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Front Page, Industry News
CRTC Decision ‘Risks the Future of Television’, Industry Group Says
Tuesday October 26th 2010OpenMedia.ca, a national media-policy watchdog, is calling the CRTC’s decision on the Shaw/Canwest take-over “a threat to the integrity of local broadcasters.”
OpenMedia says that a cable company such as Shaw in control of content poses a risk to the future of television and the Internet.
The organization says Shaw is now more able to unfairly limit the availability of Global’s stations via over-the-air broadcasts, for the purpose of persuading audiences to subscribe to content through their cable services, and that the deal also provides Shaw with an economic incentive to discriminate against the open Internet in favour of television services.
Giving Shaw control over television, the Internet, and the content therein without strong rules that protect citizens’ interests plays dice with Canadians’ access to diverse news and information, OpenMedia said in a statement.
Though the Commission has stated that it expects Shaw to fulfill its commitment to the principle of programming non-exclusivity, OpenMedia notes that Shaw has made sure that its ‘promise’ to make the rights to its television programming available to its competitors is not a condition of the license it received.
Moreover, the CRTC decided not to act on OpenMedia.ca’s proposition that Global sell off their local broadcasters as a condition of their transaction with Shaw, an action said to help maintain a firm separation between content and providers. This action would have helped to ensure diversity in Canada’s broadcasting industry and prevent corporate consolidation from impacting news and other programming being produced by local services, OpenMedia said.
OpenMedia.ca said it is unconvinced that the transaction will help improve Global’s worrisome financial situation, or reinstate jobs and projects that have been sacrificed in recent years.
OpenMedia.ca is a national, non-partisan, non-profit public engagement organization working to advance and support an open and innovative communications system in Canada. Steve Anderson is the national coordinator for OpenMedia.ca (formally called Campaign for Democratic Media). The organization’s stated goal is to increase public awareness and informed participation in Canadian media, cultural, information, and telecommunication policy formation.
Source: Mediacaster Magazine
Front Page, Industry News
CRTC Decision ‘Risks the Future of Television’, Industry Group Says
Tuesday October 26th 2010OpenMedia.ca, a national media-policy watchdog, is calling the CRTC’s decision on the Shaw/Canwest take-over “a threat to the integrity of local broadcasters.”
OpenMedia says that a cable company such as Shaw in control of content poses a risk to the future of television and the Internet.
The organization says Shaw is now more able to unfairly limit the availability of Global’s stations via over-the-air broadcasts, for the purpose of persuading audiences to subscribe to content through their cable services, and that the deal also provides Shaw with an economic incentive to discriminate against the open Internet in favour of television services.
Giving Shaw control over television, the Internet, and the content therein without strong rules that protect citizens’ interests plays dice with Canadians’ access to diverse news and information, OpenMedia said in a statement.
Though the Commission has stated that it expects Shaw to fulfill its commitment to the principle of programming non-exclusivity, OpenMedia notes that Shaw has made sure that its ‘promise’ to make the rights to its television programming available to its competitors is not a condition of the license it received.
Moreover, the CRTC decided not to act on OpenMedia.ca’s proposition that Global sell off their local broadcasters as a condition of their transaction with Shaw, an action said to help maintain a firm separation between content and providers. This action would have helped to ensure diversity in Canada’s broadcasting industry and prevent corporate consolidation from impacting news and other programming being produced by local services, OpenMedia said.
OpenMedia.ca said it is unconvinced that the transaction will help improve Global’s worrisome financial situation, or reinstate jobs and projects that have been sacrificed in recent years.
OpenMedia.ca is a national, non-partisan, non-profit public engagement organization working to advance and support an open and innovative communications system in Canada. Steve Anderson is the national coordinator for OpenMedia.ca (formally called Campaign for Democratic Media). The organization’s stated goal is to increase public awareness and informed participation in Canadian media, cultural, information, and telecommunication policy formation.
Source: Mediacaster Magazine
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Front Page, Industry News
CRTC Decision ‘Risks the Future of Television’, Industry Group Says
Tuesday October 26th 2010OpenMedia.ca, a national media-policy watchdog, is calling the CRTC’s decision on the Shaw/Canwest take-over “a threat to the integrity of local broadcasters.”
OpenMedia says that a cable company such as Shaw in control of content poses a risk to the future of television and the Internet.
The organization says Shaw is now more able to unfairly limit the availability of Global’s stations via over-the-air broadcasts, for the purpose of persuading audiences to subscribe to content through their cable services, and that the deal also provides Shaw with an economic incentive to discriminate against the open Internet in favour of television services.
Giving Shaw control over television, the Internet, and the content therein without strong rules that protect citizens’ interests plays dice with Canadians’ access to diverse news and information, OpenMedia said in a statement.
Though the Commission has stated that it expects Shaw to fulfill its commitment to the principle of programming non-exclusivity, OpenMedia notes that Shaw has made sure that its ‘promise’ to make the rights to its television programming available to its competitors is not a condition of the license it received.
Moreover, the CRTC decided not to act on OpenMedia.ca’s proposition that Global sell off their local broadcasters as a condition of their transaction with Shaw, an action said to help maintain a firm separation between content and providers. This action would have helped to ensure diversity in Canada’s broadcasting industry and prevent corporate consolidation from impacting news and other programming being produced by local services, OpenMedia said.
OpenMedia.ca said it is unconvinced that the transaction will help improve Global’s worrisome financial situation, or reinstate jobs and projects that have been sacrificed in recent years.
OpenMedia.ca is a national, non-partisan, non-profit public engagement organization working to advance and support an open and innovative communications system in Canada. Steve Anderson is the national coordinator for OpenMedia.ca (formally called Campaign for Democratic Media). The organization’s stated goal is to increase public awareness and informed participation in Canadian media, cultural, information, and telecommunication policy formation.
Source: Mediacaster Magazine
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