LET’S TALK TV: Blais pulls plug, albeit briefly, on Netflix testimony

By Perry Hoffman

GATINEAU - The screen went black for about 15 minutes Friday morning at the CRTC’s Let’s Talk TV policy hearing when chairman Jean-Pierre Blais abruptly called for a break after Netflix’s director of global public policy, Corie Wright, repeatedly refused to agree to provide Canadian subscriber information in confidence. After the TV time out, Netflix was ordered to provide Canadian subscriber information without the confidentiality guarantee it was seeking.The brouhaha started about 10 minutes into questioning when vice-chair of broadcasting Tom Pentefountas wondered aloud if Netflix would provide Canadian subscriber figures. After Wright responded that the company didn’t release data...