CFTPA argues for CRTC-recognized principle of producer-owned ITV content

The chair of the Canadian Film and Television Production Association (CFTPA) says asking the CRTC to rule on who "owns" interactive content is a more realistic request than it may seem. Stephen Ellis’ comments come as communications lawyers familiar with the Byzantine workings of the commission have been looking askance at the CFTPA’s submission to the regulator’s fact-finding inquiry into interactivity. Though market negotiations are outside the regulator’s purview, Ellis tells Canadian NEW MEDIA that the CFTPA hopes to enshrine the separateness of interactive and broadcast components as a principle that can guide the CRTC in its broadcast and licensing decisions. The CFTPA submitted a short list of concerns to the CRTC in response to PN 2001-113, including the ownership component, which has raised the eyebrows of communications lawyers in Ottawa and elsewhere. "Through this proceeding, the CRTC should clarify who ‘owns’ the ITV component of broadcast programs delivered through the set-top box," the association stated in its submission. The submission further states: "The creators of interactive content must be fairly compensated for their underlying rights, separate and distinct from any broadcast rights that may be negotiated"; and "Producers and new media content creators have the right to exploit the interactive content they have created." Ellis recognizes that the commission won’t be able to ascribe ownership to one party or another, but says there are precedents for how the sticky issue can be approached. "For instance, the CRTC endorsed the terms of trade agreement with the CBC. It’s right in the CBC’s licence renewal from two years ago," he notes. "In CTV’s, I think it was in the approval of the merger that they negotiate a terms of trade agreement with the CFTPA. So the commission has signaled their support. And even though, from a regulatory standpoint, that’s not a condition that if it isn’t met would cause the licensees any trouble, it’s still an important step for the regulator to say, ‘we want to see this happen.’ That has some weight to it. That’s all we can hope for here, given that they aren’t technically regulating. We’d like them to weigh in on the side of fair play and an orderly marketplace. "The broadcasters have enormous market power in that your average TV show is dependent on their agreement in order to access so many of the funds that are out there. What would you do if there were no rules and you were able to wield that kind of power? You’d probably bundle the rights together and try to get them for the lowest possible price." The threat of broadcaster dominance over Internet rights is real, Ellis says, and the majority of deals currently being struck for web/TV properties involve the transfer of rights as a bundle. While producers are beginning to demand separate negotiations for Internet rights, Ellis understands that until the retransmission debate is sorted out, broadcasters are anxious to protect their interests. Still, progress is being made on definitive terms of trade agreements that are on the cusp of being signed with broadcasters, including a handshake deal with CBC, and the expectation that further deals will be signed in short order with CHUM, CanWest Global and BellGlobemedia/CTV. Further, the Association of Canadian Radio and Television Artists (ACTRA) and the CFTPA have signed an independent production agreement (IPA) that covers original production for interactive, though no minimum scales have been set. "...What we’ve tried to do in our intervention is to say let’s be clear what we’re talking about. Internet streaming is not the same as interactive television, necessarily. If we’re going to be doing original content which has new costs associated with it, then we can’t just give it away as part of the negotiation rights for broadcast."

CFTPA argues for CRTC-recognized principle of producer-owned ITV content

News | 03/27/2002 5:00 am EST

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