9(1)(h) order

A 9.1(1)(h) order (previously known as a 9(1)(h) order) is an order issued by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) pursuant to section 9.1(1)(h) of Canada's Broadcasting Act. It requires that a particular Canadian television channel is must-carry and distributed by all (or a particular subset of) cable, satellite, IPTV, or similar subscription-based television service providers in Canada. In most (but not all) cases, the order requires that the channel be included in the analogue and/or digital basic service, making it available to all subscribers of that TV service provider. A channel subject to such an order, particularly those subject to mandatory carriage on the basic service, was sometimes known as an 9(1)(h) service.[1]

A 9.1(1)(h) order may be applied to specialty channels, licensed television networks, or other types of CRTC-licensed television services. Designation as a 9.1(1)(h) service is independent of the Category A, B, and C designations applied to specialty channels, though in most cases, specialty channels subject to 9.1(1)(h) orders were also Category A services.

Background

Section 9.1(1)(h) of Canada's Broadcasting Act states:

9.1 (1) The Commission may, in furtherance of its objects, [...]

(h) a requirement for a person carrying on a distribution undertaking to carry, on the terms and conditions that the Commission considers appropriate, programming services, specified by the Commission, that are provided by a broadcasting undertaking;[2]

The CRTC uses the powers granted by this section to issue must-carry orders, which compels all Canadian television service providers to make specified television channels available to their subscribers, sometimes subject to various conditions (such as region or packaging). Most of these orders relate to channels that must be carried on analogue and/or digital basic services; in these cases, the orders also mandate per-subscriber wholesale rates to be paid to the operators of each of these channels.

In its 2013 review of applications for mandatory carriage under 9(1)(h), the CRTC stated that it only approves mandatory carriage for channels which "make exceptional contributions to meeting the objectives of the [Broadcasting] Act. These objectives notably include reflecting the ethno-cultural and linguistic diversity of Canada, including the special place of Aboriginal peoples in Canadian society and the needs of official language minority communities; allowing Canadians living with disabilities to participate more fully in the Canadian broadcasting system; and supporting Canada’s democratic life and institutions and its regions, including the North."[3]

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's broadcast television networks, CBC Television and Ici Radio-Canada Télé, are also required to be carried in the basic package of all television providers nationwide. Local service providers are also required to offer any local television stations with over-the-air coverage in their service area, as well as the designated provincial education channel(s) and/or legislature channel, if applicable. However, these requirements are codified in the CRTC's Broadcast Distribution Regulations, and are not subject to an explicit mandatory-carriage order.[4] Specialty channels owned by the CBC are not subject to mandatory carriage under the Broadcast Distribution Regulations, but may be subject to 9(1)(h) orders, and to the mandatory distribution rules for all specialty channels.

Current services

Mandatory carriage (must-carry)
Channel Scope of mandatory carriage Monthly wholesale fee for mandatory carriage[nb 1]
Aboriginal Peoples Television Network[3] [5]Nationwide, on digital basic$0.35[6]
AMI-tv[3] [5]Nationwide, on digital basic$0.20 (anglophone markets)
$0.00 (francophone markets)[7]
AMI-télé[3] [5]Nationwide, on digital basic$0.00 (anglophone markets)
$0.28 (francophone markets)[8]
AMI-audio[3] [5]Anglophone markets, on digital basic$0.04[9]
CBC News Network[3]Francophone markets, on digital basic[nb 2]$0.15
CPAC[3][5]
(English- and French-language versions)		Nationwide, on digital basic$0.13[10]
Canal M[3] [5]Francophone markets, on digital basic$0.04[11]
Ici RDI[3]Anglophone markets, on digital basic[nb 2]$0.10
Legislative Assemblies of Nunavut and the Northwest Territories[3]In Nunavut and the Northwest Territories, on the digital basic services of direct-to-home satellite providers$0.00
MétéoMédia[12] [5]Cable: Francophone markets, on digital basic
Satellite: Nationally, in French-language or bilingual basic packages		$0.22[13]
Natyf TV[14] Quebec, on digital basic $0.12
Omni Regional[15] [5]Nationwide, on digital basic[nb 3]$0.12
The Weather Network[12] [5]Cable: Anglophone markets, on digital basic
Satellite: Nationally, in English-language or bilingual basic packages		$0.23
TVA[17] [5]Anglophone markets, on the basic service$0.00
TV5 Québec Canada[3][5]
(including secondary feed Unis)		Nationwide, on digital basic$0.24 (anglophone markets)
$0.28 (francophone markets)[18]
  1. If the channel is also offered outside of the scope of the applicable 9(1)(h) order, this fee does not apply, and any fee charged is not regulated by the CRTC.
  2. These orders are intended to ensure that official-language minority communities have access to news in their language. In the corresponding majority-language markets, these channels are not required to be carried on digital basic, but are subject to mandatory distribution (see below).
  3. Omni Regional is a national specialty channel with four regional feeds, which respectively mirror three of the existing Omni Television terrestrial services as well as Quebec affiliate ICI. In markets where a local Omni station or affiliate broadcasts identical programming to the applicable Omni Regional feed, the CRTC has allowed providers (upon request) an exception to the local station carriage rules, such that the provider is only required to carry the Omni Regional feed.[16]

