The new digital channel to be known as TVA Sports, will focus on all aspects of the genre while concentrating on Canadian professional sports of general interest, according to Canoe.ca. Loosely translated, that means you'll see everything except the Montreal Canadiens.
No Habs for TVA
RDS still holds the exclusive rights to those games. Quebecor had also asked the CRTC to step in and force RDS to give up their exclusivity, to which, the CRTC politely answered no. Looks like it's up to the free market to decide whether that will ever happen. In the meantime, no official launch date has been given yet, aside from that it will be within a few years.
Overall, this is good news for Quebec viewers, as the current number of English sports services greatly outnumber those in French. Not surprisingly though, most of the articles in the French media are treating this as bad news, by focusing on the Habs aspect of the story. This is because Quebecor also owns a large number of news outlets, including Canoe.ca, Le Journal de Montreal, LCN and TVA.
But the CRTC didn't even intervene when Radio-Canada was forced to cancel La Soirée du hockey (Hockey Night in Canada's French language telecast) when they lost the rights to the Habs. This begs the question, just what made TVA think they were so special?
CRTC vs. TVA
"Contrary to what the CRTC says, it is false to assume that TVA Sports can depend on market forces to negotiate broadcast rights when there exists a situation of undue preference given that CTVglobemedia, owner of RDS, is an investor in the Montreal Canadiens hockey team," a TVA French language press release said Friday.
In others words, Quebecor is the one complaining about an ownership monopoly. Now there's a switch.
TSN2 Ranks #1
TSN's sister network, TSN2, is doing very well. It is the most watched digital cable channel according to audience data provided by the BBM for the month of January. This is in spite of some of the obstacles that the new channel has faced, including the CRTC requirement that 90% of its programming must essentially be a repeat of TSN, three hours later. But many haven't noticed because the 10% of original programming, allowed by law, tends to air during prime time.
The only reason why this channel exists is because of a loophole in the CRTC regulations. Back in 1997, TSN was permitted to have an alternate feed, which would only kick in during a local blackout so that viewers wouldn't have to stare at a blank screen. It was mistakingly believed that the above-mentioned limitations would prevent them form using this other channel to create a second network.
But digital TV didn't exist in 1997 and in 2006, the CRTC changed the rules to allow digital subscribers the ability to benefit from mulitiple feeds. Naturally, TSN saw this as opportunity to promote its alternate network as TSN2, in spite of some protest from The Score and the CBC who complained that they were trying to circumvent the rules.
How long will it be before others take advantage of this loophole? Could TVA soon start promoting its west coast feed as TVA2?
Setanta Sports Loses It's US Viewers
Soccer fans may have heard the buzz regarding Setanta Sports going off the air in the United States and the Caribbean. For Canadians who may be wondering how this will affect them, the good news is that it won't. The Canadian version of the network will continue to operate as a joint venture between Rogers Media and the Ireland-based Setanta Group.
What happened south of the border is that, up until now, Fox Soccer Channel had been sublicensing the rights to many games including Barclays Premier League and UEFA Champions League to Setanta. Last month, Fox Soccer Channel said it wanted to reclaim those rights and that they would become part of a new premium channel, Fox Soccer Plus. Setanta went off the air when the new channel kicked off on March 1.
More Options For Canada
The squabbling for programming rights, whether it be for soccer or for NHL Hockey, isn't having much of an impact on Canadian TV choices. When TVA Sports sees the light of day, viewers will be watching all of their favourite events while benefiting from more sports specialty channels compared to what was available before in both English and French. That is good news for Canadians.
Related Articles:
Other Sources:
Le Journal de Quebec, "Oui à TVA Sports, mais sans le Canadien", February 26, 2010
Canoe.ca, "Pas de matchs du Canadien à TVA Sports", February 27, 2010
Canoe.ca, "Feu vert du CRTC pour TVA Sports", February 26, 2010
The Wire Report, "CRTC Approves TVA Sports, but Stays Away From Rights to Canadiens Games", February 26, 2010
Bermuda Sun, "Fox Soccer Plus to Replace Setanta on Cable Networks", February 26, 2010
USA Today, "Fox Soccer Plus Reaches Deals to Start Airing", February 26, 2010
CRTC, "Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2008-352", December 12, 2008
Steve Hatton - Steve Hatton is a Montreal-based freelance writer and journalist who covers the television industry, including TV show reviews and media ...
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