Radio & Television

ANALYSIS: Regulation in the time of Covid

By Doug Barrett ALONG WITH ALL THE OTHER stresses and strains in this unsettled time comes a very particular challenge for the broadcasting system during a pandemic: What to do about all of the conditions and requirements imposed on broadcasters by the CRTC. It turns out the problem is not straightforward. In mid-July, the Canadian Association of Broadcasters filed a formidable application with the Commission on behalf of all private radio and television broadcasters that painted a bleak economic picture for the March to June period and beyond, and bluntly asked for sweeping regulatory relief. The relief requested: “…absent evidence...