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A discretionary service is a Canadian specialty channel which, as defined by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, may be carried optionally by all subscription television providers. It replaces the previous category A, category B, category C (instead split into the categories of "mainstream sports" and "national news"), and premium classifications.[1][2][3]
Discretionary services may air programming from any of the CRTC's defined categories, although no more than 10% of programming per month may be devoted to live professional sports. Discretionary services may be authorized to offer multiplex channels.[4]
Prior classifications and genre exclusivity
The CRTC previously licensed specialty television services into one of three categories, which determined their regulatory obligations (such as the types of programming they may offer, and whether they are allowed to compete with other specialty television services), and how they may be distributed by television providers—known legally as broadcast distribution undertakings (BDUs). Prior to 2015, there were three types of specialty channel licenses
- Category A services: a category established in 2011 that encompassed the legacy "analog" specialty and premium television channels licensed prior to the establishment of digital cable and satellite (such as MuchMusic),[5] and "Category 1" digital specialty services. Digital BDUs were required to offer all Category A-licensed channels as part of their services. Category A services were licensed within specific scopes, and subject to "genre protection": no other specialty services were allowed to directly compete with a Category A service. As a consequence, Category A licenses carried more stringent obligations on their owners, such as stricter thresholds for the exhibition of specific types of programming and Canadian content.[6][7][8] Major pay television services were designated as "premium" services; these services were prohibited from carrying commercial advertising, but were allowed to operate multiple "multiplex" channels consistent with their nature of service.[6][8]
- Category B services (formerly "Category 2"): digital specialty services that were licensed to carry narrower, niche formats in comparison to Category A-licensed channels. BDUs were not obligated to offer all Category B services, and negotiated with their distributors for carriage. Category B services were allowed to compete between each other, but no Category B service was allowed to directly compete with a Category A service.[6][7][8]
- Category C services encompassed "competitive Canadian specialty services operating in the genres of mainstream sports and national news", which had been given an exemption from the genre protection rules in 2009 that allowed them more flexibility in programming and formats.[9][10][11]
Reforms and discontinuation of genre exclusivity rules
As part of "Let's Talk TV", a CRTC initiative to reform Canada's broadcasting industry, the Commission announced in 2015 that it would phase out its previous "genre protection" rules, which forbade services with Category B licenses from directly competing with those with Category A licenses. The Commission felt that these restrictions were "no longer needed to ensure programming diversity between services", as "[they] limited programming services to offering certain types of programming and precluded other services from offering that programming." As part of these changes, the CRTC began transitioning all pay and specialty services to standardized conditions of license.[7][8][4][12]
In November 2016, per a request by DHX Media (owner of Family Channel—a network that was licensed as a premium service, but had largely been treated as a non-premium specialty service by television providers), the previous premium television designation was also removed, merging them into the discretionary services category and allowing them to, if they choose, transition to advertising-supported formats.[4] The standard conditions of license were thus amended to allow discretionary services to offer multiplex channels if approved as a condition of license.[4]
Former Category A services
Category A services were those which had mandatory distribution by all licensed broadcast distribution undertakings. They consisted of the channels that were licensed before the emergence of digital cable, as well as the narrow tier of digital services which were originally licensed as "Category 1" (must-carry) when digital cable was first introduced.
English
- AMI-tv
- BNN
- Bravo
- Cartoon Network
- CMT
- Cottage Life
- CP24 (GTA)
- Crime + Investigation
- CPAC (English feed)
- CTV Comedy Channel
- CTV Drama Channel
- CTV Life Channel
- CTV Sci-Fi Channel
- Discovery
- Documentary Channel
- DTour
- E!
- Food Network Canada
- HGTV Canada
- The History Channel
- History2
- MTV
- Much
- One
- OutTV
- Showcase
- Slice
- Sportsnet 360
- The Weather Network
- T+E
- Treehouse
- VisionTV
- W Network
- YTV
French
Third-language
Former Category B services
Category B services were those which had only optional, rather than mandatory, carriage rights on BDUs, and did not have format protection.
