BANFF – While the future of television seems to have hogged the spotlight lately, CRTC chairman Jean-Pierre Blais told broadcasters on Thursday that radio stations, like TV broadcasters, must be innovative and focused on the future in order to survive.
Speaking at the annual conference of the Western Association of Broadcasters in what he described as the first part of a two-part speech (with the second part to be delivered at the Banff World Media Festival), Blais said that radio does more than just inform, educate and entertain. It also “forms important connections to local communities across the country” and is still the first place many Canadian listeners turn to for reliable, up-to-date news and information during crises.
Yet with some listeners abandoning the medium in favour of online streaming or subscription-based services, broadcast quotas are becoming increasingly less effective, Blais said, before asking how best to exploit radio’s role as a tastemaker and conduit to helping Canadians discover new music.
“If part of the solution to radio’s problems is broadcast quotas, then let’s talk”, Blais said. “We at the CRTC are not opposed to adjusting quotas. We are doing it for TV, after all. But before anyone makes such a shout, know that we won’t let go of quotas without first finding a replacement tool that helps us meet our mandated cultural policy objectives. Perhaps part of the answer lies in the promotion of Canadian artists on the airwaves. Or promoting Canadian acts by sending them to major music festivals such as South by Southwest.”
Blais said that radio also faces other “difficult questions”, such as the future of AM radio, the role of digital radio, how to make sure smartphones come equipped with FM chips that are turned on, and how to ensure that the FM tuner on the dashboards of connected cars is easy to find.
“We want to work with you to arrive at solutions to these and other challenges”, he added. “Our journey begins this fall when we open a proceeding that will study French vocal music. That’s perhaps not a hot-button item for Western Canadian broadcasters, but the proceeding and its associated public hearing will doubtless help guide and inform future hearings on subjects that are more directly relevant to your interests.”
– Lesley Hunter
