Speech
CONVERGENCE AND BROADCASTING:
What Does The Future Hold?
Notes for an address
by Françoise Bertrand, Chairperson,
Canadian Radio-television and
Telecommunications Commission
at the 1996 Annual Convention of the
Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB)
Edmonton, Alberta
October 28, 1996
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Introduction
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for inviting me today. It's a
genuine delight for me to be here, and it is of course a very special occasion
for me - the rite of passage of every Chairperson of the CRTC.
I looked forward to this event with a sense of enormous optimism, because I
see this as the start of a mutually beneficial friendship, and working
partnership, based on dialogue, a two-way effort at understanding, and a shared
commitment to address together the issues facing the industry.
I have already had the occasion to meet some of you personally, and the
opportunity to meet other members either at the Vancouver licensing hearing or,
more recently, at the broadcast distribution hearing. I also got a good
introduction to the CAB when I met with Michael McCabe and the Board of
Directors, who familiarized me with your Canadian Programming Initiative. And so,
to some extent, I already feel at home here, even more so because I am a former
broadcaster.
These meetings, while somewhat more formal than this one, gave me the
opportunity to listen to you speak about your vision of the future for
Canadian broadcasting. Now I will return the favour, and provide you with my
thoughts on the future of Canadian broadcasting.
Recent developments in communications technology have presented great
opportunities for all of us, and for Canada. The scope, complexity and the rhythm
of change of the current communications revolution is without precedent. But with
these developments have come a new set of hurdles. Hurdles that must be overcome.
The message I'd like to leave you with is that we have an exciting new
environment in which to affirm a strong Canadian presence in broadcasting. And
that I am personally committed to working with you to achieve this goal.
Let me first discuss the emerging realities in the broadcast industry as I see
them. Then I'll discuss your role, and the CRTC's, in setting the stage for a new
era in which the emerging technologies support, rather than undermine, a strong
Canadian agenda in broadcasting.
I. Converging Technologies, Expanding Opportunities
If we look at developments in communications over the past century, we see
that there's every reason to believe we can maintain a strong Canadian presence
in broadcasting.
The present, like the past, is full of people who think that each new
development in communications will throw us off our national course. But, the
fundamental challenge remains the same: to ensure a strong Canadian presence in
the broadcasting environment. The mandate set for us all in the Broadcasting
Act.
We will do today, as we have done for a century: out-smart the defeatists and
seize the opportunities new technologies offer to achieve our objective, and in
partnership we will find specific Canadian solutions to challenges that are
unique to Canada.
The convergence of cable TV, telephony, wireless, and computer technology will
mean more distribution channels for broadcasters, artists, and producers.
Technological developments, like video compression and satellite transmission,
will allow for more Canadian and foreign signals to reach Canadian homes. Digital
technology will lead to a proliferation of new types of services. Consumers will
come to expect no less than CD-quality sound, high definition picture, variety,
and originality.
Above all, consumers will be much more discriminating about the quality of
content. There will always be a desire on their part to sit back and be
entertained. And they will continue to enjoy the opportunity to watch high
quality programs with friends and family. However, as society moves toward what
the futurist Faith Popcorn refers to as "cocooning," people will want
broadcasters to connect them to their communities. And this will lead to a desire
for more Canadian programming.
The interactivity that technology will permit will create a new relationship
between the consumer and content. McLuhan foresaw this development, the movement
away from consumers as passive recipients to dynamic, interactive participants in
the creation of content. Increasingly they will demand and exercise the right to
pick and choose, and tailor what they see, read and listen to.
This is an environment with the consumer in the driver's seat, not the
passenger seat. If the catalogue of services, the menu selections offered don't
suit them, they will simply shop elsewhere.
II. The Challenges Ahead
What are the imperatives for your industry? Amidst this cornucopia of
technical options, the challenge will be to stay focused . . . To do what you do
best . . . To provide Canadian programming that will ensure a rich cultural
experience for Canadians, and a legacy for our children.
