If enacted, the changes would move the Canadian broadcast framework closer to that found in the U.S. The Federal Communications Commission has a limited rule against broadcast hoaxes that provides:
Post Tagged with: "broadcast"
CRTC Proposes to Change Standard for Broadcasting False or Misleading News
CRTC of Old Re-Emerges in Music Station Case
Taking pot shots at Canada’s national broadcast regulator has practically been a national sport for many years, as observers from across the political spectrum paint the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission as too interventionist, too luddite, too slow, or a combination of all of the above.
As my recent technology law column (forgotten with all the copyright activity – Toronto Star version, homepage version) notes, in recent years, the commission has worked to shed its negative reputation by increasingly adopting decisions that favour letting consumers and businesses decide broadcast winners and losers. For example, the recent fee-for-service decision promotes a negotiated settlement between broadcasters and cable companies with the CRTC betting that consumer expectations will provide sufficient incentive to ensure that local programming remains accessible to viewers.
Reviewing CRTC’s Broadcast Policy Decision
My weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) takes a look back at last week's CRTC broadcast policy decision and report on the consumer impact. The piece covers much the same terrain as two blog posts on the same issue. I note that after months of intense lobbying and marketing that pitted broadcasters ("Local TV Matters") against cable and satellite companies ("Stop the TV Tax"), the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission weighed in last week with its much-anticipated broadcasting regulatory policy decision.
Broadcasting Policy Without The Net
The CRTC's release of its much-anticipated broadcasting regulatory policy decision set off a flurry of comments yesterday with broadcasters welcoming the prospect of negotiating fees for their local signals, broadcast distributors warning of increased costs, and the CBC arguing that the decision was a "dark day" for public broadcasters after it was excluded from the negotiating process. While there is understandably considerable discussion in the decision on programming requirements, the media focus centered on the fee-for-carriage issue. On that front, the CRTC has opened the door to negotiations, subject to a court ruling confirming the Commission's jurisdiction to implement such an approach.
It seems appropriate that on the day the CRTC released its decision, a new study was published that found Canadians now spend more time online than watching television. While the world is increasingly moving online, the CRTC decision acts as if the Internet scarcely exists. The broadcasting policy decision mentions the Internet once (acknowledging that it is a platform for content distribution) and does not including any reference to streaming, Youtube, podcast, BitTorrent, or peer-to-peer (used by the CBC to distribute its content). The word "consumer" is mentioned five times, though the consumer perspective will be addressed in a second report due later today to Cabinet.
CTV & Canwest Ask CRTC To Order Blocking Of U.S. Programs
The CRTC kicks off two weeks of hearings next week that place the spotlight on the fee-for-carriage fight. Last night, I participated in an interesting debate on the issue on TVO's The Agenda called A Pox On Both Their Houses: Cable and TV. The program is embedded below. One issue […]
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