Internet providers should help pay for Cancon, CRTC chief recommends
OTTAWA The head of Canada’s broadcasting and telecommunications regulator defended the proposal that everyone who benefits from Canadians consuming content should contribute to Canadian programming — including internet providers who profit off the rising demand for data. Just don’t call it a tax. Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission chairman Ian Scott outlined the regulator’s recommendations to the government as it reviews federal communications laws, rules that the CRTC will ultimately implement. “New actors draw significant revenues and should also contribute to the system,” Scott told the International Institute of Communications conference here on Thursday.
The CRTC’S proposal to shift the funding burden from television and radio providers to broadband providers — it suggests broadcasters pay slightly less and that broadband providers pay one per cent of revenue — remains controversial. It was the subject of much debate at the conference.
On one side, creative players said internet providers and digital players like Netflix should step in to stop the so-called “Canconpalypse,” a feared loss of Canadian content as funding dries up. TV and radio operators must pay a portion of their revenue for content, but these funds are eroding as advertising and subscription revenues stagnate.
On the other hand, internet service providers contend they contribute enough by spending “billions and billions” on fixed and wireless networks.
“To be fair, I think the network is our contribution,” Pam Dinsmore, vice-president of regulatory cable for Rogers Communications, said during a panel discussion on Wednesday.
In an interview, Scott agreed that internet providers have made significant contributions to the network, but said they’ve also grown exponentially thanks to demand for broadband and growth in online video consumption.
He expects most will contribute the same amount of revenue since they distribute both TV and internet.
“It’s not a tax,” he said, instead describing it as a shift.
While it could result in extra charges for consumers with standalone internet packages, he said the fee will be minor, given average internet bills of $46 per month.
“If you’re asking me: ‘Is 46 cents worth it per month in order to support the future of viable Canadian programming ?’ The answer is yes,” he said.
Either way, he’s happy the industry is debating the proposal to fund content through a surcharge on broadband connections. One year into his role as chairman, he sees the report on the future of Canadian content production and distribution as one of the key policy developments, along with progress on the broadband fund.