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Avis de Recherche

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For the album by Zaïko Langa Langa, see Avis de Recherche (album).
Avis de Recherche
Avis de Recherche logo
CountryCanada
Broadcast areaNational
HeadquartersMontreal, Quebec
Programming
Picture format480i (SDTV)
Ownership
OwnerAvis de Recherche Inc.
(Vincent Géracitano)
History
LaunchedOctober 21, 2004
ClosedNovember 16, 2022
Links
Websitewww.adr.tv

Avis de Recherche (AdR) was a Canadian French language Category B specialty channel devoted to crime prevention. Despite AdR's Category B licence, it was formerly a must-carry channel in the province of Quebec on digital basic cable.

Programming and format

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AdR was a specialty service dedicated to help law enforcement authorities; where viewers were invited to communicate any clues, tips and leads which might help police find missing persons or resolve criminal acts.

Programming on AdR came in the form of capsules or segments that vary from 30–60 seconds in length and feature bulletins from the police regarding various crimes, missing and/or wanted persons. This format repeated over a 24-hour period.

AdR also broadcast a daily live show about police activity, [1] interviews with victims of crime,[2] featurettes about public safety,[3] and other clips filmed by its journalists.

History

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Origins

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The idea of AdR was formed in 1999, when founder Vincent Géracitano's Montreal office was broken into. The thieves were caught on surveillance video and the tape was taken to the police. However, police did not have any way to broadcast the tape, and the case wasn't sensational enough to be carried in the mainstream news. This incident sparked the idea for Avis de Recherche.[4]

In September 2002, Géracitano was granted approval by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), to operate a category 2 digital cable television channel called Avis de Recherche.[5]

Two years after being granted approval, on October 21, 2004, AdR launched exclusively on Vidéotron in Quebec. Unlike most other specialty channels that collect a subscription fee from cable companies for distribution, AdR was initially paying Vidéotron, its only distributor, $0.02 per subscriber to be distributed on its digital basic system for free. The fee charged by the distributor eventually climbed to $0.05 per subscriber per month by early 2008. With 700,000 subscribers at that time on Videotron's digital cable at 5 cents each, combined with minimal sources of revenue, AdR was facing the inevitable.[6] Géracitano had to mortgage his house to keep the channel running.[7]

Mandatory carriage

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In March 2007, AdR and several other current and new television licensees applied to either keep or gain mandatory digital basic cable status on all digital cable providers. In July 2007, AdR was approved as a must-carry service on digital cable in Quebec on the grounds that it is of "exceptional importance", with a subscription fee of $0.06 per subscriber and a mandate to spend 20% of its subscriber revenues on Canadian programming.[8]

Later that year, Quebecor Media, owner of Vidéotron, appealed the decision to the Privy Council mainly on the grounds that the 6 cent increase would make the basic cable package unaffordable, thus violating the Broadcasting Act. This led the CRTC to reconsider its decision. However, in January 2008, the CRTC upheld its original decision with minor adjustments, including an increase from 20% to 43% expenditure of its subscription revenues on Canadian programming. Effective January 24, 2008, the CRTC's decision meant all digital television providers in Quebec must carry AdR as part of their digital basic package,[9] and in response to this decision AdR decided to invest in new broadcast systems from MaestroVision, a Canadian provider of video solutions.[10]

Loss of mandatory carriage

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In January 2013, AdR filed a request with the CRTC to renew its mandatory carriage, whilst raising its carriage rate to $0.08 per subscriber. AdR justified its requested increase due mainly to inflation. Its rate of 6 cents was initially approved in 2007. The licence renewal would have fixed the rate until 2020. It also justified the increase due to the CRTC's demand that it closed-caption its entire schedule.[11]

On 8 August, the CRTC renewed AdR's license until 2020, but denied the continued mandatory carriage. According to the CRTC, AdR had not been able to prove that it had been successful in improving safety, notably pointing to its low ratings. The mandatory carriage was extended until 31 August 2015, giving AdR two years to seek alternative sources of revenue.[3][12]

Following this drop in income, AdR was forced to cut its budgets, laying off 10 of its 16 employees.[7] Further layoffs left the channel with only three employees by February 2014.[13]

On 15 January 2014, AdR filed another application to the CRTC, seeking the extension of the mandatory carriage for another three years, until 31 August 2018.[14] On 4 April, the CRTC again denied the request, noting that there had been no changes in circumstances since its previous decision in August 2013.[15]

With the deadline approaching, AdR filed additional legal challenges. In September 2015, AdR obtained a temporary injunction preventing VIdéotron from dropping the channel from its lineup, as the distribution agreement only expired at the end of the year.[16] On 14 August, AdR filed a request for dispute resolution with the CRTC, alleging that by dropping AdR from its lineup, Bell Canada was giving undue preference to its own service, Canal D/Investigation.[17] On 12 November, AdR filed a similar request against Vidéotron, alleging undue preference towards LCN.[18] Both complaints were dismissed by the CRTC. With all legal avenues exhausted, Vidéotron ceased distributing AdR on 29 April 2016.[19] Other cable providers soon followed.

