Appeared in the Toronto Star on April 20, 2013 as CRTC Should Force Broadcasters to Compete Last month, Jean-Pierre Blais, the chair of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, delivered a much-discussed speech at the Canadian Media Production Association’s annual conference. The CMPA is Canada’s leading organization for the production […]
Post Tagged with: "broadcast"
CRTC Should Put Consumers First and Drop ‘Must Carry’ Requirements
Canadians frustrated with ever-increasing cable and satellite bills received bad news last week with the announcement that the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission will consider whether to require cable and satellite companies to include nearly two-dozen niche channels as part of their basic service packages. If approved, the new broadcast distribution rules would significantly increase monthly cable bills with consumers forced to pay for channels they may not want.
My weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) notes that two issues sit at the heart of the broadcast distribution rules. First, whether the CRTC should grant any broadcaster mandatory distribution across all cable and satellite providers such that all subscribers are required to pay for them as part of their basic packages. Second, in the absence of mandatory distribution, whether broadcast distributors should be required to at least offer the services so that consumers have the option of subscribing.
CRTC Should Put Consumers First and Drop ‘Must Carry’ Requirements
Appeared in the Toronto Star on January 27, 2013 as CRTC Should Put Consumers First and Drop ‘Must Carry’ Requirements Canadians frustrated with ever-increasing cable and satellite bills received bad news last week with the announcement that the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission will consider whether to require cable and […]
The Canadian Public’s Effect on the CRTC Ruling on Whether BCE could Buy Astral
I appeared on CBC News to discuss how Canadians are taking back the CRTC and our communications system. The CRTC, for the first time ever, included questions submitted by members of the public in the hearing. My interview can be found on Youtube or on CBC’s website for better quality.
CRTC Message to Broadcasters: Regulatory Games Coming to an End
Yet the end of the LPIF is only the latest in a series of moves that unravel recent regulatory efforts to provide broadcasters with increased financial support. My weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) notes the courts and the Commission have sent a clear signal that broadcasters should focus on marketplace success, not manipulating the regulatory system.
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