OTTAWA – Granted, it’s just another in the thousands of oft-ignored parliamentary committee reports, but a new one released today by the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage wants the CRTC to hold a public hearing about whether or not the likes of Netflix, Google TV, Apple TV, etc., should be contributing funds to the Canadian television industry.
The report, “Impacts Of Private Television Ownership Changes And The Move Towards New Viewing Platforms,” was informed by five fall 2010 meeting days which heard from 21 witnesses representing Canadian media companies (big and small), carriers, producers, artists, and regulators (all of which was covered each day by Cartt.ca.
The committee cited the integration of Canwest Global TV into Shaw Communications and CTV into Bell (as well as the prior purchase of Citytv by Rogers and TVA by Quebecor), as reasons for calling their witnesses and as the impetus for the study and the report.
It summarizes the positions of each group involved – some of whom, like Shaw, called for Cancon regulations being applied online.
Quoting Rogers Communications’ senior vice-president, regulatory, Ken Engelhart in the report: “Canadian broadcasting and distribution companies face more and more competition from unregulated over-the-top service providers like YouTube, Apple TV, Hulu, and Netflix, and various illegal black market services. These companies pose a serious threat to broadcasting and cable companies, as they compete with Canadian media companies for scarce advertising and subscription dollars and encourage consumers to cut the cord on the regulated system by offering niche low-cost or free on-demand content.”
So in response to what the committee thinks is happening in Canada and around the world, it came up with five recommendations (where there has already been some action):
• That the Government of Canada ensure that taxpayer-supported content be available on as many distribution platforms as possible (the CRTC has already slapped a moratorium on exclusive content deals pending its June vertical integration hearing).
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• That the CRTC establish timely deadlines for Canada’s communications system to be fully accessible to persons with visual and auditory disabilities (the Commission has addressed this with the new fund it created from the BCE/CTV benefits package).
• That the Commission examine the growing emergence of non-Canadian broadcast players in the new digital realm and initiate a public consultation process to determine whether and how such non-Canadian companies should support Canadian cultural programming (this is the recommendation we led with, aimed squarely at making the likes of Netflix et al pay into the system).
• That the Government of Canada reaffirm the importance and necessity of Canadian control and ownership of Canadian broadcasting (Most expect this to be part of Industry Minister Tony Clement’s digital economy strategy, set to be released at Canada 3.0 in May – unless we’re thrown into an election, one supposes).
