Thursday, January 27, 2011

Quebecor told to end exclusive access

Regulators have ordered Quebecor Media Inc. to abolish a pact between its broadcast network, Groupe TVA Inc., and cable division Vidéotron Ltee. that gives the latter exclusive access to on-demand programming. The precedent-setting decision is a loud and clear warning shot to the country’s large integrated telecom carriers, such as BCE Inc., that walling off broadcast content for use only on their own television and Internet systems will not be tolerated. Stemming from complaints made last June by BCE’s Bell Canada and Telus Corp., the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission has found that an “exclusivity agreement” has existed between TVA and Videotron’s Illico service, which provides shows and programs on demand to its mainly French-speaking cable and Internet customers.

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