OTT working group still looking to CRTC for answer on Netflix consultation

The over-the-top working group of broadcasting industry insiders says it is waiting to “let the process unfold” and has no immediate plans to lobby the Conservative government for a CRTC consultation on the role of Netflix Inc. in the Canadian broadcasting system. In early April, an industry working group chaired by independent broadcasting consultant Alain Gourd issued a letter to the commission calling on it to open a public consultation on Netflix and other online content portals like Apple Inc.'s iTunes. But in response, CRTC chair Konrad von Fickenstein was reluctant to concede to the request, telling broadcasters in a speech at the Broadcasting Invitational Summit in Cambridge, Ont. on May 5 that they should push the majority Conservative government to issue a direction to the CRTC to study the issue under section 15 of the Broadcasting Act. “A section 15 direction would be an appropriate way to address the issue of over-the-top services. I urge you to ask the government to use this power,” von Finckenstein said. But in an interview Thursday Gourd suggested the broadcasting industry may have to remain patient. “We have to let the process unfold,” Gourd said. “We sent the letter to the commission on April 1, and we are aware that the commission has to defer to a new government or cabinet. It’s the same party, but there will be some changes.” Gourd said the goal of the working group is not to find a solution to the industry’s debate on Netflix but to get the ball rolling in industry and public discussions surrounding emerging online streaming services. He said the group has no immediate plans to lobby the Conservative government, as von Finckenstein recommended, and suggested he’ll continue to look toward the commission for a firm answer. “We have but one objective, and that is to have an information gathering process,” he said. “Once a decision is made on that request, then we’ll see what happens.” He added: “The CRTC chair mentioned that the industry had to make its views known to the government … But as to the working group proper, it has one objective, and that is to have a public consultation.” Gourd said that the group has a positive view of the possible dialogue that could go on between the government and the commission. In an initial response letter to the working group's request for a consultation, CRTC chair Konrad von Finckenstein wrote an April 18 letter to Gourd saying that the commission is aware of the concerns about over-the-top services and their impact on the Canadian broadcasting system. “The Commission is in the process of considering how best to respond to those concerns and hopes to set out its approach in the near term,” von Finckenstein wrote. That was before his comments at the Broadcasting Invitational Summit in May. “The working group feels that the commission has the appropriate regulatory powers to unfold a fact-finding process,” Gourd said. “We are not proposing any solutions. We’re just suggesting a fact-finding or information gathering process.” Based on the past success of radio and television broadcasting, as well as cable TV, Gourd said the established broadcasting system has served Canadians well. “When I look at my television at night, for example, I see more than 25 French services, not counting other services from countries in French,” Gourd said. “On the English Canada side, it’s at least twice that amount of different services.” Services like Netflix may be part of the natural progression of a maturing broadcast industry, he said. “We have a system that has served us well and it has to evolve like everything else in life,” said Gourd. “Every time there is a new phenomenon, we believe that it’s up to the commission to take a look at it.” Steve Swasey, a spokesman for Netflix Canada, said in an interview in February that Netflix is not a broadcaster and should not be regulated or be required to make contributions to the Canadian broadcasting system. He said the service already offers, voluntarily, significant amounts of independent, Canadian content and continues to add to its repertoire. “Even though we’re a great friend of the independent filmmaker and a champion of independent film, we’re a distributor, not a broadcaster,” he said. Some critics have questioned whether it's possible or practical for the commission to try to regulate a foreign-owned website. Gourd said he believes Netflix and online content portals will be popular topics in the industry as it heads into the CRTC's vertical integration hearing scheduled for June. “I have only glanced quickly at submissions from various parties relative to the June 20 vertical integration hearing, but I realized like anybody else that online broadcasting was covered by many submissions.” dgrenier@thewirereport.ca

OTT working group still looking to CRTC for answer on Netflix consultation

News | 05/20/2011 8:40 pm EDT

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