As I wrote earlier this week, the deadline for submissions for the CRTC's Diversity of Voices proceeding closed on Wednesday. There is a lot to review – samples of submissions from hundreds of Canadians, competing consultants reports (CFTPA hired Nordicity, Canwest hired Communic@tions Management), some calls for regulation of new media content (ACTRA, Socan), and opposing claims about whether the CRTC should encourage or discourage greater media concentration.
My column focused on the net neutrality issues associated with new media and the diversity of voices and I think it is noteworthy that several submissions raised similar concerns. Corus, which is one of Canada's most successful media and entertainment companies, immediately became one of the highest profile Canadian companies to express concern about net neutrality, stating:
Canadian creators and producers need to ensure that they can continue to have access to the networked bit stream on the basis of equitable rules. The CRTC should examine its potential role in governing net neutrality to ensure that access remains open to Canadian services on new digital distribution platforms. Corus recommends the establishment of an Industry Task Force on net neutrality.
The Corus concerns were echoed by Pelmorex, which owns the Weather Network, which ranks among the most popular Canadian websites.
