Television Retransmission Tariff 2014–2018

Summary#

This is the Television Retransmission Tariff, 2014-2018 published by the Copyright Board. It sets the royalties that people and companies who retransmit distant television signals in Canada must pay for the years 2014 through 2018, and sets reporting and record-keeping rules for those retransmitters.

What it does#

• Applies to any retransmitter that rebroadcasts one or more distant television signals carrying works controlled by the collective societies listed in Appendix A.
• Sets a flat annual fee of $100 for a “small retransmission system” (systems serving no more than 2 000 premises) and the same $100 annual fee for unscrumbled LPTV and unscrumbled MDS systems.
• For larger systems, requires a monthly royalty per premises. Examples from the tariff table:
  • For up to 1 500 premises, the monthly per-premises rate increases from $0.49 in 2014 to $0.81 in 2018.
  • For 6 001 and over premises, the monthly per-premises rate increases from $1.06 in 2014 to $1.38 in 2018.
• Provides specific discounts:
  • Francophone markets pay 50% of the normal rate for many services.
  • A 95% reduction for premises receiving only a TVA distant signal in systems retransmitting TVA to comply with a specific CRTC order (when the system is not in a Francophone market).
  • “Duplicate network” distant-signal discounts of 75% (for one duplicate signal) or 50% (for two or more).
  • Reduced royalties for certain non-residential premises: rooms in health-care facilities 75% off, hotel rooms 40% off, and rooms in schools/educational institutions 75% off.
• Specifies how collected royalties are split among collective societies. Example allocations:
  • For 2014–2015, Copyright Collective of Canada (CCC) gets 53.38%, Canadian Retransmission Collective (CRC) gets 14.85%, Canadian Broadcasters Rights Agency (CBRA) gets 13.50%, and others receive the rest.
  • For 2016–2018, the allocations change slightly (for example, CCC 54.13%, CRC 16.10%, CBRA 10.72%).
• Requires retransmitters to report system details and counts to each collective society. Annual reporting dates and deadlines:
  • Data is to be supplied as of December 31 of each year and provided by January 31 of the following year.
  • Retransmitters must update information whenever royalties are calculated and provide it by the payment due date.
• Sets record-keeping and audit rules. Retransmitters must keep records that collective societies can audit; many of the audit and record deadlines reference December 31, 2024.
• Defines interest and late-payment rules. Interest is calculated daily at a rate equal to 1% above the Bank Rate (as published by the Bank of Canada) and does not compound.
• Contains transitional and reallocation rules for differences between this tariff and an earlier “Interim Tariff,” including a settlement date of September 30, 2019 and reallocation payment deadlines not later than January 31, 2020.

Who's affected#

• Cable companies, master antenna operators, and other commercial retransmitters that rebroadcast distant TV signals.
• Small local systems that meet the “small retransmission system” definition (no more than 2 000 premises).
• Operators of LPTV (low-power television), MDS (multichannel multipoint distribution systems), and DTH (direct-to-home satellite) services.
• Owners/operators of buildings with many premises such as hotels, hospitals, and schools (they may qualify for discounted rates).
• The collective societies listed in Appendix A, including Copyright Collective of Canada (CCC), Canadian Retransmission Collective (CRC), Canadian Broadcasters Rights Agency (CBRA), Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN), Canadian Retransmission Right Association (CRRA), FWS Joint Sports Claimants Inc. (FWS), Border Broadcasters Inc. (BBI), Direct Response Television Collective Inc. (DRTVC), and Major League Baseball Collective of Canada Inc. (MLB) — they receive the redistributed royalties.
• Viewers and subscribers indirectly: changes in royalty charges can affect the costs or packaging decisions of service providers, though the tariff targets retransmitters rather than end users.

Why it matters#

• It determines how much money retransmitters must pay to rights-holders for broadcasting distant TV signals. That can influence the operating costs of small local systems and larger cable or satellite providers.
• Small operators pay a simple flat fee ($100), while larger operators face per-premises monthly charges that rise with system size and across the 2014–2018 period.
• The tariff includes several targeted discounts (Francophone markets, TVA, duplicate signals, and certain non-residential premises) that change who ultimately pays more or less.
• The allocation rules decide which groups of creators and rights-holders get most of the money; changes in allocation can shift revenue between collective societies.
• Reporting, record-keeping and audit provisions create administrative work for retransmitters and allow collective societies to verify payments.