[LINK] "Sun News to CRTC: No guaranteed spot on the dial, no more network"

[rfmcdonald]

The previous item about Quebecor's problems gives context to Steve Rennie's Canadian Press article about the prospects of Quebecor's Sun News Network if it doesn't convince the CRTC to force cable carriers to carry the little-viewed station. (I found the article via James Nicoll.)

Sun News Network made its final pitch to the federal telecommunications regulator on Thursday, saying anything short of a guaranteed spot on the dial would spell the end of the channel.

[. . .]

Some at the CRTC hearings have suggested a “must-offer” designation — rather than mandatory carriage — would suffice for Sun News. Such a designation would only compel cable and satellite companies to make Sun News available to their customers, who could then choose whether or not to subscribe.

But Sun News executive Kory Teneycke says a must-offer licence isn’t good enough.

“Let us be very clear: a ‘must-offer’ licence would not have a meaningful impact on the current trajectory of Sun News and would inevitably lead to the closure of the station,” Teneycke said.

“Let me repeat: a ‘must-offer’ licence would be a death sentence.”

Mandatory carriage would generate significant revenue for the network, which is proposing that it would earn 18 cents a month from every household that subscribes to a basic cable or satellite package. That would help offset the network’s losses, which were $17 million in 2012 — a situation that Quebecor (TSX:QBR.B) calls “clearly unsustainable.”

Sun News says the current distribution agreements are inadequate to support the channel, which is only offered in 40 per cent of Canadian households. It says such distribution challenges also hurt advertising revenues.