CRTC raises TV5/UNIS wholesale fees after financial decline
Canada's CRTC has approved an application by TV5 Québec Canada to increase the mandatory per-subscriber monthly wholesale rates for its TV5/UNIS TV service. The rates will increase by $0.02, to $0.26 in English-language markets and $0.30 in French-language markets, effective immediately. The commission cited the service's deteriorating financial situation and its exceptional contribution to French-language programming as justification for the decision, which reversed a previous deferral.
Key Takeaways
- New rates take effect immediately: $0.26 per subscriber in English-language markets and $0.30 in French-language markets.
- The increase is $0.02 in each market, reversing the CRTC’s earlier November 2025 deferral.
- TV5 said its French-language wholesale rate had not changed since 1989 and its English-language rate since 2013.
- The Commission said TV5’s operations have run deficits since the 2022-2023 broadcast year and that a $0.02 increase could eliminate or significantly reduce the projected deficit.
- A joint dissent from Commissioners Ellen C. Desmond, K. C., and Stéphanie Paquette argued the decision was premature given ongoing broadcasting-regulatory modernization.
Why It Matters
The immediate effect is a higher regulated pass-through cost for distributors carrying TV5/UNIS TV on basic service. The CRTC framed the move as necessary to preserve TV5’s Canadian programming commitments, especially its 55% Canadian program expenditure obligation and its role in French-language and OLMC programming. The dissent shows the broader fault line: whether service-specific rate relief should come before the Commission finishes its wider broadcasting reform process. Watch the near-term impact on TV5’s projected deficit and whether the CRTC’s pending decisions on Canadian programming funding change the backdrop for similar requests.
Read full article at crtc.gc.ca
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