Radio-Canada episode of Enquête
March 30, 2024
One broadcasting policy issue that flew successfully under the regulatory radar during the Parliamentary hearings for the new Online Streaming Act was Connected Television.
Connected TV is the terminology used for Smart TVs —or streaming devices attached to stupid TVs— that slip their viewing menus and data aggregation in between the Internet and you through software embedded in the television or a plug-in streaming stick. The TV or stick manufacturer chooses which streaming apps get carried or made visible.
There are different viewership figures available, but about half of Canadians consume programming on smart TVs.
Radio-Canada published a news article earlier this month in which a number of leading cultural voices in Québec questioned why the CRTC was not regulating this programming distribution technology as it has cable, satellite and channel aggregator websites like Roku.
Those voices include Heritage Minister Pascale St.-Onge wondering aloud why the CRTC hasn’t moved on Connected TV (she missed her opportunity to tell them so in her Policy Direction to the Commission on the implementation of Bill C-11).
I asked the CRTC why not and got a polite but terse reply: the Commission “does not regulate hardware.”
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MediaPolicy has commented more than once on the expectations of the Québec music industry that the CRTC will do something meaningful to compel major streaming platforms to showcase French language songs. Left untended, the issue could be the spark a political confrontation between the federal and Québec governments over the jurisdiction to take regulatory action on this point.
There has always been a split between Québec cultural groups and the leading English Canadian industry voices on this issue of online music discoverability. Outside of Québec, the independent music producers group CIMA supports greater subsidies for music development, but no interference with playlist curation or song algorithms.
Last week the Heritage Minister announced a $16 million budget increase to the Canada Music Fund for the next two years. According to the Heritage website, in 2023 the federal government contributed $57 million for recording, touring, marketing and music video production. That included $43 million in base funding and a $14 million supplement.
The Liberal election promise in 2021 was to increase its contribution to the Music Fund to $50 million.
The federal grants are administered by the non-profits FACTOR in English Canada and MusicAction for French language artists. Radio broadcasters also contribute to the non-profits and it’s likely that music streamers will be levied by the CRTC.
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The Paramount Global sweepstakes continue in real time with abortive merger talks, the emergence of hedge fund buyers and now frowning bond rating agencies.
Here’s the latest.
Another major US streamer Warner Brothers Discovery is at last launching its direct to consumer Max (a combination of HBO and Discovery) in Europe.
That’s something for Canadians to take note of, as Max has not launched in Canada. Bell Media continues to license HBO and Discovery content for the Canadian cable and streaming market. It’s a big piece of Bell’s successful strategy of making money on American programming and then earmarking some of the profit to lose money on CTV News.
Bell Media’s deal with Warner Brothers was renewed in May 2023 for an unspecified term.
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I like reading Canadian book publisher Ken Whyte’s Substack blog for a number of reasons, mostly because he likes to set things on fire whenever possible.
This week he’s writing about the impact of AI on Canadian book publishing.
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MediaPolicy.ca 
‘…got a polite but terse reply: the Commission “does not regulate hardware.”’ It seems we are on a slippery slope that was seen before. However, sixty years ago Canadian consumers and government were likely oblivious as it was corrected by the FCC in the United States at that time with the “All Channel Receiver Act”.
TV manufactures were mandated to include UHF tuners so channels 14 and higher could be received by the public. This was a problem at the time since most affiliated stations of the “big” networks (who had vested interest in TV manufacturing) were well-established on channels 2-13 while many local-only stations on UHF were struggling for survival.
Similarly, again in the US not too long ago, talk was around FM tuners in smartphones to which would not only allow listening to music and local content without a data plan but better ensure public safety alerts should cell service or WIFI be unavailable. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2017/02/16/the-fcc-wants-you-to-be-able-to-listen-to-fm-radio-from-your-smartphone/
Currently as advanced digital (4K) over-the-air TV is rolling out in the U.S. Markets and other countries we will see our smartphones kept in the dark unless the CRTC understands it does have a role to play with hardware for Canadian viewers.
The Radio Advisory Board of Canada, influenced by Canada’s telecom giants, has been dragging behind on this because it benefits from selling expensive data plans and internet. As those same companies control most nationally branded TV stations and networks it ensures better access to those national brands.
Similarly, as it did sixty years ago, it makes it difficult for local media to survive (let alone start-up) having to rely on technology that inevitably will bury them behind unregulated streaming platforms built into your new TV.
Recently Walmart bought the VIZIO television brand, what is to stop them or any manufacturer to hide the traditional over-the-air tuners or phase them out all together, as what happened with smartphones without some government regulation.
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