OTTAWA – The CRTC announced Wednesday it is giving interested parties more time to prepare their submissions for the regulatory review of broadcasting distribution.
Responding to a series of requests, the CRTC has decided to extend the deadline for the filing of comments by 10 days, to Oct. 19th, and the filing of replies to Nov. 16th. The oral public hearing will also be delayed, by one week, and will be held beginning Feb. 4, 2008 in Gatineau.
Most of the country’s cable and telephone companies, along with the Canadian Film and Television Production Association and the Canadian Conference of the Arts, had asked the CRTC earlier this month for an extension.
The CRTC has called for submissions as part of its review of current Broadcasting Distribution Regulations.
In the decade since the regulations were set out, much has changed. Digital technology has made delivery of services to consumers more efficient and has allowed the development of new services, such as video-on-demand.
But new technology has produced an environment, the CRTC says, where broadcasting licensees face competition from largely unregulated digital platforms.
As well, there is the issue of convergence, with companies crossing boundaries from cable into telephony, Internet, and wireless, and increased consolidation.
For these reasons, the CRTC wants to hear how the regulations might be changed.
