It’s no surprise that all sides are talking tough ahead of the Oct. 24 CRTC hearings on new pay channels. What is perhaps unexpected is some of the opposition the proposed channels are facing.

Four applicants have made proposals for four new services – Spotlight Entertainment, the Canadian Film Channel put forth by Channel Zero, Allarco Entertainment, and Quebec-based Groupe Archambault, which is looking to launch an English/French service called BOOMTV.

If approved, a new service would break the pay-TV duopoly currently enjoyed by Astral Media’s The Movie Network in Eastern Canada and Corus Entertainment’s Movie Central in the west.

There were 454 interventions filed regarding the four licence applications -115 for Allarco, 82 for Groupe Archambault, 199 for the CFC and 58 for Spotlight.

Most expressed support, conditionally or unconditionally, for bringing in new licences, typically citing the potential for more distribution and increased money for Canadian production. Indie prodcos seem enthusiastic, with a wide range of outfits such as True West Films and Muse Entertainment lending their support.

The bulk of the opposition came from existing services, led by Astral and Corus, and focused on market inefficiencies which both said the new licensees would create.

John Riley, president of Astral, is optimistic that the CRTC will deny all of the proposed licences. ‘If you lay all the facts out on the table – the contributions that are made by the existing services and the realistic outcome of the introduction of duplicative services – it’s reasonable to conclude that there is no additional diversity and that there will be no increased contribution to production,’ he tells Playback.

Other broadcasters such as Global also submitted negative interventions. While Global is not directly involved in this licensing issue, the net pointed out that the CRTC has broadened the scope of the hearings to assess the impact of new licensees on other parties operating in broadcast.

Global’s concerns are typical of the opposition, and include the charge that new licensees will needlessly duplicate services, thus leading to higher prices for consumers and ultimately a weakening of all Canadian broadcasters.

Only one of a handful to do so, Barna-Alper Productions, one of the country’s largest indies, has also come out against the proposed licensees. In its intervention, president and CEO Laszlo Barna writes that licensing fees/equity investments paid by the existing services will go down and that the resources of the Canadian Television Fund and Telefilm Canada will be stretched too thin.

‘It is my opinion that the licensing of new pay TV outlets would hurt the system by further taxing the subsidies that support most Canadian productions,’ says Barna.

ACTRA, which is conditionally in favor of the new licences, also raised concerns, warning that the financing model for the all-Canuck CFC is ‘challenging.’ The union also expresses fear that the service may lead to a ghettoization of Canadian content on a channel no one would watch.

‘This would be particularly the case if launching this service provides a rationale for the existing Pay TV licensees to put pressure on the Commission to reduce their own Canadian content time and expenditure commitments, since they would be funding the Canadian Film Channel from their revenues,’ writes ACTRA.

CFC’s application calls for the monthly requisitioning of 12.9% of gross revenues from both Corus and Astral. The proposed channel would produce 10 Canadian films annually, each budgeted at $500,000.

The other services all propose varying levels of Cancon and means of reaching those goals. Spotlight says it will emphasize original domestic programming and will be less focused on movies than either TMN or MC. It’s promising a share of annual revenues for Canadian productions, totaling $171 million over a seven-year licence.

Allarco’s service will not compete with existing licensees for exclusivity on Hollywood films and instead will offer a more balanced approach that features Hollywood fare, original programming and specials. Its bid promises to spend $4 million on Cancon in year one and 32% of revenues annually after that. On top of this, Allarco will dedicate a channel to all-Canadian programming.

‘I believe that we have found the right balance to make it work without hurting the system, because that’s one of the big concerns,’ says Nic Wry, VP/GM of Allarco.

For his part, George Burger, president and CEO of Spotlight, feels good going into Ottawa. ‘We did not suffer any significant body blows from the rather exhaustive interventions submitted by the incumbents,’ he says. ‘And I think we’re particularly satisfied with the substantial support we’ve received from the production industry in Canada.’

Cal Millar, president of the Canadian Film Channel, is also upbeat despite what will be vigorous opposition from Corus and Astral. He says the CFC was awash in support – garnering so many positive interventions that the CRTC declined to list them all online.

‘I think [the hearings] are going to go great. We’re really pleased with, and very proud of, the application we submitted. It’s solid, it’s sound and it’s something that has been missing in the Canadian broadcasting system.’