Post Tagged with: "netflix"

tv mosaico by Thiago Pedrosa (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) https://flic.kr/p/4kRwu1

When the Walls Come Crumbling Down: The CRTC’s Latest TalkTV Decision

In September 2007, I wrote a column titled “Canadian Broadcasting Policy for a World of Abundance”, which focused on a report commissioned for the CRTC that recognized that conventional broadcast regulations were crumbling in the face of new technologies and the Internet. As it turns out, the Dunbar-Leblanc report was ahead of its time as the CRTC was not ready for the regulatory overhaul it recommended.

No longer.

Standing beside two giant screens proclaiming “Age of Abundance”, CRTC Chair Jean-Pierre Blais unveiled the latest round of decisions from the TalkTV hearing and left little doubt that the Commission is now ready to lead with changes that have been a long time in coming. For Canada’s broadcast regulator, it was time to admit that decades-old policies must adapt to a changing environment in which the viewer is in control (or the emperor, in Blais’ words). Those policies were largely built on creating a regulatory wall for the Canadian system with Cancon requirements, genre protection, foreign ownership rules, and simultaneous substitution. Like many walls, the rules shielded the Canadian market from competition, guaranteeing a place for Canadian content and limiting the impact of more popular U.S. programming.

March 13, 2015 — 11 comments — News

052:365 - 06/21/2012 - Netflix by Shardayyy (CC BY 2.0) https://flic.kr/p/cisnRo

Behind the Scenes of Ontario’s Campaign for a Netflix Tax

The prospect of a “Netflix tax” will be back in the spotlight this week as Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission chair Jean-Pierre Blais unveils the CRTC’s latest round of rulings stemming from its review of broadcast policy. While it is unlikely that the commission will impose a new fee on Netflix subscribers to support the creation of Canadian content, it will not be for lack of lobbying on the issue.

Despite the fact that a Netflix tax would yield less than one per cent of the annual expenditures on Canadian television financing (about $15 million dollars in support for a sector that spent $2.3 billion last year), most content groups called for mandatory Canadian content contribution funding from online video providers during the CRTC’s TalkTV hearings. My weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) notes that amidst the clamour for new funding, there was one voice that attracted the most attention – the Government of Ontario.

March 10, 2015 — 6 comments — Columns

Surrender by Jess (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) https://flic.kr/p/dSCDrf

Raising the Broadcast White Flag: What Lies Behind Bell’s Radical Plan to Raise TV Fees, Block Content, Violate Net Neutrality & Fight Netflix

Kevin Crull, Bell Media’s President delivered a much-anticipated keynote speech at the Prime Time in Ottawa conference on Friday. Titled “The New Reality: Broadcasting in Canada”, Crull’s claim was that the new reality for broadcasting in Canada is unsustainable and requires massive regulatory change. While Crull argued that Bell doesn’t want protection (in fact, incredibly claimed that a company that has benefited from foreign investment restrictions, genre protection, and simultaneous substitution has never had protection), he proceeded to outline a series of radical reforms that would raise television fees, block access to U.S. channels, violate net neutrality rules, and make Netflix less attractive to consumers. Couched in terms of “level playing fields” and “secure rights markets”, the speech was fundamentally an admission that given the competitive challenges, Bell’s hope is for a regulatory overhaul.

The key slide within the presentation can be found here. Crull certainly spoke about creating great content, though on the previous day Bell executives cautioned against programs that are “too Canadian.” The major focus of Crull’s talk wasn’t on content creation – the overwhelming majority of Bell Media’s leading programs are licensed from U.S. broadcasters – but rather on proposed changes to the regulatory framework.

March 9, 2015 — 27 comments — News

The Grand Budapest Hotel by Doug (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) https://flic.kr/p/qcZQxt

Stream On?: How Canadian Law Views Online Streaming Video

The misuse of Canada’s new copyright notice-and-notice system has attracted considerable media and political attention over the past week. With revelations that some rights holders are requiring Internet providers to send notifications that misstate the law in an effort to extract payments based on unproven infringement allegations, the government has acknowledged that the notices are misleading and promised to contact providers and rights holders to stop the practice.

While the launch of the copyright system has proven to be an embarrassment for Industry Minister James Moore, my weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) notes that many Canadians are still left wondering whether the law applies to Internet video streaming, which has emerged as the most popular way to access online video.

January 20, 2015 — 13 comments — Columns

Tree by subflux (CC BY-SA 2.0) https://flic.kr/p/a4KiyM

Why Canada’s Communication Policy Misses the Forest for the Trees

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission wrapped up its third major hearing in as many months last week, focusing on the wholesale market for broadband Internet services. Coming on the heels of the earlier hearings on broadcast television regulation (the “TalkTV” hearing that was highlighted by a showdown with Netflix) and wholesale wireless services, the proceedings followed a familiar script.

The incumbent providers urged the Commission to resist regulating access, claiming a competitive market exists with few barriers to new competitors. Meanwhile, independent Internet providers pointed to their relatively small share of the current broadband market and warned that failure to mandate access for faster fibre connections to the home would effectively eliminate future competition as Canadians gravitate to services offering faster speeds.

While it will take some time for the CRTC to issue its decisions in all three cases (the broadcast decision is expected before the end of the year), it is not too early to declare the entire system broken. The CRTC – Netflix battle prompted many to conclude that the Commission was a relic of the past, unable to adapt to the disruptions facilitated by the Internet. Yet the Commission’s difficulty dealing with the fast-moving changes throughout the communications sector is chiefly the result of an outdated regulatory structure that misses the proverbial forest for the trees.

December 9, 2014 — 6 comments — Columns