Péladeau calls for CBC to be banned from advertising, charging for content

Quebecor Inc. CEO Pierre Karl Péladeau has called on the CRTC to recentre the mission of CBC/Radio-Canada to a “true public interest mission” where the public broadcaster does not receive any advertising income, stating it should move towards a model of complementary, rather than competitive behaviour. Péladeau told the commission Tuesday during hearings into CBC’s license renewal, according to simultaneous translation, that such a change was “imperative to protect the survivability of private broadcasters” that are entirely reliant on advertising revenues. Quebecor lodged with the CRTC a list of complaints detailing “anti-competitive behaviour” it alleges the public broadcaster has engaged in, including placing advertisements on CBC Radio content posted online, when it’s banned from airing advertisements on CBC Radio. Péladeau told commissioners that the CBC’s anti-competitive behaviours had multiplied in the last few years and said there was no evidence that it intended to arrest that trend. Another main concern for Péladeau was the CBC’s digital platforms that charge subscribers a fee for accessing content, particularly ICI Tou.tv Extra, stating that the CBC should be prevented from charging for content. Quebecor filed a Part 1 application with the CRTC last January calling on the CBC to shut down the subscription streaming service, with Péladeau claiming in a news release that the CBC was “charging subscription fees for access to content that is already heavily subsidized by the public through income tax and sales tax.” These commercial projects, as well as the controversial branded content initiative Tandem, are examples of the CBC acting “completely outside the scope of its mandate,” Péladeau told the hearing. Péladeau also argued it was “not logical that the CBC be subject to less regulatory controls than private broadcasters,” and said it was “inconceivable” that the CBC was seeking to have some of its programs of national interest (PNI) and content for children and youth transferred to its online programming, where it is exempted from Canadian content requirements. Other changes Péladeau proposed to the CBC’s licence include requiring it to take into account the impact of its actions on private broadcasters, provide the best international, national, regional and local news coverage and cease buying foreign programs, including American blockbusters. Péladeau also said the public broadcaster should have higher levels of Canadian programming expenditures by supporting the development of emerging artists and reflecting regions outside of Quebec, and respect a requirement to be publicly accountable with regard to the management of its activities. “A commercial strategy that is competitive is not in harmony with the public service mandate that has been given to the public broadcaster, hence the importance of recentring of its mandate with the help of more targeted regulatory requirements we’ve just put forward,” Péladeau told the hearing. “The future of our TV and the diversity of TV offered depends on a balanced ecosystem where each broadcaster finds its place.”

Péladeau calls for CBC to be banned from advertising, charging for content

Brief | January 19, 2021

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Péladeau calls for CBC to be banned from advertising, charging for content

Brief | January 19, 2021

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