CRTC launches consult on challenges in broadcasting market

The CRTC has kicked off another consultation as part of its ongoing work to update the Canadian broadcasting framework under the Online Streaming Act, this time focusing on the market dynamics between the various players in the country’s broadcasting system. The regulator is seeking comments on a wide range of issues related to the challenges and opportunities that small, medium, and large broadcasters, including online streaming services, are facing in a rapidly evolving media landscape. Stakeholders are invited to weigh in on questions the CRTC has regarding the discoverability of Canadian content, specific challenges in sustaining and growing an audience, and the role of regulation in ensuring a fair and competitive broadcasting marketplace. “Today's consultation is more about how the system as a whole works,” said Scott Shortliffe, CRTC’s executive director of broadcasting, during a technical briefing Thursday. He emphasized that the hearing is exploratory, focusing on how different broadcasters operate their businesses and how Canadians access their services. It is meant to help the regulator design rules that help achieve the objectives of the Broadcasting Act and Online Streaming Act – as such, the CRTC is not presenting many preliminary views, said Shortliffe. “In other words, it's really about the rules of the road,” he explained. “We realize that we're at an inflection point, really a crossroads. Technology is changing, audiences are changing. We need to have a flexible system for the future,” said Shortliffe. A key focus of the consultation is on supporting broadcasting undertakings’ access to the market. Questions the CRTC raises include identifying and mitigating potential barriers to entry, such as structural, financial, technological, and regulatory hurdles that may disproportionately impact certain entities, particularly those from diverse communities, including Indigenous communities, official language minority communities, and equity-deserving groups. With discoverability highlighted as a “central concern” for the commission, it is also asking what mechanisms it can use to support the discoverability and prominence of Canadian and Indigenous content across both traditional and online platforms. To address this, the regulator raises questions about the specific challenges faced by different types of broadcasting undertakings in reaching their intended audiences. With the stated aim of fostering a fair and competitive broadcasting marketplace, the CRTC is reviewing the effectiveness of its current regulatory tools, which have so far only applied to traditional broadcasters, and is asking stakeholders for input on whether they need to be adapted to keep pace with the evolving digital landscape. Such tools include the wholesale Code, which sets the rules for commercial arrangements between programming undertakings and broadcast distributors; mandatory distribution requirements; the undue preference framework; and the standstill rule, which requires parties in dispute to maintain their existing arrangement until it is settled. The consultation will explore whether these tools need to be updated or replaced, and whether they should be extended to online undertakings, including audio undertakings. Parties will have until Feb. 24 to submit their interventions to the commission. Replies are due March 11. A hearing for this proceeding is also scheduled to kick off on May 12. phalentm@thewirereport.ca

CRTC launches consult on challenges in broadcasting market

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By Phalen Tynes-MacDonald
| January 9, 2025

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CRTC launches consult on challenges in broadcasting market

Broadcast | By Phalen Tynes-MacDonald | January 9, 2025

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By Phalen Tynes-MacDonald
| January 9, 2025