In a ruling yesterday the CRTC reversed its opposition to fee for carriage for conventional broadcasters.

Conventional broadcasters have been lobbying the CRTC for a charge from the cable companies for carrying their channels, known as carriage fees, for a few years.

“We’re pleased that the Commission has committed itself to rethinking the model for conventional television broadcasters,” Hubert Lacroix, the president of the CBC, said.

Yesterday’s ruling may give the CBC a bit more money to work with in next year’s budget, but it depends how the fees are negotiated. The CRTC ruling did not set the fees outright, instead it said that broadcasters and cable companies should negotiate the size of the fee.

Yesterday’s ruling also increased the funding for local programming. The ruling increased the amount handed over to a local broadcasting fund, the Local Programming Improvement Fund, from 1 per cent of gross broadcasting revenues to 1.5 per cent. That will make the fund worth about $100 million a year.

“The Commission’s commitment to supporting local programming is very important at this time given the state of the economy, and is a critical first step to resolving the broader economic issues facing conventional broadcasters in Canada,” Lacroix said in a press release.

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	The CRTC, The Media Landscape