English
- ABC Spark
- Adult Swim
- Animal Planet
- ATN Cricket Plus
- ATN DD Sports
- BBC Earth
- BBC First
- Boomerang
- Cooking Channel
- CBN
- Daystar Television Canada
- DejaView
- Discovery Science
- Discovery Velocity
- EuroWorld Sport
- Fight Network
- FNTSY Sports Network
- FX
- FXX
- GameTV
- Global News: BC 1
- Hollywood Suite
- Hollywood Suite 70s Movies
- Hollywood Suite 80s Movies
- Hollywood Suite 90s Movies
- Hollywood Suite 00s Movies
- HPItv
- HPItv Canada
- HPItv International
- HPItv Odds
- HPItv West
- Investigation Discovery
- Lifetime
- Love Nature
- Magnolia Network
- Makeful
- MovieTime
- Nat Geo Wild
- National Geographic
- NBA TV Canada
- Nickelodeon
- Penthouse TV
- Playmen TV
- Red Hot TV
- Rewind
- Salt + Light Television
- Silver Screen Classics
- Smithsonian Channel
- Sportsnet World
- Stingray Naturescape
- The Rural Channel
- Wild TV
- WildBrainTV
- World Fishing Network
French
- Avis de Recherche
- Casa
- Frissons TV
- Ici Explora
- Investigation
- Prise 2
- QUB (Formerly Yoopa)
- Télémagino
- Témoin
- Vivid TV Canada
- Zeste
Third-language
National news and sports discretionary services
English
News
Sports
- Sportsnet
- Sportsnet East
- Sportsnet Ontario
- Sportsnet Pacific
- Sportsnet West
- Sportsnet One
- Sportsnet Flames
- Sportsnet Oilers
- Sportsnet Vancouver Hockey
- TSN
- TSN1
- TSN2
- TSN3
- TSN4
- TSN5
French
News
Sports
- RDS
- TVA Sports
- TVA Sports 2
Former exempted services
Former premium services
- Crave (Four multiplex channels)
- HBO Canada (East and west)
- Family (Two multiplex channels, now mostly former analogue cable services)
- Super Channel (Four multiplex channels)
- Super Channel Fuse
- Super Channel Heart & Home
- Super Channel Vault
- Ginx TV Canada
- Super Écran (Four Multiplex Channels)
- Starz (Two multiplex channels)
Services with less than 200,000 subscribers that would otherwise meet the definition of a discretionary service, and services which air 90% of their programming in a "third language (a language other than English, French, or those of Canadian aboriginal peoples), are exempted from formal licensing by the CRTC. They must still comply with standard conditions of license published by the CRTC, maintain a file with the Commission, and, if this is the basis of their exemption, pursue an application for licensing if they exceed 200,000 subscribers.[13][14]
English
Third-language
- Abu Dhabi TV
- Al-Nahar TV
- Al-Nahar Drama
- Al Resalah
- All TV K
- ATN Aastha TV
- ATN Alpha ETC Punjabi
- ATN ARY Digital
- ATN B4U Movies
- ATN B4U Music
- ATN Bangla
- ATN Brit Asia TV
- ATN Colors Bangla
- ATN Colors Marathi
- ATN DD Bharati
- ATN DD Urdu
- ATN Gujarati
- ATN IBC Tamil
- ATN Jaya TV
- ATN Movies
- ATN MTV India
- ATN News 18
- ATN PM One
- ATN Punjabi 5
- ATN Punjabi News
- ATN Punjabi Plus
- ATN Rishtey
- ATN Sikh Channel
- ATN Sony Aath
- ATN Sony Max
- ATN Sony Mix
- ATN Star Jalsha
- ATN SVBC
- ATN Tamil Plus
- ATN Urdu
- BBC Arabic
- Big Magic International
- Canada Chinese TV
- Canada National TV
- CCCTV
- Chakde TV
- Channel 9 Canada
- Channel Punjabi
- Channel Y
- CTC International
- Detskiy
- Dream 2
- ERT World
- Fairchild TV 2
- FTV
- First National
- Greek Music Channel
- Halla Bol!
- HRT Sat
- Hum TV
- Iran TV Network
- KHL-TV
- LS Times TV
- Melody Aflam
- Melody Drama
- Melody Hits
- Momo Kids
- Montreal Greek TV
- NGTV
- Nova World
- OSN Ya Hala International
- Prime Asia TV
- ProSiebenSat.1 Welt
- PTC Punjabi
- Rawal TV
- RBTI Canada
- Rotana Aflam
- Rotana Cinema
- Rotana Classic
- Rotana Clip
- Rotana Khalijiah
- Rotana Masriya
- Rotana Mousica
- RTL Living
- RTS Sat
- RTVi
- Russian Illuzion
- SBTN
- Schlager TV
- TET
- Tamil One
- Tamil Vision
- The Israeli Network
- Toronto 360 TV
- TVCentr International
- TVP Info
- TV Rain
- Vanakkam TV
- Win HD Caribbean
- WOWtv
- Zee 24 Taas
- Zee Bangla
- Zee Marathi
- Zee Punjabi
- Zee Salaam
- Zee Talkies
- Zee Tamil
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