A 9(1)(''h'') order is an order issued by the

Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC; french: Conseil de la radiodiffusion et des télécommunications canadiennes, links=) is a public organization in Canada with mandate as a regulatory agency for broadcasti ...

(CRTC) pursuant to section 9(1)(''h'') of Canada's ''

Broadcasting Act Broadcasting Act (with its variations) is a stock short title used for legislation in Canada, Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom that relates to broadcasting. The Bill for an Act with this short title will usually h ...

''. It requires that a particular

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

television channel A television channel is a terrestrial frequency or virtual number over which a television station or television network is distributed. For example, in North America, "channel 2" refers to the terrestrial or cable band of 54 to 60 MHz, with ...

be distributed by all (or a particular subset of)

cable Cable may refer to: Mechanical * Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof * Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a hel ...

satellite A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioisotope ...

IPTV Internet Protocol television (IPTV) is the delivery of television content over Internet Protocol (IP) networks. This is in contrast to delivery through traditional terrestrial, satellite, and cable television formats. Unlike downloaded media, ...

, 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, is sometimes known as an 9(1)(''h'') service. A 9(1)(''h'') order may be applied to

specialty channel A specialty channel (also known in the United States as a cable channel or cable network) can be a commercial broadcasting or non-commercial television channel which consists of television programming focused on a single genre, subject or targeted ...

s, licensed television networks, or other types of CRTC-licensed television services. Designation as a 9(1)(''h'') service is independent of the Category A, B, and C designations applied to

s, though in most cases, specialty channels subject to 9(1)(''h'') orders are also Category A services.

Background

Section 9(1)(''h'') of Canada's ''

'' states:

9. (1) Subject to this Part, the Commission may, in furtherance of its objects, .. (''h'') require any licensee who is authorized to carry on a distribution undertaking to carry, on such terms and conditions as the Commission deems appropriate, programming services specified by the Commission.

The CRTC uses the powers granted by this section to issue mandatory distribution 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 roadcastingAct. 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." The

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...

's broadcast television networks,

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French-l ...

and

Ici Radio-Canada Télé Ici Radio-Canada Télé (formerly known as Télévision de Radio-Canada) is a Canadian French-language free-to-air television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (known in French as Société Radio-Canada), the national pub ...

, 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. 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)

Mandatory distribution (must-offer)

Note that

Category A services Category A services were a class of Canadian specialty television channel which, as defined by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, must be offered by all digital cable and direct broadcast satellite providers that h ...

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. (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 Sun News Network (commonly shortened to Sun News) was a Television in Canada, Canadian Canadian English, English language Category C services, Category C news channel owned by Québecor Média through a partnership between two of its subsidiaries ...

– 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.

References

{{Reflist Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission Cable television in Canada