12(9) of the Broadcasting Distribution Regulations so that:
  • where a dispute is about the rates, terms or conditions (or any combination) for a programming service being distributed without a commercial agreement, the licensee must have that dispute resolved according to the procedural rules in Broadcasting and Telecom Information Bulletin CRTC 2019-184 (dated May 29, 2019).
  • the rates, terms and conditions the Commission sets in that dispute will apply starting the day the programming service was first made available to the distributor in the absence of a commercial agreement.
• Updates references so the Commission’s newer bulletin (CRTC 2019-184) replaces the earlier bulletin (CRTC 2013-637).
• Comes into force on the day the regulation was registered: April 8, 2021.

Who's affected#

• Broadcast distributors and licensees (for example, cable, satellite, or other authorized distributors) involved in carriage disputes where there is no signed commercial agreement.
• Providers of programming services (channels or content owners) who are being carried without a commercial agreement.
• The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, which will use its updated bulletin to handle these disputes.
• Consumers are not directly named, but carriage decisions or financial outcomes of disputes could indirectly affect what channels are carried or the costs for distributors.

Why it matters#

• It makes clear which CRTC dispute process applies when a channel or service is being carried without a contract. That reduces uncertainty about procedure.
• It can create retroactive financial consequences: the Commission’s decided rates and terms apply back to the first day the service was offered to the distributor without a contract. That could mean back payments or refunds for distributors or revenues for service providers.
• By updating the reference to the newer bulletin, the rule aligns the regulations with the Commission’s current practices rather than the older guidance it replaced.