CRTC has lost its ‘structure of control,’ says von Finckenstein

OTTAWA—The role of the CRTC could change significantly in the coming years as converging technologies change how Canadians use and access media, CRTC chairman Konrad von Finckenstein said at the Prime Time Ottawa conference Friday. “The Broadcasting Act is based on the principle of limited access, limited frequencies, when you only have so many channels, and you control it all either by giving people licences or letting them on cable and satellite,” von Finckenstein said during a question-and-answer session with Trina McQueen, journalist and professor at the Schulich School of Business. “All those assumptions are no longer there because there’s unlimited shelf space if you take the Internet. We can’t control it anymore. So from a structure of control, we have to move to a structure of incentives ...” he said, adding that the Broadcasting Act and the Telecommunications Act are based on realities that no longer exist. Von Finckenstein said changes could happen incrementally. The government could start with the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission Act as opposed to the Broadcasting Act or the Telecommunications Act, he said. Following von Finckenstein’s comments, the conference hosted a debate over the relevance of the CRTC and its broadcasting and distribution regulations. Michael Hennessy, senior vice-president of regulatory and government affairs at Telus Corp., and Lawson Hunter, counsel at Stikeman Elliott LLP in Ottawa and a former executive with Bell Canada, argued that the CRTC’s current regulations for broadcasters are no longer relevant and should be changed dramatically or phased out completely. Peter Miller, a lawyer and consultant who specializes in the broadcasting and telecommunications industries, and Glenn O’Farrell, CEO and principal at GPO Corp. and the former president and CEO of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB), argued that the regulatory framework for the broadcasting sector will remain important into the foreseeable future. “We are moving from a push world to a pull world,” Hunter said. He added that as consumers choose what they want to watch and when, through video-on-demand services, online video, and mobile content, the CRTC’s quotas on Canadian content will lose their relevance. A paper Hunter co-wrote for the C.D. Howe Institute, titled, “Scrambled Signals: Canadian Content Policies in a World of Technological Abundance,” concludes that “undamental regulatory change is required to reflect the inevitable impact of technological change on consumer viewing behaviour.” “Technology is more powerful than the regulator will ever be,” Hunter said during the debate. He estimated that the CRTC has about five years to adapt to the paradigm shift currently occurring in the broadcasting sector. Hennessy was more forthcoming about the role of government regulations in broadcasting. “If the chairman of the CRTC is telling you they’re obsolete, they’re obsolete,” he said, alluding to von Finckenstein’s comments earlier in the day. Hennessy said the regulatory system and content quotas are clearly not working. “These rules have resulted in virtually no Canadian content in primetime,” he said. He said open platforms will give Canadian content creators access to worldwide audiences. The strongest content will prevail in an open market in which viewers can choose what they want to watch and when. “The government can’t help us,” Hennessy said. O’Farrell disagreed with the argument that open platforms can deliver Canadian content. “Market forces alone won’t make it happen,” he said, adding that the Canadian broadcasting system has nurtured cultural expression. “A Canada without a Canadian broadcasting system is a lesser Canada.” O’Farrell said the Canadian Broadcasting Act has provided the CRTC with an opportunity to exercise a leadership role within the broadcasting sector. Regulations can evolve with technology and still remain relevant to Canadians, he said. Miller said traditional broadcasting remains important to Canadians, who watch an average of 22 hours of television each week. “We are launching more and more digital channels that Canadians are interested in watching,” he said. The CRTC must experiment with the broadcasters to find regulatory solutions for the sector, he said. —with files from Simon Doyle

CRTC has lost its ‘structure of control,’ says von Finckenstein

Broadcast | February 19, 2010

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