CRTC takes ‘fresh look’ at TV’S future
More viewers seek online programming
Netflix and Aereo may represent the future of TV for some of us.
Then there are those who are quite content with an HD antenna and a few “old fashioned” over-the-air channels.
Whatever your vision of the future of TV is, even if it is somewhere in between, the country’s broadcast and telecom regulator wants to know.
The Canadian Radiotelevision and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has launched its latest consultation process with a public invitation to Canadians to talk about the future of TV.
More and more Canadians are thinking out of the box and cutting the cord, as they say, turning to online and mobile media services to get their TV, radio and movie content. That means it is “time for a fresh look” at the country’s media landscape, and the rules the CRTC may or may not make to shape its future.
In a digital sign of the times, an explanatory government video has been posted to YouTube.
What’s more, the call for a national conversation about TV made by CRTC chair Jean-Pierre Blais was webcast, and is archived online.
He knows nearly a third of us get our TV on the Internet, and that one in 20 watch TV on a smartphone or tablet; he knows too those numbers will steadily increase.
So part of the conversation is about program delivery options, from mobile platforms like iPads and online services like Hulu to some new kind of pick-andpay cable service that gives consumers more selection and choice among TV channels.
Blais is asking several questions to encourage the conversation, including some about TV programming in general: “What do you think about what’s on television?”
Any conversation about the future of TV must include technology, so Blais asks, “What do you think about how you receive television programming?”
The CRTC has acknowledged it can no longer act as a gatekeeper in the face of emerging digital media developments, and it is not alone.
Whether the TV of the future is big, small or mobile, the country’s actors want it to show more Canadian faces.
The group that represents Canadian talent, the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists, wants more content by, for, and about Canadians; and sustainable investment in the organizations that create CanCon, like the CBC, NFB and Telefilm.
Actors also want us to know the industry represents more than seven per cent of the country’s entire GDP, and it gives back far more than it asks.
The media policy advocate and civic engagement organization OpenMedia. ca worries that the future of TV in Canada may be too big.
It has spoken out against industry consolidation (approved by Blais’ CRTC), and the growing trend that sees fewer cable and telephone companies owning more of the content they carry, concerned this will squeeze out viewing options and reduce access to diversity in news and information.
Its voice is also among those calling for more open and fair pricing policies from the big cable TV, Internet and mobile service providers.
The CRTC’s open call for input continues through Nov. 22, and the conversation about the future of TV is sure to continue a lot longer.