The CRTC has taken the first steps towards opening up Canadian airwaves to more foreign third-language television. A new policy states that as of Dec. 16, requests to add general-interest foreign third-language services to the lists of eligible satellite services will be generally approved, subject to requirements that aim to minimize possible negative impacts on domestic third-language services.

The decision is an about-face for the commission, which typically refused foreign-language applications before coming under heavy fire last summer for blocking Italy’s RAI from Canadian airwaves.

Attempts to minimize the negative impact on existing domestic third-language services include a provision that any foreign analog service in Cantonese, Mandarin, Italian, Spanish, Greek or Hindi will only be available for purchase along with existing domestic services in these languages, such as Telelatino, ATN, Fairchild, Talentvision or odyssey. For digital services, distributors offering foreign third-language services must also offer domestic services in the same language where such services exist.

At a Dec. 16 media conference, Glenn O’Farrell, president and CEO of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters, stressed that CAB sees the new policy as a win. ‘[The commission has] attempted to strike a balance between ensuring that Canadians have access to third-language programming from non-Canadian sources, while ensuring that Canadian third-language channels are not disadvantaged in the Canadian marketplace,’ he said.

For existing Canadian third-language broadcasters the new policy will likely mean increased competition. However, Shan Chandrasekar, president and CEO of the Asian Television Network and chair of CAB’s ethnic services committee, says it is up to domestic third-language services to make sure they’re giving the viewer something they can’t get from a foreign source. He draws an analogy between foreign third-language services and the New York Times, saying that while the Times may be the best-selling paper in the world, the Toronto Star still outsells it in Toronto.

‘The Canadian system offers the most choice at the best price of any system in the world,’ says Chandrasekar. ‘[Foreign] services to a certain extent will dilute some of our audience and that is where our programming skills come in. We’ve got to offer an alternative in terms of compelling Canadian programming.’

Aldo Di Felice, president of Telelatino, agrees, saying that the ethnic broadcaster is used to a lot of competition. However, he also says safeguards put in place by the CRTC are essential to ensure that the competition remains equal and fair.

‘We were encouraged by the safeguards the CRTC put in place in order to prevent anticompetitive behavior,’ says Di Felice. ‘Those safeguards are critical and we’re looking forward to the CRTC taking an activist approach in terms of the mechanisms they put in place to police the anticompetitive behavior.’

Last summer, Italian broadcaster RAI applied to air services in Canada directly. Previously, as much as 3,000 hours of RAI programming was available to Canadians via Telelatino annually.

The issue of foreign third-language services heated up when RAI’s application was denied, while other applications made at the same time by CineLatino, Romanian Television International, German TV, TV Chile and, most notably, Al-Jazeera were accepted. Now Di Felice is hopeful the new policy will allow increased foreign third-language services, while safeguarding the interests of domestic ethnic broadcasters.

-www.crtc.gc.ca