Television Retransmission Tariff 2014-2018

Summary#

This is the Television Retransmission Tariff, 2014-2018 issued by the Copyright Board and published on September 26, 2026. It sets the royalties retransmitters must pay for carrying distant television signals from 2014 through 2018, plus rules on discounts, reporting, audits and how the money is split among collective societies.

What it does#

• Sets a flat annual royalty of $100 for a small retransmission system (and for uns‑scrambled LPTV and MDS systems). Payment timing rules are included.
• For other retransmission systems it sets monthly per‑premises rates that depend on how many premises the system serves and the year. Example rates:
  • Up to 1,500 premises: $0.49 (2014) up to $0.81 (2018) per premise per month.
  • 6,001 and over premises: $1.06 (2014) up to $1.38 (2018) per premise per month.
• Provides reduced rates or discounts in specific situations:
  • Francophone markets pay 50% of the regular rate for certain systems and services.
  • A TVA distant signal can get a 95% reduction for systems meeting specified conditions.
  • “Duplicate” network distant signals get reductions (typically 75% off for one such signal, 50% for two or more; adjusted to 70%/45% when combined with TVA rules).
  • Certain non‑residential premises get discounts: hospital and health‑care rooms 75%, hotel rooms 40%, and schools/educational rooms 75%.
• Specifies how collected royalties are divided among named collective societies (examples):
  • Copyright Collective of Canada (CCC) gets 53.38% of the pot for 2014–2015 and 54.13% for 2016–2018.
  • Other named societies get the remaining percentages (listed in the tariff).
• Requires retransmitters to report detailed information about their systems and subscribers. Annual data is to be supplied as of December 31 and provided by January 31 of the following year. Updates must be submitted whenever royalties are calculated.
• Requires retransmitters to keep records until December 31, 2027 and allows collective societies to audit those records (with rules on timing and cost recovery if large understatements are found).
• Late or additional payments carry interest. Normal late interest is calculated daily at the Bank Rate + 1%, not compounded. A special settlement regime for “additional royalties” assigns a payment deadline of November 30, 2026 and interest rules for amounts due before that date.
• Appendix A lists the collective societies entitled to these royalties and contact details.

Who's affected#

• Operators that retransmit television signals: cable companies, master antenna systems, DTH (direct‑to‑home satellite providers), LPTV operators, MDS operators and other retransmitters.
• The collective societies named in Appendix A, including Border Broadcasters Inc. (BBI), Canadian Broadcasters Rights Agency (CBRA), Copyright Collective of Canada (CCC), Canadian Retransmission Collective (CRC), Canadian Retransmission Right Association (CRRA), Direct Response Television Collective Inc. (DRTVC), FWS Joint Sports Claimants Inc. (FWS), Major League Baseball Collective of Canada Inc. (MLB), and SOCAN — these groups receive the royalty allocations.
• Premises that receive retransmitted distant signals (residential buildings, hotels, hospitals, schools) are identified for discount purposes.
• It is not directly clear from the tariff whether and how much any extra cost would be passed on to individual TV subscribers.

Why it matters#

• This tariff fixes what retransmitters owe for carrying distant TV signals from 2014–2018, so it determines revenue flowing to creators and rights‑holders represented by the collective societies.
• The rates, discounts and recordkeeping rules affect the administrative burden and operating costs for small and large retransmitters. That can influence business decisions in small communities, master antenna systems and cable operators.
• The allocation percentages decide which rights‑holder groups get the lion’s share of the money, which matters to composers, broadcasters and program owners.
• The audit, reporting and interest rules create deadlines and possible financial consequences for retransmitters with outstanding or under‑reported amounts.