You as broadcasters have identified that the key to success in the future is
the programming - as your Canadian Programming Initiative makes clear.
Last year at the CRTC's Information Highway Proceeding, your association
presented the Initiative which recognizes the need to substantially "build up the
quality and quantity of Canadian programming on our screens." At our recent
distribution hearing, Michael McCabe expressed broadcasters' will to accomplish,
he said, a "quantum leap in the quality and quantity of top notch Canadian
dramatic and children's programming . . . at times that Canadians want to watch
them. What it means is new Canadian drama series . . . new hard-hitting
documentaries and children's programs."
I intend to work with you to realize this quantum leap, so that you can
provide us, and all Canadians, with more of those popular drama series like
Due South, Traders and Lobby. More quality children's shows, like
Theodore Tugboat and Le Petit Journal. And more hard-hitting
documentaries, like 'The Riot at Christie Pits' and the award-winning 'Lloyd
Robertson in China.' Your dedication to sports and news programming has paid off.
Now, it's time to invest in drama, film and other underrepresented entertainment
categories.
The fact that you intend to make Canadian programming your own franchise will
go a long way to helping you realize this goal. As you have recognized, good
Canadian programming will make you distinctive in your own markets, and help you
find new audiences.
In an increasingly competitive environment, however, you'll have to be still
more aggressive in selling your product. This means scheduling your Canadian
programs at prime times, as you have proposed. It also means vigorously promoting
your programs at home and having the courage to market these Canadian programs
internationally.
Ours is a society with extraordinary cultural values. Let's celebrate them.
Let's announce them to the world. Let's share our common experience, our
mythology and folklore - the stories of the Canadian people told from our special
Canadian perspective. In a world of war and strife, a 'dose' of Canadian values
is just what's needed. Our humanity is a national asset. Let's promote it.
In addition, the programming that you offer will have to be fashioned
differently. Tailored and adapted to new modes of distribution, and packaged to
meet the consumer's desire to listen and view when, and how he chooses.
Portable, transportable, interoperable: the essence of the convergence of
technologies and information dissemination. The business traveller, in a distant
hotel room, will expect to use a cell phone to call, for downloading on her
laptop, the early edition of the newscast back home. Or have the ability to watch
from CD, missed episodes of a favourite program. The traditional programming
blocks in use since the 50's will undergo surgery.
How do you grapple with all of this? For your part, the best approach is to
build upon the strengths you as an industry have. Your first strength is your
experience. You know the consumer well . . . you understand the tastes of the
consumer . . . and you are well suited to respond.
Strength number two. You, as a group, have an entrepreneurial spirit. We were
frankly impressed by the number of applications and alliances that were forged to
embrace the opportunities to serve the Canadian public's more specialized
interests by offering new Canadian specialty and pay television services.
Strategic alliances that you've demonstrated are workable, are bound to enrich
the programming you deliver.
The environment is ripe with entrepreneurial possibilities for those
broadcasters who believe in heightening the Canadian profile.
There are a number of elements already in place which provide advantages.
There is a significant amount of funding money available in the system to help
produce more top quality Canadian programming. This resource was recently
bolstered by Minister Copp's announcement of the Canada Television and Cable
Production Fund.
There is a mature production industry in Canada that has all the expertise to
produce world-class products. There is also now a critical mass of Canadian
programming services which provide the opportunity for multiple exhibition
windows for Canadian programs.
In addition to these, there is the policy framework for the transition to
digital television in Canada, which is now being developed in partnership between
the government and the industry. The implementation is projected to start by mid-
to late 1998.
To maximize these strengths, a coordinated and concerted broadcasting
industrial strategy based on partnerships of broadcasters, producers, creative
and technical talent joined in strategic alliances is vital. Business, the
regulator, government, we all have roles and responsibilities in this endeavour.
But, it is essential that we all move in the same direction, using an identical
map.
