Montreal: Behind closed doors, the three major broadcaster groups behind 18 new French-language specialty channels agree the market can bear no more than three, a maximum of five, additional services. But when the primary promoters – Groupe tva, Radio-Canada and Premier Choix Networks-Radiomutuel – take the stand at crtc hearings here Dec. 7, much of this off-the-record candor may no longer exist.

‘We have to be realistic and we have to be responsible as an industry and we shouldn’t issue more licences than the market can bear,’ says Daniel Lamarre, president and ceo of Groupe tva.

‘We’re not going to have 17 new specialty channels in the province of Quebec,’ says Lamarre. ‘If the outcome is three or four new specialties, I think the situation will be ideal for everyone.’

The promoters are competing for licences in the history, travel and business categories with other format proposals for family entertainment, justice, science and technology, comedy and arts. Four proposals include partnerships with English-language specialty broadcasters – in drama, history, home and garden, and religion.

The apftq producers association has raised various concerns including the virtual monopoly position of the cable companies. The producers say it’s essential cable is not allowed to use access negotiations to favor its own affiliated services, and the apftq wants subscriber rates to reflect sustainable and meaningful Canadian and independent program commitments.

Pointing to Bell Satellite’s 20% to 40% share in two src proposals – and Bell’s promise to universally distribute both on ExpressVu – the apftq says the crtc should not issue licences to services with direct bdu ownership, at least under the present circumstances.

The producers are also demanding a 25% overall cap on specialty programming from broadcast affiliates, a specific reference to JPL Productions, owned by tva.

There are currently 11 French-language specialty channels in this market.

Services launched in fall ’97 (Teletoon, Musimax, Canal Vie and Le Canal Nouvelles) have an 83% penetration rate. However, the general consensus is that any new fall ’99 or January 2000 launches are likely to be limited to 65%-70% penetration.

Confronted with 10 or 15 new licences, stunned cable companies are likely to ‘go ballistic,’ says Lamarre.

Jean-Paul Galarneau, gm, communications at Videotron, says modernization will be completed in late ’99 and early 2000. At that point the Videotron system will have ‘full digital capacity,’ with the possibility of ‘a maximum of three’ new analog channels. Digital capacity refers only to ready-to-install dvc box status.

Galarneau says he’s been keeping a low profile on the specialty issue, ‘because between you and me I don’t have any space available. Today everything is full. The real solution as far as we are concerned is [digital] video compression.’

Videotron plans to ask the crtc to issue analog licences to all 18 specialty applicants, ‘and find a creative way with the marketing people to market these new [dvc] services.’

Galarneau says ‘there’ll be problems’ if the crtc promptly licenses five new French-language services. ‘There is no room right now. This is our position.’

If there is a lack of channel capacity, the Specialty and Premium Television Association wants preferential treatment for new French-track licencees, including delisting for the more recent English-language services in Quebec – Sportsnet and Space: The Imagination Station.

Galarneau says forget it.

‘Don’t try to take off an English-language service in Montreal,’ he says. ‘When we tried to take off pbs we had more complaints from francophones than anglophones. We just deleted Vision tv this year and we had to put it back.’

Galarneau says sptv’s proposal undermines Videotron’s competitiveness vis-a-vis ExpressVu (dth) and Look tv (microwave). Secondly, he says, the strong demand for the newer English services mainly comes from francophone subscribers.

‘We’ve had so much demand for Sportsnet from French Canadians,’ says Galarneau. ‘The market dynamic has changed and if I don’t provide Sportsnet and Space, ExpressVu and Look tv will say, `We have it.’ Am I going to lose clients to give them to my competitor?’