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CRTC's Conversation on "Television"

123K views 593 replies 109 participants last post by  Dan_Lee 
#1 ·
Peter Menzies, Vice-chairman of Telecommunications at the CRTC, had, what I thought were some interesting comments in his speech yesterday to the CCSA.

Could it be that the CRTC is realizing that resistance is futile?

One of the old assumptions was that the CRTC could act effectively as a gatekeeper. Those who wanted to broadcast to Canadians had to do so under our rules, and Canadians — Martha and Henry — had little access to broadcasting that hadn't been channelled through those rules.

But now the Internet and all the devices that can reach it directly have created a borderless world. We can no longer define ourselves as gatekeepers in a world in which there may be no gates. We can't tell Canadians what to watch, nor should we. They are free to enjoy a much wider range of information and entertainment than ever before. And they are.

How can we act as an enabler of Canadian expression, rather than as a protector?
 
#583 ·
One of the issues the CRTC must consider are the limitations in its mandate. It has significantly fewer powers than the FCC, which is closer to a combination of IC and the CRTC. The FCC can impose fines on broadcasters but I believe that the CRTC lacks that ability. Due to the CBC's special status, the CRTC is even more hampered when dealing with the CBC. (Since it is a public broadcaster, I believe the CRTC should have more power over the CBC, not less.) Other than revoking a broadcaster's license, the CRTC has few teeth to actually enforce its rulings. Rather than having legal guidelines for making many of its policies and rulings, the CRTC is guided by the whim of the current federal government. The Broadcasting Act needs to be updated to provide the CRTC with a legally specific framework that reflect today's broadcasting market and real powers to enforce them. The old guidelines, such as "protecting Canadian culture", are far too vague and inappropriate for a modern global environment. It reeks of a protectionist, nationalistic mindset that is more appropriate for the 1940s than the 2010s.
 
#584 ·
I doubts the courts are going to have anything to do with this. At best they'll send it back to the cabinet to have the decision reviewed. If the courts start interfering with CRTC decisions, this will set a precedent. Everytime someone doesn't like a CRTC decision they'll use the courts. The .CRTC enforces the Broadcast Act and the courts have no business in it. The cabinet does have the ability to set policy direction
 
#585 ·
The .CRTC enforces the Broadcast Act and the courts have no business in it.
If the CRTC tries to do things that the Broadcasting Act does not give them the power to do, then the Federal Court of Appeal is the appropriate place to have the law clarified. That's what appeals courts are supposed to do. Likewise if the CRTC does things that are prohibited by other laws.
 
#589 ·
Jean-Pierre Blais to speak to The Canadian Club of Ottawa about the Commission's vision for the future of content made by Canadians

On March 12, 2015, Jean-Pierre Blais, Chairman and CEO of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), will deliver a speech to the Canadian Club of Ottawa to talk about some of the outcomes of Let's Talk TV: A Conversation with Canadians and the Commission's vision for the future of content made by Canadians.

The speech will be available on the CRTC website at 1:00PM at http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/com200/media2015.htm

The speech will be available by webcast as of 12:45PM at www.cpac.ca

The press release didn't say what time the CRTC policy on content would be released, but I would guess 1:00PM.
 
#591 ·
The CRTC has made rulings regarding the acceptable quality of HDTV, particularly in regards to simsubs. The networks and BDUs, of course, ignored the guidelines from day one and CRTC procedures made it difficult to get the them enforced. Bell's shoddy simsub practices and bad HDTV broadcasts by Canadian networks made it almost impossible to watch an HD show as originally aired in the US for several seasons. Apart from a brief period when Global simsubs were cancelled, complaints to the CRTC landed on deaf ears.
 
#593 ·
The March 12, 2015 CRTC news release Let's Talk TV: CRTC announces measures to support the creation of content made by Canadians for Canadian and global audiences was split to a separate thread. Please use the following thread to discuss the topic:

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=233402

Even though the policies are a result of "Let's Talk TV," the changes are significant and complex enough to give the subject its own thread.

EDIT: Please use the following thread to discuss the CRTC Policy: maximize choice for TV viewers (pick and pay) to be released March 19.

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?p=2455961
 
#594 ·
I'll be interested to see whether the CRTC will try to go big, or just muddy the waters a bit.

Will they limit bundling to protect the BDUs and their customers from being manipulated by programmers?

If the BDUs are allowed to bundle, then the programmers will continue to insist on mixing their undesirable channels with ones that people want, or charging ridiculous fees for a pick and pay alternative.

Will they stop toying with the notion of copying the US misadventure of retransmission consent and non-duplication?

It is a textbook example of good intentions gone awry, where US satellite and cable viewers have been charged billions for free OTA signals and can be saddled with channels in which the networks have a financial interest, simply to avoid losing access to their local network affiliates.

On my personal wish list: Will we be able to buy this season of Game of Thrones without subsidizing the production of shows like Girls, Veep, The Newsroom and, well, HBO in general?

At least I don't have to wait for the answer to that one.
 
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