OTTAWA and GATINEAU – Reaction to the CRTC’s broadcasting in new media report has been swift, and predictably, mixed.
The news that the Commission will continue to exempt new media broadcasting services from its regulation got high marks from Internet service providers (ISPs) Telus and Rogers.
“The CRTC is often criticized, but give them in credit in this case,” Rogers’ senior vice president of regulatory, Ken Engelhart, told Cartt.ca on Thursday. “The Internet’s power comes from the consumer, not regulation and not taxes. This decision is very progressive and far reaching and we support it.”
Michael Hennessy, Telus’ senior vice president of government and regulatory affairs, echoed Engelhart’s sentiments.
“We are very happy with the CRTC decision and in particular their call for a more holistic digital policy”, he said in an e-mail. “We may have different goals but it is a very positive sign.”
The Canadian Film and Television Production Association (CFTPA) said that they too support the decision “to keep the Internet exempt from broadcast content regulations imposed on traditional broadcasters”.
Though it also said that the CRTC “missed the opportunity to put new measures in place to promote Canadian new media content”.
The CFTPA, among others, had asked the Commission to impose a content levy on ISPs and wireless service providers in order to create a fund to support the development and creation of Canadian new media broadcasting content.
The CRTC said that it was “not presented with convincing evidence” that additional support was needed for Canadian broadcasting content in new media. While questioning the viability of broadcasting new media business models, its decision said that the creation of such a fund “is not appropriate at this time”, and that the new Canada Media Fund will help to support “Canadian content destined for multiple platforms”.
But that’s not enough, says the CFTPA and the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA), who also appeared at the CRTC’s new media hearings in support of a funding source for Canadian content on-line.
“We need shelf room for Canadian content on-line“, said CFTPA president and CEO Norm Bolen, in a statement. “Canadian TV has always had to compete with NBC, CBS, and ABC from the South. But the global marketplace in today’s digital world is a totally different universe. The independent production sector needs better support to succeed in these expanding markets.”
“For the CRTC to say that it doesn’t see a need for new sources of funding shows that it’s out of touch with the reality of independent production in Canada, content producers will remain disadvantaged in terms of funding,” said Stephen Waddell, ACTRA’s national executive director, in a statement. “ISPs are making record profits, they should be giving something back to the system and the customers that fill their coffers.”
But a ‘no’ today, doesn’t necessarily mean a ‘no’ forever. The CRTC said that “given the dynamic nature of the new media environment”, it anticipates reviewing its approach within the next five years, or less.
But according to ACTRA, it’s now or never.
“We’ve already watched for 10 years as Canadian content has been submerged by foreign content”, Waddell continued. “Five years from now will be too late.
The CRTC also said that it will ask the Federal Court of Appeal to clarify the “status” of ISPs, and whether the Broadcasting Act should apply to them when they provide access to broadcasting content.
“We’re very confident that the Court will agree that ISPs are not broadcasters,” Rogers’ Engelhart continued. “We are the pipes, we are not the broadcasters.”
ACTRA disagreed, and accused the CRTC of “throwing up its hands and passing the buck to government.”
“Broadcasting is broadcasting, and the CRTC has a duty to regulate it, whether it’s on a TV, a laptop or a Blackberry,” said Ferne Downey, ACTRA’s newly elected national president, in a statement. “Failing to do so will mean less Canadian content and reduced Canadian presence in an era when we are already being submerged in U.S. content on our TVs, and now online.”
Lastly, the CRTC said that its mandate under the Broadcasting Act may have limited the scope of its examination of new media, and called for a national digital strategy to allow for “a holistic approach” to the digital era’s opportunities and challenges.
"Canada needs a comprehensive national strategy to secure its digital future," said CRTC chair Konrad von Finckenstein in the Commission’s press release. "Such a strategy is essential if we want to maintain a competitive advantage in this global environment."
Both ACTRA and the CFTPA applauded the idea of national digital strategy, which would follow the lead of countries like Britain, France and Australia.
“Our association, which represents more than 400 small and medium-sized businesses, believes that independent producers, broadcasters and all other industry stakeholders must unite to map a legislative and regulatory framework for the new digital generation”, the CFTPA’s statement continued.
But Rogers’ Engelhart is lukewarm on the idea.
“In my experience, it’s not a very productive way of making policy,” he said.
Click here for more on the CRTC’s report.
