LET’S TALK TV: Big changes as genre protection rules go, new online VOD exemption, set top data to be gathered; daytime Cancon set at zero

By Perry Hoffman

OTTAWA - The CRTC unveiled sweeping changes to the Canadian TV broadcasting system earlier today. The Regulator has eliminated genre protection rules, shifted from Canadian content exhibition quotas to spending requirements and created a new class of online video-on-demand (VOD) services.In a speech to the Canadian Club of Ottawa, Commission chair Jean-Pierre Blais underscored the need to adapt the broadcasting system to meet the realities of today where “people watch content in the ways, on the devices and at the times that most suit them.” He acknowledged that content is still king, but added that the viewer is now emperor.Blais...