Canada court: Broadcasters can claim carriage fees
March 1, 2011
The Canadian Federal Court of Appeal has cleared the way for broadcasters to charge cable and satellite providers for carrying their programmes.
The CRTC had asked the court to rule on whether it had the right to establish a regime whereby broadcasters could attach a value to their signals. In a 2-1 ruling, the court said yes. Currently, cable and satellite companies carry network television programming without paying for it. Now, private broadcasters such as CTV and Global can begin negotiations with cable and satellite companies such as Rogers to determine rates.
The cable and satellite companies have warned that the extra costs will be passed on to consumers.