The CRTC is gathering information on internet programming and its impact on the broadcasting system.
In its Notice of Consultation 2011-344, the CRTC stated by way of a preamble:
The Commission considers that developments in the broadcasting system and related developments in telecommunications, combined with accelerating changes, warrant investigation of the nature of those changes and their impact on the Canadian broadcasting system.
It is noteworthy that the consultation is under the banner of both the Telecom and Broadcasting sides of the Commission. I started to wonder if the CRTC should be investigating the impact on the overall communications system: both telecom and broadcasting.
Comments are sought on the following points:
- the capabilities of measurement and analytical tools to enable a better understanding of [over-the-top (“OTT”)] programming trends over time;
- trends in consumer behavior, including the current and projected consumption of programming in the next five years, including Canadian and non-Canadian programming;
- technological trends in consumer devices and network capabilities that will influence the development of OTT programming;
- the possibility that, in the near term, OTT services may cause replacement or reductions in BDU subscriptions;
- the opportunities and challenges for the Canadian creative industries associated with OTT services;
- the impact that OTT services might have on the acquisition and exhibition of programming available to Canadians;
- the impact of the growth of OTT services on consumers;
- any additional issues or evidence relevant to the contribution of OTT programming services to the achievement of the policy objectives of the Broadcasting Act.
The second last point, examining the impact on consumers, might be broadly interpreted, opening the consultation to include a wide range of issues. I may explore this further next week during my conversation with CRTC Chair Konrad von Finckenstein on June 1 at The Canadian Telecom Summit.
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I hope the CRTC will consider the implications of both legitimate and illegitimate consumption trends. With the failure of the Canadian market to introduce an equivalent to Hulu, the situation has encouraged the use of media players and P2P file sharing.
While these activities are illegal, they are most certainly affecting the consumption behaviour of the younger generation. Many university students and other young adults have done away with cable TV entirely, and are relying on the internet to provide their content. It will be very difficult to convince this generation to begin paying a hefty monthly bill for content they have been largely getting for free.