THE BIG REVIEW – Part 1 Chris Byrnes On January 13, the CRTC announced that it will hold public hearings in May to consider changes to the radio policy, which has been in place since April of 1998.
This will be a widely discussed topic at bars, boardrooms and water coolers in the coming months and I’m sure you’ll hear “gee, if only I could have my say, I’d tell those guys how it should be done!” Of course, this is exactly what the Commission is inviting us to do… provide feedback and comments from broadcasters and other interested parties who want to influence the Canadian broadcasting system.
One worrisome trend I notice as I talk to broadcasters is a feeling that, “it doesn’t matter what we say, they’ll make the changes anyway and we’ll end up with more Cancon, higher fees, and even less ability to be competitive than in the past.” Here then are my suggestions to improve what comes out of the speakers north of the 49th.
Cancon: The general feeling is that the Cancon levels will go to 40%. I can’t argue against that point considering that I joined a long line of broadcasters who promised to play 40% if the CRTC would give me an FM license. Actually, I have no problem with this, providing the Canadian recording industry continues to work hard to find, record, and release new acts. But, I am not a fan of giving more credit to a radio station that plays a totally unfamiliar song. This will lower TSL and drive more listeners away from terrestrial radio. Also, who will determine when a song is no longer new and therefore receives lower credit? My suggestion is that the Commission simplifies the MAPL rule so if a song is sung by a Canadian artist it qualifies as Cancon. This would result in more “Canadian” songs being played as opposed to those select few that are currently played to death. The average listener has no idea which Celine Dion, Bryan Adams, or Shania Twain song is Cancon and which is not. All they know is they either like or dislike the record.
Record Companies: Record companies have been very successful at blaming radio instead of working harder to promote their artists and keeping pace with technological advances. Why should it be radio’s responsibility to create stars when the record companies invest little or no money to promote these acts on radio? I also believe there should be rules in place to discourage record companies from forcing Canadian artists to record songs written by non-Canadians in studios that are not located in Canada. But, I’d also like to be able to run the marathon in less than three hours and that will never happen either! This is something the Heritage Minister could correct if our government is genuine in its desire to protect the Canadian music industry.
Format Protection: I would like to see the CRTC prevent incumbent broadcasters from changing format to occupy a format position applied for by another broadcaster. In the past, broadcasters had to apply to the CRTC in order to change format, which inhibited free enterprise and unnecessarily restricted a broadcaster’s right to improve his product. The Commission was right to simplify these rules but I believe it should impose certain restrictions at the time a new application is announced for a market. Today, unless you have a specialty license or limiting conditions on your license, you can change format and notify the commission out of courtesy at a later date. Because the applications themselves are available on the CRTC website the moment they are gazetted, a competitor can read the application and change format long before the successful applicant has launched his radio station. This happened in Barrie and Calgary in the recent past. I would suggest that the moment a hearing is announced in a market, a freeze be imposed on all stations’ formats for a 3-year period, unless no new license is granted. That would permit the new licensee at least a reasonable opportunity to establish his station and be competing on a reasonably level playing field.
Satellite Radio: The folks at Satellite radio do not appear to be living up to their end of the bargain when it comes to providing Canadian content and quality programming on the Canadian channels. For example, XM offers two all-news channels, one in English called Canada 360 and one in French. The all-news channel has plenty of national stories that you can find on any website like Canoe or CTV. I found the channel hard to listen to because you hear the same newsreader delivering the same stories for 10 hours or more a day. The reader is tracked and is likely using a short news cycle that is updated from time to time. In total I found five Canadian channels on XM, including a comedy channel [Laugh Attack], a 100% Canadian hockey channel [Home Ice] and one all-Canadian music channel, which promises to play unsigned Canadian rock artists. While there is the odd Cancon song heard on other channels, overall I don’t think this is in keeping with the spirit of the promises made during the hearings and I would hope the Commission will be asking some tough questions of the Satellite operators during this review.
