Von Finckenstein: Can we regulate new media like it’s 1999?

CRTC chairman Konrad von Finckenstein kicked off the commission's New Media Invitational Session Monday by asking the three fundamental questions about the treatment of new media in our regulated broadcasting system: Is it a necessity to regulate commercial broadcasting over new media?; If so, what measures need to be implemented? and; How would one go about implementing them? The CRTC is hoping to answer these questions through its three stage review of new media. Stage one, the research and consultation phase, involved consumer analysis and consultation with over 50 key stakeholders, both in Canada and internationally. Stage two is the invitational session. And stage three will likely be a public hearing. A final report on the issue will be released in March 2008. Von Finckenstein's speech opening the invitational session is excerpted below... ...We find ourselves at a critical time in the history of broadcasting and telecommunications, not only in Canada but also throughout the globe. New media platforms are leading us into a converged world. They are fundamentally changing how we access and interact with media and entertainment, as well as with each other. This development is allowing media producers, consumers and advertisers to interact with each other in innovative ways that reach beyond the sedentary and passive experiences of conventional broadcasting. When the CRTC first looked at new media services in 1999, they offered little competition to traditional broadcasters. So they were made exempt from regulation. At the time, we noted that the technology had not matured to the point that new media services and distribution systems could compete with traditional media. A lot has changed since then. Now, over 51% of Canadians have broadband access in the home, compared to just 8% in 1998. New media broadcasting services are offering television-like experiences. Canadians are spending more time on the Internet than ever before, with Internet use among Canadians increasing from 34% in 1998 to 72% in 2006. Every week, Canadians are downloading more video content and using video-streaming services more frequently. Mobile broadcasting technologies have been introduced. More and more advertising is migrating to new media, with Internet advertising revenues in Canada reaching $1 billion in 2006. This is the situation as it stands today. The dynamics of change and the speed at which it occurs in the new media environment is swift. It's too early to say whether or not this environment will require a regulatory response, but it's clear that we need to pay attention to it. This new world presents its fair share of challenges, but it also holds much promise. The Broadcasting Act requires us to ensure both the creation of Canadian content and access to the system for all Canadians. New technologies are providing Canadians with opportunities to participate in the evolving new media environment and to see themselves reflected in it. This working session has been designed to help us chart this complex environment, to better understand current and future challenges and, most importantly, to look for opportunities that strike the right balance between market forces and the social and cultural policies set out in the Broadcasting Act. At the CRTC, our Policy Development and Research Sector has been assigned, as its top priority, a New Media Project Initiative. Launched in March 2007, it is a comprehensive study of the new media environment and its impact on our regulatory regime. Its primary focus is to examine the content and access issues that have emerged due to the arrival of new platforms that do not fit into any of our well-established categories. Among the different content issues, we are concentrating on the impact of commercial broadcasting over new media, also known as video streaming. The access issues that we are looking at include such issues as Internet traffic prioritization and the evolving definition of basic telecommunications service. We have recently finished the research and consultation phase, which involved consumer analysis and consultation with over 50 key stakeholders, both in Canada and internationally. Today's session marks the beginning of the project's second phase, whose objective is to validate the information we have collected through discussion and analysis. With various stakeholders, we have created a forum for dialogue to better assess the impact of commercial broadcasting over new media on our regulatory regime, and to evaluate solutions to ensure the objectives of the Broadcasting and Telecommunications Acts continue to be achieved. We will issue a report in March 2008 that will set out our findings. The third phase will hopefully consist of public hearings. We are confident that our project will provide us with an approach for dealing with commercial broadcasting over new media, a plan of action and an indication of any necessary regulatory or legislative changes. Through all this, we are trying to answer three fundamental questions, always keeping in mind our focus in looking through the prism of the Broadcasting Act: Is it a necessity to regulate commercial broadcasting over new media? If so, what measures need to be implemented? How would one go about implementing them? These are not easy issues we are dealing with. New media is an expansive, complex and continually evolving environment that requires the greatest understanding possible... ...I am expecting great things from this process, and I look forward to your active participation. Thank you.

Von Finckenstein: Can we regulate new media like it’s 1999?

News | 10/03/2007 2:14 pm EDT

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