1 of 1- RadioActive
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Uh oh. Federal panel to review broadcasting rules for the internet era
Not long after my previous rant on this subject comes confirmation that the government is planning an examination about bringing broadcast rules into the Internet age. As noted before, the problem for me is that broadcasting and the Internet are two very different animals.
Nonetheless, the feds are going to look into insinuating Can Con - and how to pay for it - into the modern net era. Why does this make me nervous?
Among the reasons I'm anxious are statements like these from the linked Toronto Star article:
"The review is aimed at rewriting Canada’s broadcast rules to reflect the current broadcast reality — that streaming giants like Netflix and Apple Music compete for eyeballs and earbuds alongside legacy broadcasters.
“We particularly want them to focus around affordability, availability of communications services, and then net neutrality,” Navdeep Bains, minister of innovation, science and economic development, told the Star Tuesday."
Affordability? If the government wanted to do something about cable/satellite or phone "affordability" they've had eons to do it. Instead, we have some of the highest rates in the world, and no sign they'll be coming down anytime soon. And then the next graph notes that the chair of this committee is a former Telus executive! Gee, I wonder what conclusion she might draw about lowering prices or instituting a levy on programming to pay for all these big ideas. (Even though they swear there's no "Netflix tax" on the horizon.)
We have until 2020 before they reach their final conclusions. I can hardly wait to see what they come up with. Early prediction: whatever it is, most of us here won't like it much.
Federal panel to review broadcasting rules for the internet era
- splunge
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Re: Uh oh. Federal panel to review broadcasting rules for the internet era
RA, i have a question. if netflix is geoblocked to only allow canadians to view content specifically available here... or outside content not available... (a closed system), what makes their service any different from bells crave tv? or even rogers cable for that matter.
unlike the rest of the interwebs... youtube for example... where i can get content from around the world.
- RadioActive
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Re: Uh oh. Federal panel to review broadcasting rules for the internet era
splunge wrote:
RA, i have a question. if netflix is geoblocked to only allow canadians to view content specifically available here... or outside content not available... (a closed system), what makes their service any different from bells crave tv? or even rogers cable for that matter.
unlike the rest of the interwebs... youtube for example... where i can get content from around the world.
I'm not sure about this, but I think the answer is that Netflix is based in the U.S. and thus not subject to the same rules and regs of media companies in Canada. Their restrictions are based on rights and what can legally be shown in Canada that some other entity (like Cravetv) might own here. Otherwise, they're free from all Cancon requirements (although they've made a few small concessions to try and appease the government here) and any other rules everyone else has to play by. But others may have a different view.
In the meantime, the former vice-chair of the CRTC has penned an eye-opening opinion piece in the Globe and Mail complaining that the agency is trying to exist in a world where those rules may no longer apply. Here's just a part of what Peter Menzies had to say.
"...its scope is mind-boggling.
According to this report, every podcast and audio-video news report from anywhere (including those posted by this newspaper) should be subject to the scrutiny of steely-eyed Ottawa-Gatineau bureaucrats as they lure the world once beyond the regulator’s grasp into “the system.”
And to ensure change is not just harnessed but milked for the care and feeding of Cancon creators, those same bureaucrats insist that a tax be levied on the country’s Internet Service Providers and paid by – you got it – everyone in the country with an internet subscription including you, me, single moms, widows and so forth."
As a former insider, this short piece is definitely worth a read.
Will the CRTC ever join the 21st century?
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Thread Starter- Peter the K
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Re: Uh oh. Federal panel to review broadcasting rules for the internet era
Wasn't the original mandate of the CRTC to safeguard the (at the time) scare public airwaves?
That, I can understand. That is a finite resource so I suppose someone should be the arbiter of who has access to such a resource with the Department of Communications handling to technical aspects.
But digital bandwidth is a totally different animal. It's definitely not a scarce, finite resource.
So stay the hell out of it. This is where I don't want anyone dictating what I'm allowed to access or what a content provider is allowed to offer to me. Since there's room for everyone, let everyone compete for my attention.