Limitations of Ownership: I think it’s time to simplify this process even more and not limit the number of radio stations one company can own in a market. Most other industries are not regulated to this degree and in countries where the ownership rules have been relaxed the listeners and the advertisers have, for the most part, been better served as a result of this. There are advantages to economy of scale and providing there are regulations in place to ensure a diversity of voices when it comes to news and information, I think the consumer would be better served. It would give a multi-station owner the ability to invest in other areas of programming and operations.
Foreign Ownership: Perhaps it’s time to relax the level of foreign ownership in media in this country. That would be one way to increase the level of competition and offer better programming. American owners are operating radio stations as far afield as Ireland and Australia and could bring untold resources, ideas and money to the Canadian broadcasting system. It’s odd that a company like Canwest can invest in stations in Turkey and New Zealand, but the converse is forbidden.
Protecting AM: I think this is something else the Commission should take a long hard look at. Not allowing Oldies on FM is archaic and does a disservice to the listeners. Visit any other country in the world and you’ll hear some truly great radio stations playing Oldies on FM. In the U.S., a few stations have deserted oldies in favor of the Adult Hits format but I suspect this will be short-lived as this format does not have stamina. The Commission figures show that AM stations have found a way to make money and their revenues have actually increased by 1.7%. Most have moved to talk or block programming and are targeting an audience that is older and conditioned to listen to AM Radio. Demographers are also sounding a warning bell in Canada because in just a few years deaths will likely outnumber births and senior citizens already dramatically out number babies. This means some FM stations will need to refocus their programming to appeal to an older audience and Oldies on FM would seem to be the logical way to do this.
CTD Commitments: The big broadcasting companies have managed to buy new licenses by offering large amounts of CTD. Often a great deal of this money would not benefit the local community that the proposed radio station would be licensed for and instead pays for the corporate logo to be displayed at a convention or conference. I’d like to see the Commission address this issue and ensure that any CTD commitments directly benefit the community and ideally, grass roots musicians. I am encouraged by some recent CRTC decisions, which see through this “big down payment” system and have awarded smaller broadcasters licenses because they offer truly local initiatives. It seems that the Commission has come to the realization that “the mating dance” is only temporary. After the initial license period, the big companies can revert to the minimum CTD requirement for their market.
License Renewals: This would be a good time to ensure that station owners are re-investing in the product and providing even more local service. There is too much voice-tracking on local radio in this country and too many hours when the control room is empty. Listeners have given up on calling radio stations for important information where the station’s phones are just a pipeline for Contest Connie who just wants to be caller 9. The money you invest in more live talent is the insurance policy you need to fend off satellite radio and out-of-market stations.
Technology: DAB (digital radio) is dead in the water at this point, because of the lack of set penetration. I checked at several local outlets and not one retailer could sell me a DAB receiver. Most thought I was asking for a satellite receiver, which has further muddied the waters. While the Eureka 147 system has enjoyed limited success in Europe and on paper appears to be the way to go, the Americans have decided to adopt the IBOC system. If Canada is to move forward with digital radio we need to use the IBOC system and provide an incentive for retailers to carry the sets. Perhaps the government would wave any import duty on these radios and eliminate the taxes. This might provide an incentive for consumers to purchase them. I also think broadcasters need to develop unique programming on these channels and not simply rebroadcast their terrestrial signals. How about the Commission agreeing to remove all or most of the Cancon rules from digital-only signals during the first term of license?
Conclusion: The Internet, Wi-Fi and other technology we’ve not even heard of will totally change the way we listen to radio over the next few years. Just as we witnessed with satellite radio, the Commission cannot properly regulate these delivery systems. Therefore, it could be fatal for them to continue to regulate and disadvantage terrestrial radio, which currently contributes many millions of dollars to the economy and employs thousands of people across Canada. It’s time to deregulate the industry and allow market forces to determine the future. |