NEW CONTENT PROVIDERS SHOULD SUPPORT CANADIAN MUSIC CNW Cell phone companies and other new content providers that deliver music to consumers should be required to contribute financially to the development of Canadian musical talent and content, according to Friends of Canadian Broadcasting.
In a presentation this morning to the CRTC commercial radio policy hearing, Friends' spokesperson Ian Morrison called on the CRTC to level the playing field between private conventional radio and the new content providers.
"The new content providers now have at-home and mobile access to Canadian audiences without any substantial commitment to the Canadian broadcasting system," Morrison said. "Where possible, these new platforms need to make a contribution to the Canadian broadcasting system and not just gobble audience and revenue."
Friends' recommendations to the CRTC stand in contrast to those made by the private radio broadcasting lobby, the Canadian Association of Broadcasters, which is calling for new regulations that would effectively cut Canadian content requirements for private broadcasters to play Canadian popular music.
"Private radio has done exceptionally well under the Commission's regulatory policies. Profits are way up, and so the industry's contribution to Canadian music and talent should rise too, so long as the CRTC also acts to ensure fair competition," Morrison said.
According to the CRTC, 2005 was a banner year for private radio. Industry profits rose 24%, the biggest increase in the past five years.
Friends recommends the Commission require private conventional radio to devote 40% of the day to Canadian popular music, an increase from the current requirement of 35%, and that at least one quarter of this new minimum be set aside for new and emerging genres and artists.
The CRTC should stand on guard to protect listeners and advertisers from efforts by some private broadcasters to reduce competition and diversity.
Recently, Friends blew the whistle on the Sudbury operations of Rogers Communications and NewCap Inc. for abusing a CRTC sanctioned Local Management and Sales Agreement and colluding to reduce or eliminate competition in the local advertising market. The CRTC subsequently reprimanded them.
"These Agreements, which inherently reduce competition and diversity, should be employed only on an exceptional basis, and in those circumstances require substantial supervision to ensure the parties respect their public obligations," Morrison told the Commission.
Friends also urged the Commission to resist efforts by private broadcasters to cut local programming and to ensure that the objectives of the Broadcasting Act to ensure shelf space for Canada on the airwaves prevail over technological considerations.
The CRTC last updated its commercial radio policies in 1998 when it allowed the same company to own more than one radio station in major Canadian markets and increased the requirement to play popular Canadian music from 30% to 35%, a reform that was vigorously opposed by the industry.
Friends of Canadian Broadcasting is an independent, Canada-wide, non-partisan voluntary organization supported by 100,000 Canadians whose mission is to defend and enhance the quality and quantity of Canadian programming in the Canadian audio-visual system. Friends is not affiliated with any broadcaster or political party. |