Panel: deregulation is not always best for consumers

The talking point of the ramifications of lighter regulation in broadcasting found a home once again last week at Insight's Entertainment Industries Summit in Toronto, where a panel of industry experts weighed in on the potential impacts of deregulation for both broadcasters and consumers. "If a new direction is to regulate only when necessary, what does that mean to each of us?" asked David Keeble, an Ottawa-based broadcast industry consultant and moderator of the panel. "What is a matter of public policy and what can be safely left to the market place? Where do we snafu regulations and where do we keep them?"Pierre-Louis Smith, vice-president and chief regulatory officer at the Canadian Association of Broadcasters, noted that the CRTC is no longer in a position to control entry of all media into the marketplace."With the Internet, the consumer is in a position to bypass the system for the first time," said Smith. "We have to make sure in the evolution of the regulatory framework that (decisions) are based on the need to ensure the Canadian consumer won't check out and bypass the whole broadcast system to end up on a platform that is not regulated. If they are checking out, the system will crumble." Smith cited the dichotomous phenomena of Napster, which provided alternatives to traditional radio programming for listeners.CRTC policy should reflect interests of the consume as well as business interests, but deregulation isn't necessarily a recipe for satisfied consumers of media, according to Debra McLaughlin, the principal and founder of Strategic Inc., a firm providing solutions based on consumer, market, and economic research.Pointing to CRTC radio broadcasting policy that has been in place since 1999 and gave way to multiple ownership in markets, McLaughlin cited the resulting homogeneity of radio programming in some Canadian markets. The concept of "market forces" is an artificial construct in radio in Canada, she contends."A lot of radio (stations) sound alike," said McLaughlin. "Listeners say they would listen more if they heard what they like. One station can sound like four other competitors in the market. Deregulation sounds attractive, but may not result in happier consumers."Canadians should look no further than other cultural industries to see the detrimental impact of a deregulated marketplace and absence of protectionist measures, said Grant Buchanan, a lawyer and partner with McCarthy Tétrault LLP in Toronto. Eliminating stipulations in the Broadcasting Act that ensure Canadian content has a place on the television and radio airwaves may be a move that spurs irreversible damage. "If we take support away and throw the baby in the deep end and it can't swim, it's too late to get that back," said Buchanan. "Look at magazines and movies where there isn't regulatory protection."Duncan McKie, president and executive director at the Canadian Independent Record Production Association, noted that despite Canadian content regulations for radio programming, few new Canadian artists are fortunate enough to get airplay. The repetitive airplay from established Canadian artists (think April Wine, Kim Mitchell, and the Tragically Hip) may meet Canadian content regulations, but does not leave sufficient space in radio programming schedules to hear offerings from emerging artists."The spirit of the Canadian content regulations is not being met," said McKie, predicting the inability to foster and nurture new Canadian artists through public access via radio will see an ongoing decline in "new music" in the next few decades.Take the case of Canadian singer-songwriter Feist, whose album The Reminder posted poor record sales and enjoyed very little airplay when released earlier this year. It has been an exceptional situation that Feist has recently found a much broader audience and meteoric rise in album sales, with 300,000 in Canada at last count: thanks to heavy rotation of a television advertisement for Apple's new iPodNano featuring Feist's track "1, 2, 3, 4," the tune is now a staple of domestic radio stations."The song is now being played on Canadian radio," said McKie. "The reality is that radio plays an important role with providing Canadian artists with a career."The CAB's Smith proposed a solution to create fertile soil to grow new Canadian artists through a package of "incentives" for Canadian broadcasters to take more risks, with careful avoidance of "coercive measures" that ensure new Canadian content is played.One of the hallmarks of CRTC regulations is the protection ensuring Canadian dramatic television productions get airplay, but the failure of English-Canadian dramas to flourish may not be tied solely to the country's regulatory framework. French Canada enjoys the exception of healthy audiences for home-grown productions."Drama everywhere in the world is recognized as being on the decline," added McLaughlin, noting other programming, namely reality television shows, represent a bigger share of the pie in Canada and other parts of the globe.

Panel: deregulation is not always best for consumers

Broadcast | October 29, 2007

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