Prime Time 2010: Eliminating OTA Cancon expenditures a mistake says CRTC chair

OTTAWA - CRTC chair Konrad von Finckenstein said Friday the regulator had “made a mistake” in eliminating Canadian content spending requirements for over-the-air broadcasters back in 1999.Speaking in conversation with broadcast veteran Trina McQueen during the CFTPA Prime Time in Ottawa conference, von Finckenstein added, “It doesn’t make sense.”However, the chair noted that the system “can’t turn back.” While failing to confirm expenditures would be revived in upcoming regulation, it looks like the CRTC is heading that way.McQueen noted that the CRTC should not want “to make the same mistake over again” (by not changing the rules).Can’t the amount of...