Post Tagged with: "ott"

Television by ccharmon (CC BY-ND 2.0) https://flic.kr/p/4TWb7g

The CRTC TalkTV Hearing: The Gap Between Can’t and Won’t

In August 1999, I wrote my first technology law column for the Globe and Mail. The column was titled The Gap Between Can’t and Won’t and it focused on the CRTC’s new media decision that was released earlier that year. The decision was the first major exploration into the applicability of conventional CRTC regulation to the Internet, with the Commission ruling that it had the statutory power to regulate some activities (such as streaming video), but it chose not to do so.

That column came to mind yesterday as I read through some of the CRTC’s TalkTV transcripts and listened to Jesse Brown’s Canadaland podcast on the prospect of a “Netflix tax.” It seems to me that both the discussions before the CRTC (particularly the CBC’s decision to urge the Commission to establish a fee-for-carriage model and a Netflix tax) and the Brown podcast with Steve Faguy fail to distinguish between the gap between can’t and won’t.

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September 16, 2014 5 comments News
Conservative Party on Netflix Tax, https://twitter.com/CPC_HQ/status/509514438043791360/photo/1

Ontario Not Alone in Seeking Netflix Regulation: CBC, Government of Quebec, and Cultural Groups Making Similar Demands

The Government of Ontario’s call for regulation of online video services has generated considerable attention and a government campaign against what it is calling a “Netflix tax.” While the Government of Ontario has tried to back pedal on its request, the newly released CRTC transcript confirms that government officials were warned about the likely public response. Indeed, the following exchange with CRTC Jean-Pierre Blais foreshadowed the reaction:

THE CHAIRPERSON: To put a blunt face on it, you are inviting the CRTC to regulate Google, YouTube and Netflix, aren’t you, and what advice will you be giving your Minister later on today when the potential headline is, “Government of Ontario wants to tax Netflix” or “Government of Ontario wants to regulate the Internet”?

MR. FINNERTY: Well, in fact what we recommend is that new media broadcasting activities be regulated. We did not recommend that the Internet be regulated, but we are very clear in our submission, both our written submission and in today’s presentation, that we believe that new media broadcasting activity should be regulated to support the principles of the Broadcasting Act and to support Ontario’s very important entertainment and creative cluster.

It is worth noting that the Government of Ontario is not alone on this issue. A review of submissions from many cultural groups reveals that “regulating Netflix” is a common theme in the submissions. For example, the Government of Quebec asks the CRTC to investigate the possibility of imposing payments on online video providers:

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September 10, 2014 10 comments News

CBC’s All In the Day: Should Netflix be Regulated?

I appeared on All in a Day to discuss whether Netflix with its growing relevance to the broadcasting sector should be regulated by the CRTC.

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February 18, 2014 Comments are Disabled News Interviews, Tv / Radio

CRTC on Over-The-Top Video: Opportunity Not Threat

CRTC Commissioner Peter Menzies delivered a speech for Len Katz yesterday at the Banff World Media Festival, which featured some notable comments about over-the-video services such as Netflix: OTT is an exciting new way to reach out to people. Let’s not think of it as a threat to Canadian content. […]

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June 12, 2012 2 comments News

CRTC Says No Need For Another Over-The-Top Video Fact Finding Exercise

The CRTC has written to participants from the last “fact finding exercise” on over-the-top video services to advise that it believes that no further studies are needed as this time. The Commission notes that “over-the-top programming services have not had an impact sufficient to warrant another fact-finding exercise at this […]

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April 18, 2012 2 comments News