CCTA’s five-point plan reiterates past call for consumer-driven policy framework

The Canadian Cable Television Association (CCTA) has released a five-point strategic plan that is simply a reiteration of its previous stances. The plan calls for: Removal of restrictions on the freedom of Canadians to choose their programming services, Relaxed regulation of cable systems in small communities, Adoption of open investment rules for Canadian communications enterprises, Continued regulation of monopoly telephone services until the market achieves the same levels of competition reached in the wireless, video and Internet markets, Greater efforts in the fight against satellite TV signal theft through legislation and enforcement, even as the government promotes increased competition and choice. CCTA president and CEO Michael Hennessy admits that the five-point plan builds on previous cable views. "The thing is that I was the policy guy before so I’ve been writing this for years. There is something to be said for sticking to your position until you convince people to listen," he tells Canadian Communications Reports. But he points out that things such as VoIP and TV signal theft were not on the radar five years ago. "Signal theft has exploded. When we looked at things four years ago, peer-to-peer was nothing. So what’s changing is how rapidly digital technology is taking hold, and we hadn’t gotten convergence of networks and devices," he adds. "You have to be able to establish a place that is responsive to consumers and audiences, and part of that is ensuring that the overall system is the system of choice for consumers. If you are not responsive, they have all the technology to bypass." In its Remember Convergence? Annual Report 2003/04, the CCTA reiterates that research shows that customers want the best of Canada and the best of the world. It also notes that a more open market will stimulate the rollout of digital platforms that can deliver advanced media services direct to every home. The CCTA made a similar argument last May when then president and CEO Janet Yale unveiled the results of a survey conducted by The Strategic Counsel on behalf of the CCTA. Citing consumer demand for more choice, she asked the CRTC to give cable operators more flexibility in how channels are packaged and which services are carried (CCR, May 23/03). The survey has been replicated this year, and the CCTA will release the latest results on July 13. The CCTA has also long used the "consumer choice" argument in its drive to get more foreign channels approved for carriage in Canada (CCR, April 22/04). "People say there is no way you could ever have HBO in Canada because it would be very harmful. Putting aside whether or not you agree with that, because I think there are questions of linkage that you could look at, if you really believe that you can’t allow any more American channels, why can’t you have more competition from Canadian-owned companies because obviously the demand is there?" Hennessy asks. The CCTA says that regulation must be relaxed for cablecos operating in small communities so that they can better compete with satellite TV, and allow them to reinvest in broadband networks and applications. The cable association successfully used this line of thinking to get the CRTC to make Class 3 and Class 2 cablecos unaffiliated with the four large cable companies exempt from licensing (CCR, June 21/04; June 7/01). But Hennessy states that the small cablecos are in need of further deregulation. "All it has done is enabled small cablecos to save some money by not having to pay licence fees. But there is still limited flexibility in terms of packaging," he says. The call to open up foreign investment rules is another long-standing desire of the CCTA. It made its plea for the benefits of foreign investment in the cable industry before both the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage and the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology last year (CCR, June 20/03; May 8/03). The fourth point in the strategic plan involving the continued regulation of monopoly telephone services so that cablecos can break into the telephony market is also being voiced by the CCTA in the CRTC’s current VoIP proceeding (see article in this issue). The desire for a stepped-up fight against satellite TV signal theft has also been voiced repeatedly by the cable association. Almost two years ago, Yale called on the federal government to stand up for its own TV and cultural policies by cracking down on the illegal black and grey market (CCR, Sept. 26/02). The CCTA strategic plan notes that there is "a need to replace regulatory barriers with development incentives."

CCTA’s five-point plan reiterates past call for consumer-driven policy framework

Broadcast | July 5, 2004

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