By Taimur Sikander Mirza
Executives at Bell Media parentco BCE said Canadian broadcasters are in “crisis” and called on the CRTC to address the current regulatory environment as quickly as possible.
The execs made the comments on day two of the CRTC hearings in Gatineau, Que., which seek to address the parameters of a new framework for contributions to the Canadian broadcast system by Canadian and Indigenous content under the upcoming Online Streaming Act.
“If we look at the streamers, they continue to grow and expand in Canada. Canadian producers are having some of the best years ever, according to the CMPA’a [Canadian Media Producers Association] annual reports, but broadcasters are suffering,” said Jonathan Daniels, VP, regulatory law at Bell Canada (pictured).
The BCE representatives in attendance at the hearing stressed that local streamers such as Bell Media’s Crave should not be subject to the same new obligations as foreign-owned streamers until traditional broadcasters receive regulatory relief. They cited factors such as audiences moving from linear broadcast to streaming; U.S. and foreign studios keeping content for their own platforms; and a reduced ad-buying environment for broadcasters.
They also pointed to cuts in the news operations in response to existing financial realities. BCE reported a $40 million loss in annual news operating costs this year.
“We think you can design the model in a manner that results in more money going into the system for news and for Canadian productions and, at the same time, reduce traditional broadcaster’s obligations,” said Daniels. “We’re not talking about taking money out of the system. We’re talking about redirecting, in a manner that makes us more financially viable.”
Daniels was asked by Adam Scott, CRTC’s vice-chairperson, telecommunications, whether Bell’s proposed solution was only delaying the “inevitable transition from the traditional broadcast model to one where it’s online streamers and producers.”
Daniels said Canadian broadcasters are trying to set “themselves up for successes.”
The proposed Bell model would split contributions from streamers into four buckets: 60% would go to existing production funds, split 80-20% between the Canada Media Fund (CMF) and certified independent production funds (CIPF); 30% for a news fund based on the model similar to the Independent Local News Fund; 5% for equity-seeking funds such as the Indigenous Screen Office and Black Screen Office; and 5% for funds such as Broadcasting Accessibility Fund and Broadcasting Participation Fund.
Elsewhere on the day’s schedule were reps from Google (YouTube), who argued that platforms such as YouTube do not fall under the same regulatory regime as broadcasting undertakings because it’s “programming” is UGC. The government’s final policy direction had recognized the distinction and that only music from a record label posted on YouTube falls within the scope of rulemaking.
“Accordingly, we believe that only professionally-labeled audio-only music on YouTube that has been broadcast in whole or in significant part on another service should be subject to this framework and that other uses of that commercial music necessarily fall outside the scope of this exercise,” said Google Canada’s senior counsel Arun Krishnamurthi.
On the issue of base contributions, the Google reps said Canadian revenues alone were not an “appropriate metric,” as YouTube was contributing to the success of the Canadian broadcasting system as a whole.
Also, appearing on the second day was the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) and representatives from the Directors Guild of Canada (DGC).
The CRTC’s hearings will continue until Dec. 8.
This article originally appeared in Playback
