GROUP LICENSE RENEWALS: Vertically integrated broadcasters can do much better on Cancon

By Perry Hoffman

OTTAWA - TV and film production stakeholders are urging the CRTC to not lose sight of its Canadian programming expenditure (CPE) benchmarks when considering the group-based licence renewals of the large, vertically integrated, broadcasters. The Canadian Media Production Association tells the Commission that it shouldn’t acquiesce to any demands to deviate from its proposed 30% CPE requirement and argues that the CRTC should reject outright broadcasters’ demands to have CPE requirements lower than 30%. “Since the broadcaster groups all compete for the same types of programming (both Canadian and foreign) and for the same advertisers, they should all be subject...