In the wake of the crtc’s ground-breaking Eligible Services Lists decision, vision.com is expected to announce a third tier of specialty services complete with new u.s. cable channels before the end of the month.

Officially, the marketing plan is being cited for the delay to Oct. 17 of the new package launch. But more likely the cause is the inking of distribution deals with some of the 19 new American networks granted access to the Canadian market last month in a commission decision which left broadcasters and cablecasters on the whole, stunned. ‘Genuinely flabbergasted is about right,’ says Life Network and HGTV Canada president Juris Silkans. Discovery Channel president Trina McQueen concurs, but says in the aftermath, she’s more ‘discouraged and confused.’

The decision is being widely heralded as a reversal of the long-standing regulatory philosophy that Canadian initiatives take precedence over foreign fly-ins and is leaving behind questions about what the rules are.

‘We take on cultural obligations which may not be in the best interest of the business plan,’ says McQueen. ‘In return, we believe the system licenses a supportive structure. I don’t understand now what the policy framework is or what is expected from the Canadian specialty channels.’

The issue will surface in November when crtc hearings incorporate a discussion of how to calibrate Canadian programming commitments in an escalating competitive environment.

At the other end of the spectrum, flabbergasted but ecstatic, are the cablecos which are limited only by tiering and linkage rules in terms of which channels they can add to the analog system. Speculation has it there may be as many as four u.s. services in the pack along with Global Television Network’s Prime tv, which at Playback press time was back at the negotiating table.

Likely suspects from the u.s. list include Black Entertainment Television, a stripcom and music video service Rogers Communications is already on the record supporting. Given the cablecos’ emphasis on brand identity, the Golf Channel may be a priority, although all is grist for the rumor mill until vision.com makes an announcement as early as the week of Aug. 25. Family Channel may add to the lineup, pulled out of the pay package and into the tier.

Among the conundrums triggered by the Eligible Services Lists decision is the status of the approximately two dozen new specialty channel applications ­ 12 English-language and 12 French-language ­ either already filed or in process to meet the Sept. 30 deadline for submissions.

Discovery’s parent company NetStar Communications is pitching for the Health Network. America’s Health Network made the list. ‘Then they have to decide whether to license two of the same type of service? I don’t know how this works and we’re back to the major issue which is policy framework,’ says McQueen.

Also potentially hampered by the decision is Life’s long-term expansion strategy via agreements with Television Food Network, FiT tv and America’s Health Network.

In play before the decision were deals for Life to be the ‘exclusive agent’ for all three nets, meaning Life, believing the u.s. add-ons would be limited to digital distribution, supported the Canadian Cable Television Association’s pitch to get them added to the lists. In return, when Life received licences for its own food, fitness and health networks, the on-air American services would take a one-third equity in the Canadian channel and a program supply arrangement, thereby converting the u.s. services to Canadian services and avoiding a Country Music Television type debacle.

The arrangement sticks and Life’s applications will be filed by the end of September even though each of the three are able to go solo to the cablecos, says Silkans. ‘Their incentive is access to Canadian advertising which they won’t have as u.s. services here. The cable companies are offering them nothing or nominal amounts to be carried.’

As this particular drama evolves, the latest licensees are scrambling to complete an on-air package before the October launch.

At chum’s Space: The Imagination Station, Isme Bennie, the new director of programming and acquisitions for Space, says the major building blocks are already in place for the schedule including The X-Files, Star Treks (the original plus Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Dr. Who, Green Hornet, Batman and Dark Skies. Conan the Barbarian is the only first-window primetime property lined up to date, although negotiations are in process for several others.

Overall the schedule will run stripped series in weekday primetime, with feature films in the midnight slot and throughout primetime on the weekends. A daily documentary slot will be carved into primetime at 8 p.m. with one-offs examining ‘the unexplained.’ Planet Canada, a doc hour for Canadian product only, is tentatively scheduled for a three-play on Saturday and Sunday.

The time available for independent product is next to nil, leaving Diane B’ehme, manager of independent production for the chum group of stations, looking to greenlight productions for the 1998/99 season. The deadline for submissions is Dec. 1, 1997, with a quick turnaround promised in order to get in line for the April 1 ctcpf trigger. ‘It’s tough to get anything off the ground right now,’ says B’ehme. ‘There’s no money left in the system.’

Space is commissioning programs for three- to five-year runs with a number of plays along the Bravo! prototype (15 plays over five years; nine over three). Priority is series, miniseries and long-form projects of the sci-fi/speculation genre, says B’ehme. No magazine-type or children’s programming.

At Baton’s Outdoor Life, head of programming Suzanne Steeves says programming for the first quarter is about 80% wrapped up, with Outdoor Life in the u.s. accounting for much of the 70% of the schedule that will be foreign content in year one.

Deals are in the final stages of negotiations for two new Canadian series, with announcements expected before the end of August. Outdoor will be 30% Cancon in year one.

For the record, should Global’s Prime successfully navigate the cable gauntlet, the senior’s channel will invest 40% of its gross revenue in the acquisition and production of Canadian programs, projected at more than $60 million over a seven-year licence term. Of that $60 million, $50 million will go into independent production. In year one, $7 million will be spent on acquisition and production combined, with independent production accounting for $4.3 million.