Rogers says CRTC video-on-demand decision should draw broadcasters to VOD

Broadcast distributors Telus Corp. and Rogers Communications Inc. say they are pleased with the CRTC’s decision to allow advertising on video-on-demand (VOD) services—and that the move should encourage broadcasters to put forward more content for VOD. The CRTC decision, issued Monday, means a company like Rogers cannot go directly to a Hollywood studio to buy the rights to a TV series for its VOD on an advertising-supported basis. Instead, the company would have to acquire content from a licensed Canadian programming service if it wants ad-supported VOD content. In the CRTC's words, VOD services will be permitted “in programming acquired directly from an unrelated licensed Canadian broadcaster or from a related broadcaster that has also acquired the linear rights to the program.” “I think the customer is really going to benefit from increased availability of video-on-demand content both from over-the-air broadcasters and specialty channels,” David Purdy, vice-president and general manager of television services at Rogers Communications, told The Wire Report in an interview. “It’s very hard for the broadcasters and specialty channels to make up for any audience cannibalization there may be, because the video-on-demand advertising stream isn’t really viable.” Purdy said broadcasters have hesitated to make a lot of their content available on VOD services due to the notion of lost advertising revenue. Instead, many broadcasters have opted to make content available their websites, where they have more control over ads. “It makes no sense what are doing today, and it’s something they should absolutely rethink in light of this decision,” Purdy said, encouraging broadcasters to host their content on VOD services. Jim Johannsson, a spokesman for Telus Corp., agreed with Purdy, saying that the CRTC’s decision will open up VOD and make it a more viable alternative for customers. “The one thing that we see as a positive for consumers at the end of this is that the framework allows for advertising in some video-on-demand content, which opens up a new revenue stream for Canadian broadcasters, and which will hopefully lead them to produce more content for video-on-demand,” Johannsson said in an interview Monday. Some experts, such as Paul Delzio, director of business development at ARRIS, say VOD could be the first area in which Canadians will see “advanced” advertising on television. Targeted advertising technology—what the industry calls “advanced” or “addressable” advertising—allows distributors to use subscriber-related data to engage in targeted television advertising locally and demographically. “Ninety per cent of all VOD usage is free, but it’s not free to run that infrastructure or get that programming, so I think they want to try to monetize that,” Delzio told The Wire Report last December. “I think that’d be a good reason why VOD would be a first start.” Purdy said the company has seen a significant growth in the amount of free on-demand viewing at Rogers and that he hopes the decision will speed up that growth. He added that Rogers hopes to provide a VOD “catch-up service” that would allow consumers to watch specialty channel programming they may have missed. “We’re going to have to work intelligently with the Canadian broadcasting and specialty channels to get those libraries,” Purdy said. “If we aren’t successful in doing that, the only real winners are the peer-to-peer pirates who are stealing everybody’s content and not paying anybody for it. That’s the real enemy, and I think VOD can be a great help in terms of fighting that enemy.” jmigneault@thewirereport.ca

Rogers says CRTC video-on-demand decision should draw broadcasters to VOD

News | 03/30/2010 10:33 pm EDT

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