Move broadcast licensing to an auction system: Coyne Cristina Howorun

Admittedly, Andrew Coyne isn’t a fan of the CRTC. In fact, the National Post columnist would like to see Canada’s communications regulator – which he characterizes as intrusive and ineffective – abolished. His speech, "The End of the CRTC?" was presented to nearly 100 guests at Toronto’s Spoke Club on September 12th as part of conservative think-tank The Fraser Institute’s "Behind the Spin" series. But while it was filled with witty anecdotes and wry observations, it fell short on specifics – particularly when it came to solving the commission’s perceived inadequacies. Coyne highlighted what he believed to be some of the regulator’s more questionable decisions: denying YTV’s application to include school book and fairy tale heroes in their list of possible protagonists for evening dramas (CRTC 88-834); confining the Canadian Home Shopping Network to depicting its merchandise in ‘still images’ with an audio component limited to a ‘simple and brief description’ of the item (CRTC 89-290); and its reluctance to allow CTV Newsnet to show more live, breaking news. "We still don’t have a decent all-news channel," he lamented. "That’s because (CBC) Newsworld doesn’t show news – it shows Fashion File and Antiques Roadshow, and The Hour, and the CRTC won’t let Newsnet put on news for more than 15 minutes at a time. Yet we’ve got three, count them, three sports news channels...There’s no way to spin ‘Jays 7, Yankees 5.’" According to Coyne, the CRTC is a redundant relic of times past: between satellite and digital cable hundreds of channels are now available and accessible. The CRTC used to ensure that minorities are represented in mainstream viewing, and that Canadian content found its way into our homes and cars. But Coyne pointed out that this was no longer necessary: Queer as Folk, Trailer Park Boys, Talk Local, Kontakt (a Ukrainian news magazine), Latin Life TV – all cater to minority groups, and all have found a place with private broadcasters. And US and Web-based radio stations regularly include Canadian acts in their playlists, without being governed by Canadian content regulations. Coyne proposed that the CRTC move to an auction system, where would-be-broadcasters bid for licenses, where market forces and investment – not glossy "mission statements" – would determine frequencies and spectrum assignments, and where shows are tailored for audiences, not CRTC regulations. While he didn’t offer a viable means to achieve this end, the friendly audience let this pass – reserving their heavy-handed criticisms for government, and their applause for Coyne.

Move broadcast licensing to an auction system: Coyne Cristina Howorun

Broadcast | October 11, 2006

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