Canadian Broadcasters Seek New Internet Regulation

An anonymous reader writes "Michael Geist's weekly Toronto Star column reports that the Canadian broadcasting community, including broadcasters, copyright collectives, and actor labor unions, are all calling on Canada's broadcast regulator to increase its regulation of the Internet. Some groups want sites such as YouTube to be subject to Canadian content requirements, while the broadcasters want to stop U.S. broadcasters from streaming television shows online into Canada."

Comments

Re:Why not take it one step further

[mrbcs]

Thought it was still april fools day, still a Typical Canuck response.. "oh our shitty content can't cut it so we better regulate it to death".

Like we need more swivel servants in Ottawa..

Regulating the internet is like trying to regulate the weather.

Fools.. (and my tax dollars would have to pay for this crap) /canuck

Re:what's a little competition here and there?

[Brickwall]

I think the issue here is Canadian broadcasters pay US networks for the rights to certain shows. For example, CTV has "Lost" and the "CSI" and "Law and Order" franchises, while Global got the "Survivor" series, "Shark", etc. If people are going to stream those videos in Canada, those broadcasters want them streamed from their sites, not US sites. Doesn't sound unreasonable to me.

And, FWIW, as a Canadian, when I went to abc.com to view the episode of "Lost" I had missed, I was told that I was ineligible to view it, as I was accessing the site from Canada. So at a technical level, it looks like it is feasible to block Canadians, and as I noted above, it's not an issue of Canadian broadcasters producing quality shows or not; it's an issue of them protecting the rights that they have paid for.

Re:Canadian content requirement...

[AdamD1]

Yikes. :(

Remember also that in 1996 the CRTC unsuccessfully attempted to pass similar legislation regarding all content on the internet.

I hate the CRTC. They have effectively ruined everything regarding broadcast and digital technology.

The CRTC are also are a big reason that Tivo doesn't exist as a service in Canada.

Sure, nice, fine: we get to hear that extra bit of Nelly Furtado (produced in America, by American musicians and producers, for an American label) and friggin' Nickelback. But can we download TV shows in iTunes? Nope. Movies? Nope. Can we get actual HBO anywhere? Nope. Up until mid-last-year there was also no satellite radio. The only reason we have it now is that they created several Canadian stations, literally none of which anyone I know even listens to at all.

But we DO get endless reruns of Corner Gas on multiple tv stations. And we have ET Canada now. Which is nice... I guess... (Cheryl Hickie notwithstanding.)

The CRTC is run by a bunch of 70-year-olds who still probably think Burton Cummings is "hit-worthy." I wish to god they would go away. If it actually led to greater talent discovery and exposure, then I'd be all for it. As it stands the truly good Canadian artists get absolutely no airplay anywhere. CRTC has outlived their usefulness if these are the kinds of battles they're choosing to fight, using my money.

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