CRTC to hold hearing on impact of global streamers on Canadian broadcasting

OTTAWA — The CRTC is looking at how the Canadian broadcasting system can survive the shift away from traditional TV to international streamers.

The regulator is opening a public consultation on market dynamics and plans to hold a hearing in Gatineau, Que. in May.

Its consultation document says the Canadian broadcast industry is at a crossroads and “facing profound changes” posed by new technologies and changes in consumer habits and global competition.

The CRTC is studying those market dynamics as Canadians move from traditional broadcasting and cable — which is regulated by the CRTC and subject to Canadian content rules — to streaming services dominated by international giants like Netflix, Amazon and Disney+.

The consultation is part of the commission’s work on implementing the Online Streaming Act, which updated broadcasting laws to capture online platforms.

But some of the measures the CRTC has introduced are already being challenged in court by the big streaming companies.

Scott Shortliffe, the CRTC’s executive director of broadcasting, says Canadians are seeking out content in ways they didn’t in the past, and the CRTC has to adjust its rules in response.

He says the CRTC wants to support a “sustainable broadcasting system where Canadians can access what they need to access, which includes news,” and to ensure small, medium and large players are all part of the system.

“We’re not assuming that means that we have to regulate online streamers. That may be an outcome, but it may not be an outcome,” Shortliffe said.

“The starting point has to be, we have to understand the market dynamics, how Canadians get access to services and how that may evolve in the future, and then try to design something around it.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 9, 2024.

Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press