TORONTO – CHUM Limited CEO Jay Switzer said yesterday that while conventional radio broadcasters will feel little immediate impact from the two satellite radio companies coming to market, the future repercussions he foresees makes him worry for the country.
Switzer was part of a broadcast panel with Corus Entertainment CEO John Cassaday and Alliance Atlantis executive chairman Michael MacMillan at the BMO Nesbitt Burns Media and Telecom conference which concluded today in Toronto.
When asked about the satellite radio decision, which CHUM and others vehemently protested but which federal cabinet decided late last week to let stand, Switzer said he feared for Canadian culture.
“Will it affect the private commercial radio business over the next three to four years? Probably not,” he said.
“Will we be a better country 10 years from now? Many of us happen to think not. Had this decision been made with satellite television 10 years ago we wouldn’t have a successful ExpressVu and Star Choice and the successful Canadian channels which have benefited from that,” he pointed out.
CHUM will simply get on with business for now, Switzer continued, “and deal with what eventually will require a leveling of the playing field some time in the future in terms of Canadian content obligations between commercial radio – which has significant obligations – and satellite radio… which have di minimus obligations. But that’s for another decade.
“As a broadcaster, we’re more sad for Canada than we are for our own business in the short term.”
Cassaday, who’s company has a marketing agreement with Canadian Satellite Radio and did not protest the CRTC licensing decision, said Corus accepted satellite radio as a fact. It’s coming, period, no matter who owns it, so why not let some Canadian jobs be created and revenue generated here.
Besides, he said, “we’re of the belief that local radio can compete effectively with satellite radio. We just have to be great locally.
“Pragmatically, we took the view… that this would come down to an issue of culture versus cars and that cars would win,” Cassaday explained. “It would be difficult to imagine cabinet saying to the car companies ‘please continue to manufacture here – but if you don’t mind could you please make the cars a little bit different here.’”
Switzer then went on to say he thought the upcoming battle over regulating content on wireless devices (as reported previously by www.cartt.ca) will be impacted by the sat rad decision. “Our concern is that this licensing model and this regulatory model might be used as an example for appropriate content levels for the next round of video-based handheld wireless devices and if that’s allowed to happen, that does creep into the video space when those devices become more widespread – and ends up coming back into the home.”
