Production sector must understand telecom: new CMPA boss

As the telecommunications and media industries continue to converge, the production sector must pay more attention to what were traditionally considered telecom issues, according to Reynolds Mastin, the new CEO of the Canadian Media Production Association (CMPA). “I think that we as an industry writ large are increasingly going to have to get out of our statutory silos, where you just worry about telecom or you just worry about broadcasting, and are going to have to take a more holistic view of how the two interrelate, depending upon what issue we’re talking about,” he said in a phone interview about a month after he replaced Michael Hennessy as the head of the organization. Operating in both media and telecom is something most of Canada’s largest companies in these industries already do. As a result, those in the creative industry have to be savvy in both areas, Mastin said. Mastin noted one telecom file the CMPA will be watching closely is the CRTC’s proceeding on what basic telecom services should be available to all Canadians, which will look at whether broadband should be a basic service. “I think that, in this day and age, you can’t have a conversation about broadband and the vital role that it plays in the economy and Canadians’ day-to-day lives without also talking about the content that it delivers,” he said. “What I don’t think we can afford anymore is to, as an industry, have these siloed discussions,” Mastin said. “There is more and more of a merger between carriage and content that we just can’t afford to ignore, whether it’s from a regulatory or public policy perspective.” He added in a followup email that the basic telecom services proceeding is “a good example of where stakeholders in the Canadian broadcasting system need to make themselves conversant with the Telecommunications Act and its related regulations.” Looking ahead, one of the CMPA’s main priorities will be bringing more funding, both from public and private sources, to independent producers. “We are going to be singularly focused on looking at different ways at attracting more public and private capital to the sector, because in doing that, you then can better support development, which leads to better shows, which leads to higher revenues, which in turn further capitalizes production companies,” he said. That includes looking at “the current regulatory framework writ large, in terms of where there may be certain rules and regulation that are impeding maximizing the amount of capital that comes into the system.” (CMPA spokeswoman Anne Trueman said in an email Monday — following this article's orginal publication on Friday — that when referring to "public" sources of funding, Mastin meant publicly traded companies, not government.) Mastin said another priority will be the upcoming group licence renewals for vertically integrated broadcasters at the CRTC. He said he expects at least some of those companies to ask the CRTC to reduce their programming expenditure obligations, which the CMPA will oppose. Other CRTC proceedings the CMPA plans to keep an eye on are the review of the Independent Production Fund, and a “Discoverability Summit,” both of which the CRTC announced in March. As the federal election kicks into high gear, the CMPA will be watching closely to see what happens around the issue of a “Netflix tax,” though Mastin noted it’s not a question that has, at least as yet, gained “a huge amount of political traction.” It's among the few telecom and media issues have been brought up during the campaign thus far. Another issue of interest to the CMPA is funding for CBC/Radio-Canada, Mastin said. The CMPA wants to see funding cuts imposed on the CBC reversed. “We’re hopeful that whichever party or parties form the government, that they will be receptive to looking at that,” he said. Whatever government is elected in October, the CMPA’s overall focus when it comes to government relations will be “stability and predictability” with the federal tax credit regime, which Mastin called “a predictable and key source” of funding for productions. “One of our key messages will be is working, it is successful. There may be some tweaks we might want to make to that regime, but it’s vitally important that it be maintained,” he said. One of the biggest challenges facing producers right now, he said, is the CRTC’s recent elimination of terms of trade. In March 2015, the CRTC decided to effectively eliminate the agreement, which guaranteed certain rights for producers. The CMPA challenged that decision, though the attempt was dismissed in the Federal Court of Appeal. “We are strongly of the view that it is essential that there be some mechanism in place — going into a licence renewal or coming out of a licence renewal — that ensures that there is an equitable balance in the commercial relationship between broadcasters and producers,” he said. That doesn’t necessarily have to take the form of terms of trade. “What we do know is that if there isn’t a mechanism, and if the CRTC is not meaningfully involved in the implementation of that mechanism, then producers are going to find themselves under enormous pressure to give up key rights and revenues that are essential to the success of their own businesses,” he said. — With reporting by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca and editing by Derek Abma at dabma@thewirereport.ca CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article inaccurately used the word "rescues" in the last quote from Mastin when it should have been "revenues."

Production sector must understand telecom: new CMPA boss

Broadcast | September 11, 2015

Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you need.

FREE TRIAL

SUBSCRIBE

Inside The Wire Report

Information

Hill Times Publishing

Get in Touch With Us

Production sector must understand telecom: new CMPA boss

Broadcast | September 11, 2015

Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you need.

FREE TRIAL

SUBSCRIBE

Related Stories

CBC expands local news programming following Google news act exemption

Marie-Philippe Bouchard to take over from Catherine Tait at CBC

CBC head Tait grilled once again on executive pay, exit package

Public broadcasters formally commit to addressing disinformation, news availability

Reuse & Permissions

Inside The Wire Report

Information

Hill Times Publishing

Get in Touch With Us