Canadian broadcasters are adapting to new challenges, but to survive we need transformative business plans now

We are at a time of profound transformation. Audio and video content that was once delivered exclusively through the broadcast system is now available to Canadian consumers through ubiquitous technology and smarter and smarter devices that are expanding the presence and possibilities of electronic media. In the past year, we have seen the iPod explode from a business success to a consumer audio phenomenon. And now we watch as this extraordinary consumer product extends its reach and impact through the delivery of video programming. In the past year we have seen the arrival of commercials and ads for cellphones that receive video content. In the past year, we witnessed the licensing of new satellite and terrestrial subscription radio services. In the past year we have seen WIFI hot-spots pop up in public places across Canada and we have watched large U.S. markets--places like Philadelphia--adopt plans to deliver WIFI service across their entire urban communities. All these exciting, new technological developments are profoundly altering the way consumers can access content. When you step back from the flurry of activity, and attempt to grasp the significance of these events, the picture fuses from one of multiple incremental, individual developments into a composite picture of fundamental and transformative change. These new technologies are creating an unregulated parallel system of competing content that is challenging Canada's broadcasting system to its core. Most importantly, these new technologies operate entirely outside of the Broadcasting Act. They do not carry any of the cultural and social policy obligations that flow from the act. The stakes are high. Would there have been a celebration of Canadian music anything like the Juno awards held in Winnipeg, Ottawa and St. John's or annually in Montreal by l'ADISQ, had it not been for the decades of concerted support provided by private English and French radio? Would Winnipeg be the home of the world's only aboriginal people's television network? Could Canadians expect to have access, as they do now, to daily TV newscasts in markets across the country where the stories and reports are exclusively purposed to serve their local communities? That is what is at stake. The key players in Canadian broadcasting--the policy makers, the regulators, the broadcasters, the content producers and other stakeholders--met in Winnipeg last week to discuss these issues and to chart out the future of this country's private broadcasting system. Canadian broadcasters are adapting to the challenges presented by these new technologies. For anyone in this business, survival in the future requires business plans now. The Canadian Association of Broadcasters' members are embracing those technologies to deliver content to Canadians in new ways. But while entrepreneurial boldness is necessary, individual actions will not be enough. The movement forward requires collective initiatives, because the central dilemma of Canadian media has not changed. That is, our domestic French, English and third language markets are simply not large enough to sustain sufficient Canadian high-quality production on market forces alone. They never have been and they never will be. That's why we have cultural policy goals. That's why we have the Broadcasting Act, to state our goals as a country and provide the means to realize them. To chart a path to the future we must support entrepreneurial action with a new policy environment. Industry and government must work together in the public-private partnership that has served Canada so well. We must revitalize the framework to meet the new challenges. The first Broadcasting Act, adopted by Parliament over 70 years ago, was a formidable expression of political will: The will to develop a broadcasting system to serve Canadian expression and cultural identity. Canada's private broadcasters have been the instruments of that will for over seven decades. Many countries across the world have turned to Canada for inspiration and guidance in developing their own regulatory systems for broadcasting. Today, we have challenges on top of challenges. It isn't just one new technology we must deal with now, but a whole host of delivery platforms that are arriving in consumers' hands at the same time. The question is, do we have a renewed vision? Do we have the political will to move forward together, and achieve all the eloquently expressed goals of the Broadcasting Act? That is, national expression in English and French that reflects regional realities and a multi-ethnic Canada. We at the CAB do not claim to have all of the answers. What we have is the beginning of a vision. It's not a vision that simply replicates the past. Even if that were possible, it would be a totally inadequate response to the incredible possibilities that confront us now. In our vision, Canadian broadcasting will change enormously in the next 10 years and will change willingly. Canadian broadcasting will not drift reluctantly into the future, seeing new technology only as a threat. Canadian broadcasting will drive its own future using all the tools available to it, providing policy adapts to the new realities. Broadcasters in this country cannot move forward in a policy vacuum. Canada's broadcasting system is at a crossroads. The CAB believes a dialogue is needed. A dialogue involving Canadians across the country. An engaging and meaningful dialogue where Canadians can express their views on the importance they attach to Canadian media. Do Canadians want a Canadian broadcasting system? That's the first question. If the answer is yes--and we think it is--the next one is key. How is government--through its agencies and arms, principally the CRTC and Canadian Heritage--going to ensure that the objectives of the Broadcasting Act continue to be achieved, today and into the future? The CAB's hope is that this dialogue will inspire a revitalized course for our broadcasting system--a new attitude for broadcasting policy in the face of these challenges. The choice is not, as it has been sometimes put, Dinosaur or doormat? Either one of those choices is a quick route to oblivion. The real choice is, do we drift? Or, do we drive? If we allow technology to irreversibly undermine Canadian broadcasters' ability to continue in their traditions, we risk losing, little by little, the most powerful vehicles of cultural expression in Canada. This is what's at stake. Glenn O'Farrell is president and CEO of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters. The Hill Times

Canadian broadcasters are adapting to new challenges, but to survive we need transformative business plans now

But while entrepreneurial boldness is necessary, individual actions will not be enough.

Public service job cuts loom as Ottawa misses spending and deficit targets

Conservative MPs bailed on France visit early, won’t say why

Ratna Omidvar on immigration, and eight years of legislating in the Senate

Relaunch advisory group to prepare for Trump’s return, says original NAFTA Council member

Liberal strategists say Trump’s victory will cement Trudeau’s decision to stay

Music Canada CEO says CRTC regulatory update shouldn’t put ‘artificial dome’ over Canadian content

Rapid change in our media scene highlights the growing importance of CBC/Radio-Canada

Canadian news is in trouble: we can’t afford to let tech giants make its financial difficulties worse

The return of industrial policy

Media fund panel takes shape amid transparency, partisanship concerns

News

Get free news updates

Opinion

Submit a guest opinion article

resources

Advertise

subscribe

get help

Get free news updates

Submit a guest opinion article

Canadian broadcasters are adapting to new challenges, but to survive we need transformative business plans now

But while entrepreneurial boldness is necessary, individual actions will not be enough.

Become a Political Insider