The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has urged Bell Media and Videotron to “continue to work towards a resolution” as it dismisses an undue disadvantage complaint between the two parties.

Bell Media filed a complaint against Quebecor-owned BDU Videotron to the CRTC in August 2022 due to a decision to cease distribution of the former’s French-language discretionary services VRAK and Z.

The complaint stated that Videotron was conferring an undue disadvantage on Bell Media, while giving itself undue preference by continuing to distribute its own French-language discretionary services.

Bell Media had previously filed a notice of dispute to the Commission on June 1, 2022, after it was first notified of Videotron’s intention to end distribution of those services, triggering a standstill rule. The rule, set out by the Broadcasting Act, states that “during a dispute concerning the carriage or terms of carriage, the licensee shall continue to distribute the programming services at the same rates and on the same terms and conditions as it did before the dispute,” according to the CRTC.

In a decision published Friday (Feb. 3), the CRTC concluded that Videotron “demonstrated valid commercial reasons” to cease distribution of VRAK and Z, adding that “other French-language services listed by Bell Media have more stable viewership levels” and lower wholesale rates than VRAK.

“With regard to whether parties have had a fair chance at negotiations, the Commission notes that both parties are vertically integrated BDUs that are dominant players in the Canadian broadcasting market. Therefore, there is no imbalance in bargaining positions that would call for Commission intervention,” wrote the CRTC.

As a result, the Commission considered the dispute ended, with the standstill rule no longer in effect. Neither parties have responded to a request for comment on the decision as of press time. However, Quebecor president Pierre Karl Péladeau issued a tweet in French on Friday reiterating the company’s stance in the dispute.

The CRTC concluded by stating that matters of a “commercial nature” should be negotiated by the companies themselves, adding that it “generally expects parties to make reasonable efforts to resolve their disputes before bringing such matters to the Commission for disposition.”

Bell Media and Videotron’s respective parentcos Bell and Quebecor have a had a long history of carriage and undue preference disputes in recent years. Most recently, the CRTC dismissed a complaint from Bell against Videotron after the former alleged that the latter was in non-compliance with the digital media exemption order by giving itself “de facto exclusivity” on VOD service Vrai.

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