OTTAWA – The avails are still not for sale and while ads will be allowed in the video on demand stream, there are to be new rules, the CRTC announced Monday in releasing its policy decisions on commercial advertising in the local availabilities of non-Canadian services and video-on-demand.
As Cartt.ca readers will recall, the Commission originally called for comments on the sale of local avails back in October, 2008. In doing so, it predicted that revenues from the sale of advertising for insertion in local availabilities could provide a net benefit to the Canadian broadcasting system by, for example, encouraging the development of new forms of advertising that could provide additional value to advertisers and result in new sources of revenue for the system.
Based on the comments received, however, the Commission determined that a net benefit from the sale of commercial advertising for insertion in local availabilities of U.S. cable channels such as A&E, CNN and Golf Channel was not sufficiently demonstrated. It also expressed concern that the proposed change in policy could lead to a reduction in the revenues of conventional television stations “at a time when they are operating under severe financial constraints”, and opted to retain its current policy. Where this leaves the Mediadenovo application, we’re not positive yet.
The Commission also opened the door to advertising in video-on-demand content, with certain provisos (the content has to be acquired from an unaffiliated broadcaster – with the ads sold, presumably, by the broadcaster), and pledged to initiate a further proceeding to establish an exemption order for smaller VOD undertakings.
As well, the ability for BDUs to establish SVOD channels with foreign content that competes against Canadian license holders of similar linear channels, will be curtailed. "The Commission intends to impose a condition of licence on VOD undertakings at their next licence renewals prohibiting them from offering a non-Canadian subscription VOD (SVOD) package that is directly competitive with a Canadian linear discretionary service. This condition of licence will also apply to Canadian VOD packages that might compete directly with genre-protected Canadian discretionary services," reads the decision.
Content "exclusives" on VOD will also be prohibited, says the decision.
Its original call for comments on VOD advertising went out in October 2008, after the CRTC predicted that VOD services would become increasingly competitive with linear services for audiences and revenues.
