Canadians are getting their MTV, again, and likely another regulatory showdown over whether MuchMusic should remain protected against its popular U.S. counterpart.

Months after exiting a 2001 licensing agreement with Craig Media that saw MTV Canada and MTV2 fade to black on June 30, MTV Networks International has struck another Canadian licensing agreement, this time with CTV.

After seeing two of its branded digichannels struggle under Craig Media, MTV now has a more wide-ranging deal with CTV covering digital, cable and terrestrial television, as well as MTV-branded digital media properties.

CTV plans to relaunch its talktv, an analog specialty channel reaching 4.4 million Canadian households, as an MTV-branded lifestyle channel, likely by early next year.

But the plan has already drawn the scorn of MuchMusic owner and operator CHUM. "We'll be intrigued to see how talktv can be morphed into an MTV brand and still remain a talk channel as licensed," says CHUM president and CEO Jay Switzer. "We will be actively encouraging the CRTC to enforce both the spirit and letter of all talktv's conditions of licence."

At the same time, CHUM says it will seek regulatory relief for MuchMusic to allow it to "competitively respond" to CTV's rebranded MTV channel.

MTV2 and MTV Canada - which went to CHUM when it bought Craig - were earlier this year rebranded as Razer and PunchMuch.

Canadian-raised Brad Schwartz - who is leaving an executive stint at MTV Networks International in New York to be GM and senior VP of CTV's MTV - insists the CRTC should have no concerns about a rebranded talktv. As an MTV channel, it will retain its talk format and a 68% Canadian-content obligation in primetime, he says.

"We're putting the MTV brand on an existing licence, which requires us to have 68% Canadian content. That's a boon to the Canadian production community," Schwartz says.

CTV has also applied for a second Category 2 digital channel that will play music videos. CTV is betting that MuchMusic will receive no genre protection as long as its proposed MTV-branded music video channel is a Cat. 2.

"That application fulfills all the CRTC criteria," says Schwartz, who grew up in Toronto watching MuchMusic. "We will be supporting Canadian music and artists as much as possible."

The CRTC, while long offering Canadian channel genre protection against competing U.S. services, has shown flexibility of late.

Most recently, the regulator overrode Canadian broadcaster concerns and ruled that the rebranded U.S. specialty channel Spike TV, also part of Viacom's MTV network, did not compete with existing Canadian services.

A CRTC spokesman had little to say about the CTV-MTV tie-up except that the commission will consider their applications for new services.

As part of its deal with MTV Networks International, CTV will gain the exclusive rights to acquire a range of MTV programming, shows such as the MTV Music Video Awards that formerly went to CHUM. MTV Networks International has agreed to slot Canadian-made shows from CTV into its own global network.

On the question of ownership, CTV is tight-lipped on whether MTV Networks International has a financial stake in its new Canadian partnership, or an option to acquire a minority holding.

An MTV spokesman says the U.S. channel had foregone an equity stake in its alliance with CTV to sign only a licensing agreement.

Schwartz is also coy about whether CTV's showbiz show eTalk Daily might also get an MTV makeover as it goes head-to-head with CanWest Media Work's recently launched Entertainment Tonight Canada, SunTV's Inside Jam! and CHUM's Star! Daily.

"We're looking at absolutely everything. This announcement starts everything," he says.

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