Post Tagged with: "broadcast"

The Case For Cancelling Canada’s Simultaneous Substitution Rules

The government’s promise to implement a “pick-and-pay” television model that would allow consumers to subscribe to individual channels from cable and satellite providers garnered significant attention this fall. The approach was promoted as a pro-consumer reform that better reflects expectations that the public controls when, where, and on what device they watch broadcast programming.

Consistent with the government’s policy commitment, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission will soon report on the regulatory implications of such a reform. Changing cable packages may only be the beginning, however, as CRTC Chair Jean-Pierre Blais has stated that the regulator needs to “develop a regulatory framework that will be flexible enough to be adapted to the new technological reality.”

My weekly technology law column (homepage version, Toronto Star version) notes the unbundling of television packages represents the broadcast distribution side of the changing environment, but the flip side of the coin involves the need for changes to Canadian broadcast policy. If Industry Minister James Moore and the CRTC are prepared to shake up the way Canadians access television, they should also consider changing longstanding and increasingly outdated broadcast rules, starting with the gradual elimination of “simultaneous substitution” policies.

December 17, 2013 — 6 comments — Columns

The Case For Cancelling Canada’s Simultaneous Substitution Rules

Appeared in the Toronto Star on December 14, 2013 as It’s Time to Let Canadians See Those Super Bowl Ads The government’s promise to implement a “pick-and-pay” television model that would allow consumers to subscribe to individual channels from cable and satellite providers garnered significant attention this fall. The approach […]

December 17, 2013 — Comments are Disabled — Columns Archive

Government to Mandate “Pick-and-Pay” Pricing Option for Television Services

The government’s Speech from the Throne is set for this Wednesday with a “consumer first” agenda reportedly a focal point of the upcoming legislative agenda. Industry Minister James Moore discussed the speech over the weekend, pointing to a range of targets including wireless competition, wireless roaming fees, and the bundling of television channels that forces millions of consumers to purchase channels they do not want. Moore says that the government will require cable and satellite providers to offer a pick-and-pay option to consumers, though it is not clear which legislative tool they will use to do so. I wrote about the forthcoming throne speech last month, pointing to pick-and-pay services as a potential policy reform.

I also wrote about the benefits of a pick-and-pay system last year, arguing that the “broadcast community has long resisted a market-oriented approach that would allow consumers to exercise real choice in their cable and satellite packages, instead demanding a corporate welfare regulatory framework that guarantees big profits and mediocre programming.” This is particularly true of Bell Media, Canada’s largest media company that has been among the most vocal in opposing consumer choice. In a hearing before the CRTC that focused on consumer choice, Bell said that “we are dreadfully fearful of a penetration decline that would wipe out revenues that are necessary to support the obligations of these services.” It reiterated its opposition when asked directly, claiming “there will be a potentially dramatic penetration drop, and hence volume drop and hence revenue drop, as repackaging moves along the continuum to, you know, set packaging all the way to standalone.”

October 15, 2013 — 14 comments — News

How Canada Can Put Digital Consumers First

Reports over the past week have indicated that the government plans to unveil a “consumer first” agenda for its upcoming Speech from the Throne. The speech, which will set out the federal legislative and policy agenda for the next two years, is widely viewed as the unofficial start of the 2015 election campaign.

My weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) notes there is little doubt that the battle over wireless pricing, which hit a fever pitch over the summer in a very public fight between Industry Minister James Moore and the incumbent telecom companies, will figure prominently in any consumer agenda. The government is convinced that it has a winner on its hands – consumer frustration with Canada’s high wireless prices suggests that they’re right – and will continue to emphasize policies geared toward increasing competition.

Yet a consumer first agenda should involve more than just taking on the telcos on spectrum (or the airlines over their pricing practices). A digital consumer first agenda should prioritize several other issues that have similar potential to strike a chord with Canadians across the country. At the heart of those digital issues are two ongoing consumer concerns: pricing and protections.

September 25, 2013 — 11 comments — Columns

How the Government Can Put Digital Consumers First

Appeared in the Toronto Star on September 21, 2013 as How Ottawa Can Put Digital Consumers First Reports over the past week have indicated that the government plans to unveil a “consumer first” agenda for its upcoming Speech from the Throne. The speech, which will set out the federal legislative […]

September 24, 2013 — Comments are Disabled — Columns Archive