Later years

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On 13 November 2019, AdR had its broadcasting license revoked by the CRTC; the channel continued to operate as an exempt discretionary service.[20]

On 16 November 2022, AdR announced on their Facebook page that they had ceased operations, blaming the CRTC's "inexplicable" decision for the channel's closure.[21]

Proposed English counterpart

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In 2002, Vincent Géracitano obtained a broadcasting license from the CRTC for another channel, All Points Bulletin. The channel would have had a similar format to Avis de Recherche, but would broadcast in English and focus on crimes across Canada.[22] In 2007, when AdR's initial mandatory carriage order was approved, a similar order for the yet-to-launch All Points Bulletin was denied, as the CRTC had doubts that the community-oriented service could succeed at a national level.[8] Mandatory carriage was again proposed[11] and denied[12] in 2013. All Points Bulletin's license was ultimately revoked in on 15 November 2019,[23] two days after AdR's, without the channel having ever launched.[24]

References

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  1. ^ Faguy, Steve (2013-08-20). "Avis de recherche searches for hope". Cartt.ca. Archived from the original on 2013-08-20. Retrieved 2025-01-17.
  2. ^ "Concerned about crime in the West Island? Set your DVR for a special interview". Montreal Gazette. 2012-06-15. Retrieved 2025-01-17.
  3. ^ a b Faguy, Steve (2013-10-16). "Avis de recherche needs a miracle | Fagstein". Retrieved 2025-01-17.
  4. ^ APB out for TV viewers; Channel seeks CRTC nod[usurped]; CNews
  5. ^ Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2002-267; CRTC; 2002-09-04
  6. ^ Crime-fighters in the middle of CRTC squabble; Playback Magazine; 2007-08-15
  7. ^ a b Curtis, Christopher (2013-10-15). "CRTC ruling may snuff out ADR channel's flicker of hope". Montreal Gazette. Archived from the original on 2013-10-16. Retrieved 2025-01-17.
  8. ^ a b Government of Canada, Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) (2007-07-24). "ARCHIVED - New digital specialty described video programming undertaking; Licence amendments; Issuance of various mandatory distribution orders". crtc.gc.ca. Retrieved 2025-01-17.
  9. ^ Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2008-12; CRTC; 2008-01-21
  10. ^ "ADR TV experiences dramatic operational improvement" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-06-25. Retrieved 2016-06-08.
  11. ^ a b "Broadcasting Notice of Consultation CRTC 2013-19". CRTC. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
  12. ^ a b Government of Canada, Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) (2013-08-08). "ARCHIVED – Applications for mandatory distribution on cable and satellite under section 9(1)(h) of the Broadcasting Act". crtc.gc.ca. Retrieved 2025-01-17.
  13. ^ Fournier, Guy (2014-02-13). "Alerte : la chaîne ADR bientôt portée disparue". Le Journal de Montréal. Retrieved 2025-01-17.
  14. ^ Faguy, Steve (2014-01-24). "Avis de recherche seeks three-year extension of mandatory distribution | Fagstein". Retrieved 2025-01-17.
  15. ^ Government of Canada, Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) (2014-04-04). "ARCHIVED - Broadcasting - Commission letter - Re: Application 2014-0042-3 – Application to amend certain conditions of licence of Avis de recherche and paragraph (e) of Distribution of the programming service of Avis de recherche inc. known as Avis de Recherche by licensed broadcasting distribution undertakings, Broadcasting Order CRTC 2013-380, 8 August 2013- Application returned - 4 April 2014". crtc.gc.ca. Retrieved 2025-01-17.
  16. ^ Delean, Paul (2015-07-23). "TV channel highlighting crime info is on the ropes". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved 2025-01-17.
  17. ^ Government of Canada, Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) (2016-02-04). "Complaint against Bell Canada concerning the distribution of the Category B service Avis de Recherche". crtc.gc.ca. Retrieved 2025-01-17.
  18. ^ Government of Canada, Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) (2016-03-03). "Complaint against Videotron G.P. concerning the distribution of the Category B service Avis de Recherche". crtc.gc.ca. Retrieved 2025-01-17.
  19. ^ Faguy, Steve (2016-03-29). "Videotron sends out notice: It's dropping Avis de recherche as of April 29". Twitter. Retrieved 2025-01-17.
  20. ^ Gouvernement du Canada, Conseil de la radiodiffusion et des télécommunications canadiennes (CRTC) (2019-11-13). "Avis de Recherche – Revocation of licence". crtc.gc.ca. Retrieved 2025-01-17.
  21. ^ "Veuillez prendre note que suite à une décision inexplicable du CRTC, le canal ADR n'est plus fonctionnel. Donc, il n'y aura plus de mise à jour sur cette page. Merci pour votre compréhension ainsi que votre soutien". Facebook. Retrieved 2025-01-17.
  22. ^ Government of Canada, Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) (2002-09-04). "ARCHIVED - All Points Bulletin - Category 2 specialty service". crtc.gc.ca. Retrieved 2025-01-17.
  23. ^ Government of Canada, Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) (2019-11-13). "All Points Bulletin – Revocation of licence". crtc.gc.ca. Retrieved 2025-01-17.
  24. ^ Faguy, Steve (2019-11-23). "Media News Digest: GCM heads toward coop, WCAX catches fire, CBC North backtracks on merging newscasts | Fagstein". Retrieved 2025-01-17.
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