7e partie dans notre série sur la révision des Lois sur la radiodiffusion et des télécommunications
LE SYSTÈME DE RADIODIFFUSION canadien est entré dans une ère de changements, mais il n’y a pas que la transition numérique qui pose problème. Certains affirment que les politiques sur l’intégration verticale ont causé tout autant de problèmes.
Comme l’indique Brad Danks, PDG de OUTtv dans un article précédent (et dans ses propres écrits sur le sujet), l’intégration verticale a eu un effet négatif sur le système canadien de radiodiffusion au détriment des petits joueurs indépendants. C’est ici que le droit de la concurrence devrait…
Continue Reading
GATINEAU – In a complaint filed with the CRTC last week, the Canadian Cable Systems Alliance says Rogers Media is violating a number of CRTC policies in refusing to let its members launch or re-package channels as contract negotiations drag on.
The CCSA represents over 115 independent broadband and video carriers which collectively serve approximately 350,000 Canadians, in areas which compete with one or more of the bigger providers, or in more rural regions.
In the complaint, filed February 22nd and posted to the Commission’s website Wednesday, the CCSA says Rogers Media Inc. is now refusing to permit CCSA members to…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – Despite pleas for lots more, the federal government has given a small boost to local journalism, providing one or more still to be determined independent non-governmental organizations with $50 million over five years to support such efforts in underserved communities.
Budget 2018 noted “As more and more people get their news online, and share their interests directly through social media, many communities have been left without local newspapers to tell their stories.”
The Liberals will also be exploring new local news business models that could see greater involvement of private and philanthropic support “for trusted, professional, non-profit and local…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – The CRTC is calling for comments as it reconsiders its earlier decision to block U.S.-based cable television shopping service QVC from the list of non-Canadian programming services and stations authorized for distribution north of the border.
The move comes after a Federal Court of Appeal (FCA) ruled last September to allow an appeal of the Commission’s April 2016 decision that rejected VMedia Inc.’s application to add QVC to the List. The FCA determined that the decision was not reasonable as it did not adequately explain why the Commission deviated from its general approach with respect to the…
Continue Reading
Part VI in our series on rewriting the Broadcasting and Telecom Acts
TODAY’S COMMUNICATIONS WORLD is marked by a few large, vertically integrated companies offering Internet access, broadcasting, telecommunications and wireless services. These firms have considerable control over who has access to their networks and what content is available over their respective pipes.
This means governments and regulators must ensure smaller independent competitors have access to these networks and to make this access as competitively neutral as possible. Even more, the big owners of those networks shouldn’t be able to favour some content over others. This, in a nutshell, is net…
Continue Reading
6e partie dans notre série sur la révision des Lois sur la radiodiffusion et des télécommunications
LE MONDE DES communications d’aujourd’hui est dominé par quelques grandes entreprises intégrées verticalement qui offrent de l’accès à l’Internet, de la radiodiffusion, des télécommunications et des services sans-fil. Ces firmes exercent un contrôle considérable sur qui a accès à leurs réseaux et quel contenu est disponible sur leurs réseaux respectifs.
Cela veut dire que les gouvernements et les régulateurs doivent s’assurer que les petits concurrents indépendants aient accès à ces réseaux et s’assurer que cet accès soit aussi neutre que possible. De plus, les grands…
Continue Reading
ST. JOHN'S – Newfoundland and Labrador remain one of the few places in Canada where callers need to only dial seven digits.
On Tuesday, the Telecommunications Alliance said that the introduction of 10-digit dialing and the new area code 879 had been deferred further to a CRTC decision earlier this month plus recent numbering forecasts that indicate that current area code 709 will not reach capacity this year.
Each communications provider in Canada submits regular forecasts of their requirements for numbering resources to the Canadian Numbering Administrator. Factors such as population and economic growth, plans for new services by carriers, and…
Continue Reading
FOR MANY DECADES, THE Canadian TV market had the luxury of being a walled garden protected by the limits of technology. We even carved out a national production industry and nurtured significant cultural achievements next door to the world’s largest content market.
Now, however, digitalized content has climbed over the garden’s walls and caused content markets to globalize and flatten.
We responded to this change with the defensive strategy of vertical integration. We tried to create barriers, concentrating our domestic market, but the problem was this just deepened our dependence on our domestic market and made us less competitive globally. We’ve…
Continue Reading
5e partie dans notre série sur la révision des Lois sur la radiodiffusion et des télécommunications. Une entrevue exclusive
EN 1999 LORSQUE PIERRE Karl Péladeau était le PDG de la plus grande imprimerie au monde et un important propriétaire de journaux, il ne connaissait sans doute pas l'ordonnance d'exemption relative aux nouveaux médias (OERNM) du CRTC, rendue publique cette année-là. Et pourquoi aurait-il été préoccupé?
À cette époque, les téléphones cellulaires étaient encore un nouveau phénomène utilisé que pour faire des appels téléphoniques et qu’une personne sur cinq possédait.* Tout le monde regardait la télévision grâce à des oreilles de lapin ou au…
Continue Reading
Part V in our series on rewriting the Broadcasting and Telecom Acts. An exclusive interview
BACK IN 1999, WHEN Pierre Karl Péladeau was the CEO of the world’s largest printer and a significant Canadian newspaper publisher, he didn’t know or care about the CRTC’s New Media Exemption Order, released that year. Why would he?
Back then, cell phones were still-new devices that primarily just made phone calls – which only about one in five of us owned.* Everyone got their TV off-air or via cable and just over a quarter of Canadians reported a home internet connection – upon which precious…
Continue Reading