Who sets the rate
The
Copyright Board Canada – a federal regulatory body –
sets the royalty rates that retransmitters must pay and establishes
the formula by which royalties are to be allocated among various
collective societies. The CRC is one such collective.
Each new tariff – every three years or so – reassesses
what retransmitters must pay, and what the CRC’s share will
be. The tariff is set after the Copyright Board hears formally from
both retransmitters and rightsholders.
In the most recent tariff (2009 – 2013), Canadian territory
retransmission royalties are approximately $90 million a year. The
CRC’s share is 12.03%, or about $11 million annually.
Each of our eligible
affiliates gets a share of these royalties.
| What retransmitters pay: |
| 1990 -2003 |
$.70 per subscriber per month |
| 2004 -2008 |
$.73, $.76, $.79, $.82, $.85 per subscriber per month respectively |
| 2009 -2013 |
$.90, $.92, $.94, $.96, $.98 per subscriber per month respectively |
Note: these are general guidelines, and discounts
apply in some circumstances.
Our royalty distribution policy
The CRC’s Board of Directors sets policies to govern fair
and equitable royalty distribution.
Our formula is supply based.
It takes into account hours of programming, and number of subscribers
to whom the programming has been retransmitted.
How the process works.
The CRC team processes and verifies information and payments from
retransmitters. They track a range of distant signals and broadcast
information. And promptly and accurately calculate royalties and
disburse them to affiliates. More?
What we mean by ‘orphans’.
If program ownership isn’t clear, or rightsholder can’t
be contacted, we publish a list of orphans.
Unclaimed royalties are eventually released back into the general
pool for distribution among affiliates who did substantiate their
claim.
About disputes.
If more than one party claims royalties for a program, they’re
asked to resolve it between themselves, and report to the CRC in
writing.
The reserve fund.
Five percent of funds are held in reserve each year to cover errors
and omissions (such as when a program was retransmitted but not
captured in the broadcast data).
Distribution timing.
Royalties are distributed one year in arrears. All reserves are
released within three years of the year of retransmission.
Note: This entire section is
a simplification of a complex subject. If you’d like to know
more, please refer to the retransmission royalty tariff published
by the Copyright
Board Canada.
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