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CRTC to review broadcast rules

The federal broadcast regulator plans to hold hearings next May to see if it has the proper rules in place for an industry in which cable and satellite distributors own broadcasting assets.

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission announced its intention yesterday after approving Shaw Communications Inc.'s $2-billion acquisition of TV assets belonging to Canwest Global Communications Corp.

The hearing is meant to address rules in an era of vertical integration in the broadcasting industry -- in which cable and satellite distributions are gobbling up broadcasters, as Shaw did with Canwest. Last month, BCE Inc., which operates a satellite distributor, shook things up further with its announced deal to buy CTV Inc.

Rogers Communications and Quebecor Inc. also own both cable and broadcasting assets.

The move by carriers to acquire broadcasters comes after years of feuding over whether the CRTC should impose a fee-for-carriage to help CTV and Canwest get a second source of revenue in an increasingly challenging environment.

During the Shaw-Canwest hearings, the CRTC said several parties intervened to express concern that "vertically integrated distributors have the potential to behave in an anti-competitive manner, to the detriment of the Canadian broadcasting industry."

In essence, the concern is that Shaw, for instance, may not make its Canwest programming readily available to its rivals, either through cable and satellite, or Internet and wireless, which is the growing trend. Further, Shaw may give "undue preference" to its programming over that of its rivals.

when they started talking about that tax , i called this , because all the damn TV stations are owned by the broadcasters here, it's just a nother f*&king money grab, f*&king @$$holes...

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