Quebec association demands Quebecor money be spent on new media initiatives

The Quebec new media association wants regulatory assurances that Inc will spend part of a proposed $35-million benefits package on interactive television and Internet content. Appearing last week before a CRTC hearing to review the publishing giant’s $4.9-billion purchase of Vidéotron ltée and TVA Group Inc, the Alliance numériQC described the proposed merger as the most important of its kind in French-Canadian markets, and for Quebec’s young multimedia industry. Francophone content is lacking say French CanadiansThe Alliance has touched a nerve with its request for more money for the Quebec new media industry. A recently-released survey by Statistics Canada shows that in 2000, many Francophones are concerned about a lack of content in their language of choice. Only 62% of Francophones are satisfied with the quantity of Internet content in French, while virtually all Anglophones feel they’re well served in their official language of choice. The General Social Survey 2000 also indicates that only 44% of francophones in Canada use the ‘Net, far fewer than the 58% of anglophones. In the last 12 months, only 20% of francophones accessed the Internet in French, while 93% say they’ve accessed English sites. A majority, 83% say they prefer to access the ‘Net in English, while only 15% indicate a preference for French.Under CRTC rules, companies that purchase radio or television services are required to spend about 10 per cent of the value of the transaction on initiatives that benefit the Canadian broadcasting industry. While the commission doesn’t regulate the Internet per se or require licensees to spend money on digital media content, such commitments are increasingly making their way into mandated benefits packages. For example, BCE Inc’s $230-million in benefits for its $2.3-billion takeover of CTV Inc included $61 million for new media content, training and research (CNM, Dec. 14/00). Quebecor’s $35-million benefits package, which started out at $30 million before its appearance before the commission in Montreal last week, includes $1.5 million to develop interactive television content, $1.5 million to develop concepts and scripts for priority Canadian programming, and $200,000 to research the copyright of authors. Quebecor is proposing to disperse the money over seven years. The alliance wants it over three years. "Seven years is too long in this industry. Things move so fast," says Alliance’s director of public affairs and communications Daniel Boismenu. In a Feb. 28 written brief to the CRTC, the Alliance also voices concern over what it views as the widening control Quebecor Media will have over multimedia and communications in Quebec. Boismenu suggests that the proposed benefits package should not be administered directly by Quebecor but by a group of relevant associations or an outside committee. The Alliance has asked that part of the script development money include an interactive component and participation by multimedia authors. It’s also pressing for the interactive content money to be spent not just on television but also on the Internet and other media. The Alliance also wants the amounts of these two components doubled to $6 million. "The CRTC decided not to intervene in the Internet, but we think to develop interactive television, we should now invest in convergence, in creators and producers and encourage them to develop new content for interactive television," says Boismenu. "It’s the reason why we think the CRTC should have Quebecor have measures to help the development of multimedia content." He adds that if the government wants to support converging industries, it can’t limit such benefits to television. It’s likely, however, that the commission will demand that any new media-related investments benefit the broadcasting industry in some way, as it did with BCE.

Quebec association demands Quebecor money be spent on new media initiatives

News | 04/05/2001 4:00 am EDT

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