Cartt.ca examines (sub required) the broadcaster responses to the CRTC’s plan to publicize the forthcoming broadcast digital transition. CTV argues that the planned public service announcements would result in millions in lost advertising revenue.
Post Tagged with: "Broadcasting"
Broadcast Vertical Integration Facing Two Rounds of Studies
Concerns over broadcast vertical integration in Canada will be the subject of two proceedings. The Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage has voted to conduct hearings later this year, while the CRTC will hold a public proceeding on the issue in May 2011.
Media Mergers the Last Stab at Failed Walled Garden Strategy
AOL ultimately won, becoming the largest online service provider in the world in the late 1990s. With tens of millions of subscribers, the company continued to bet on its walled garden approach, even as many people merely wanted their services to access the Internet. Over the years, AOL saw its market share shrink dramatically, overtaken by an open Internet that offers infinitely more choice than any single company can.
While others attempted to erect their own walled gardens – Minitel in France, early Internet access on wireless devices that only pointed to company-approved sites and services – consumer demand for open Internet access consistently won out.
Despite the poor track record, my weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) notes that walled gardens seemingly still hold appeal to companies that believe the best way to distinguish their services is to offer exclusive access to content. In recent months, Canada has experienced perhaps the last stab at a walled garden strategy with Shaw Communications’ purchase of Canwest Global Communications and BCE’s acquisition of CTV. Throw in the broadcast assets owned by Rogers Communications and Videotron and control of the major Canadian private broadcasters is solidly in the hands of telecom and cable companies.
Federal Court Rules Internet Providers Not Broadcasters
Appeared in the Toronto Star on July 12, 2010 as Court: Internet Providers Aren't Broadcasters Last year, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission released its new media decision, which addressed the prospect of increased CRTC regulation of Internet activities. After days of hearings and thousands of pages of submissions, the […]
Federal Court Rules Internet Providers Not Broadcasters
Last year, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission released its new media decision, which addressed the prospect of increased CRTC regulation of Internet activities. After days of hearings and thousands of pages of submissions, the Commission side-stepped the pressure to "do something," maintaining a hands-off approach and punting the most contentious issue – the prospect of a new levy on Internet providers to fund Canadian content – to the courts.
The Internet levy proposal received strong support from several Canadian creator groups, who argued that given the video content streamed online, ISPs should be viewed as broadcasters within the Broadcasting Act. By treating ISPs as the equivalent of conventional broadcasters, they would be required to contribute to the Act’s policy objectives, which include promotion and support for Canadian content. The ISPs unsurprisingly opposed the proposal, maintaining that they are mere conduits in the transmission of video content. They argued the levy proposal was illegal since they are regulated under the Telecommunications Act as telecom companies, not broadcasters.
My weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) notes the two sides faced off at the Federal Court of Appeal earlier this year and last week a unanimous court sided with the ISPs, ruling that providing access to broadcasting is not the same as broadcasting. It concluded that so long as ISPs maintain a content-neutral approach, they fall outside of the Broadcasting Act and should not be expected to play a role in promoting the policies found in the legislation.
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