Media Beat: February 21, 2018

By David Farrell

CRTC's dilemma: balance consumer and telecom's feelings on broadcast's future

A warning from Canada’s biggest media companies that their survival is under threat from unregulated foreign rivals and illicit content pirates has sparked a massive influx of submissions to the federal telecommunications regulator from consumers with little sympathy for their cause – CP

Terence Corcoran: Can the CRTC resist the Trudeau government's 'free the internet' activism?

Now seven months into his role as chair of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, Ian Scott faces a couple of contentious issues. Both will test the independence of the commission and its ability to stand up to the perpetually agitated believers in net neutrality, open media and free telecom services. Well, okay, not literally “free” services, but in such circles, anything that’s not free must be overpriced and a threat to the internet – Financial Post

Singh targets Liberal government’s ‘secret deal’ with Netflix as example of unequal treatment

NDP leader Jagmeet Singh blasted the Liberal government’s “secret deal” with Netflix on Saturday, saying it’s “unacceptable” the government appears to have one set of rules for Canada’s cultural sector and another set for foreign players – iPolitics

Netflix took $3-$6 billion of US TV ad revenue off the table

Some television channels air more ads per hour than others. For example, Fox devotes nearly 17 minutes per hour to ads, while CW airs around 11 minutes of ads. The average television channel airs around 14 minutes of advertising per hour. Assuming 30-second ads, the average U.S. Netflix subscriber misses out on seeing 35 ads per day, and all of Netflix’ U.S. subscribers miss nearly 2 billion ad views per day – John Martin, CEO of Turner Networks

'Slippery slope': Opposition mounts to Canadian media's plan to block piracy websites

Many people fear that the plan — backed by big players such as Bell, Rogers, and CBC — could lead to rampant internet censorship – Sophia Harris, CBC News

Will Canada be the new testing ground for SOPA lite? Canadian media companies hope so

A consortium of media and distribution companies calling itself “FairPlay Canada” is lobbying for Canada to implement a fast-track, extrajudicial website blocking regime in the name of preventing unlawful downloads of copyrighted works. It is currently being considered by the CRTC – Vera Ranieri, Electronic Frontier Foundation

Union wants CRTC's digital media exemption order killed

The CRTC's mission is to monitor and regulate the Canadian broadcasting system and it can choose to exempt classes of broadcasting undertakings unable to meet the objectives of the broadcasting policy for Canada set out in the Broadcasting Act. Yet, Netflix profits from the exemption and is now the fifth most important broadcaster in the country, ahead of Quebecor – CARTT subscription

Stingray Music reaches record number of Canadian listeners

The platform’s mobile app has now been downloaded 2.5M times in the market and 1 in 3 pay-TV subscribers confirmed having tuned in to a Stingray Music channel in a recent survey week – Stingray Digital Group

Gerald Stanley’s trial highlights the colonialism of Canadian media

There is a well-documented history of Canadian newspapers’ complicity with colonialism and state-sponsored violence against Indigenous people from pre-Confederation forward. And despite the last several decades of front-page coverage that includes the uprising in Oka to Idle No More and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, mainstream media are only doing marginally better than they have before – Candis Callison and Mary-Lynn Young, Maclean’s

CRTC decision on TVA Sports - Quebecor seeks leave to appeal to Federal Court of Appeal

Quebecor has filed an application for leave to appeal the CRTC decision on TVA Sports to the Federal Court of Appeal. Quebecor is seeking a review of the decision issued by the CRTC on January 17, 2017, with respect to the rate paid by Bell TV for distribution of TVA Sports – Quebecor

J.J. Jim Johnston Salutes Terry Dimonte

If you’ve been reading along to my 365 Salutes series, you will know that I replaced Terry in Winnipeg on the CITI-FM afternoon drive shift in September 1981. Neil Gallager discovered Terry in Churchill Manitoba, brought him in for all nights, and later Gary Aubé moved him into afternoon drive and gave him the room to be one of Canada’s greatest radio stars.