Mandatory distribution (must-offer)
Channel Scope of order
CBC News Network
CTV News Channel
Ici RDI
Le Canal Nouvelles
The News Forum		"Must-offer" access rights; inclusion in "the best available discretionary package consistent with their genre and programming"[19][20]
(all of these channels are discretionary news channels)
Ici ARTV"Must-offer" access rights on the digital service of cable/IPTV service providers in anglophone markets[3]

Note that Category A services are also considered "must-offer" services under the Broadcast Distribution Regulations for services in the majority language of the market where the provider operates, and in all cases for satellite providers, and thus do not require a separate 9(1)(h) order.[21] (The 9(1)(h) order for Ici ARTV, a French-language Category A service, only relates to its carriage in anglophone markets, which is not mandatory under those regulations.)

Former services
  • Sun News Network – Like other national news channels, it was subject to the same mandatory distribution order as the other national news channels (inclusion in "the best available discretionary package consistent with their genre and programming") from March 2014 until the channel's shutdown on February 13, 2015.[22]

References
  1. Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (2013-08-21). "Broadcasting Notice of Consultation CRTC 2014-190-3". Retrieved 2014-09-01.
  2. Branch, Legislative Services (2023-06-22). "Consolidated federal laws of Canada, Broadcasting Act". laws-lois.justice.gc.ca. Retrieved 2023-09-02.
  3. Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (2013-08-08). "Broadcasting Regulatory Policy CRTC 2013-372: Applications for mandatory distribution on cable and satellite under section 9(1)(h) of the Broadcasting Act". Retrieved 2014-09-01.
  4. "Broadcast Distribution Regulations (s. 17)". Justice Laws Website. Department of Justice (Canada). 2014-02-28. Retrieved 2014-07-12.
  5. "Appendix 4 to Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2023-245". Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). 2023-08-08. Retrieved 2023-09-02.
  6. "Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2018-340". Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  7. "Broadcasting Order CRTC 2018-321". Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  8. "Broadcasting Order CRTC 2018-322". Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  9. "Broadcasting Order CRTC 2018-320". Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  10. "Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2018-329". Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  11. "Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2018-307". Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  12. Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (2012-01-24). "Broadcasting Order CRTC 2009-340-1". Retrieved 2014-09-01.
  13. "Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2018-342". Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  14. "Broadcasting Order CRTC 2023-304". Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. 2023-08-31. Retrieved 2023-09-02.
  15. Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (2017-05-15). "Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2017-152 and Broadcasting Order CRTC 2017-153". Retrieved 2018-05-23.
  16. "Various broadcasting distribution undertakings – Licence amendments". CRTC. Retrieved 2017-09-19.
  17. Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (2012-04-26). "Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2012-242". Retrieved 2014-09-01.
  18. "Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2018-344". Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  19. Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (2012-12-19). "Broadcasting Order CRTC 2013-735". Retrieved 2014-09-01.
  20. "The News Forum - Distribution pursuant to paragraph 9(1)(h) of the Broadcasting Act". CRTC. 2022-11-01. Retrieved 2022-11-30.
  21. "Broadcast Distribution Regulations (s. 17(2))". Justice Laws Website. Department of Justice (Canada). 2014-02-28. Retrieved 2014-09-01.
  22. "Sun News Network to go off air Friday morning". Toronto Star. February 13, 2015. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
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