This orchestrated strategy should not exclude radio. We know, the economic
situation is a lot tougher in this industry. But the developments of technology
and convergence, which will also affect it, are an opportunity to turn the
corner.
In your 1995 Action Plan for radio, you have identified the roll-out of
digital radio as a key strategy to drive the industry back to profitability by
1998. I strongly encourage you to intensify and accelerate your efforts in this
area.
As a consumer myself, I am very interested in your vision of local radio
stations providing, through digital data signals, on-demand information about
weather or traffic conditions, schedules of community events, and also the title
of any new interesting pieces by Canadian creators and performers.
The Commission has given you the means to retain Canada's technological lead
in digital radio, while taking advantage of the new business opportunities that
the technology offers. Given the increasing popularity of Internet and the
arrival of pay audio, it won't be too long before the Canadian public expects
your association's vision for local digital radio stations to materialize.
We are well aware at the Commission that the radio industry has experienced
difficulties and is very much in a state of transition. There is a sense out
there that the industry feels neglected. I am sensitive to these concerns, and I
will undertake an evaluation of the situation to determine whether our approach
to policy and regulation in this industry needs to be revisited.
III. Challenges for the CRTC
The CRTC has addressed most of the 'cornerstones' you've identified as
necessary to carry out the Canadian Programming Initiative. Rules have been set
to guarantee broadcasters a fair access to audiences.
The Commission is currently examining what the financial contributions of
distributors should be, as well as rules to ensure a fair competition, in the
context of its proceeding on broadcast distribution. We've also announced that we
will conduct a public process on enhanced substitution in the very near future.
The government's policy on convergence has been set and it clearly is intended
to continue fostering Canadian content in all its forms.
The current communications revolution also raises specific challenges for us.
The CRTC will work towards implementing, as early as 1998, all the pieces of its
framework for a fair and coherent, full-fledged competition among communications
services. This will allow for convergence to take place soon, and as quickly as
industries are ready to move ahead.
The connecting thread to our policy making at the CRTC will have to centre on
the ramifications of convergence. Living with this reality begins at home. To
ensure that convergence becomes a reality in the processes and decision making of
the Commission, we are currently conducting a vision exercise, an internal
examination of our systems and procedures intended to put into place the
mechanisms with which we can best help the industries we regulate, achieve public
policy objectives, and fulfill parliament's mandate to us.
Conclusion
When I stand in front of you in five years, at the close of my mandate, the
challenges of today will be the reality of 2001.
There are indicators that we will then use together to measure our success:
- the number of hours of Canadian drama, children's and other entertainment
programs that are shown in peak viewing hours;
- the viewership to Canadian programs in underrepresented categories;
- the amount of distinctively Canadian programs broadcast;
- the use of Canadian talent in all aspects of production-writers, actors,
singers, musicians, producers, and technicians;
- the sales of Canadian programs internationally;
- the number of strong, high-quality production companies exporting globally;
- the number of radio stations taking advantage of digital technology;
- the success of adapting to the convergence of multi-media; and,
- the return on your investment in the mid- and long-term.
If we have moved forward on these indicators, then we will have contributed in
a meaningful way to implementing a Canadian broadcasting industrial strategy
while attaining the objectives of the Broadcasting Act.
Looking ahead down that road, what I'd like to see are government policies, a
regulatory framework, which offer sustaining direction to a broadcast industry
that is making effective use of the strategic commercial advantages of a coherent
broadcasting industrial strategy - a strategy based on partnerships of
broadcasters, producers, creative and technical talent. This coordinated
partnership will maximize the benefits from Canadian content and use the
multi-media world as the natural way of distribution and program packaging. All
of this will have a multiplier effect, spreading economic returns to the wide
range of businesses which serve and benefit from broadcasting.
Those of you who know me, know that if I have faith in the success of an
initiative, I tackle it with enthusiasm. I have faith in the success of this
initiative. Sharing our drive and energy, I am convinced that in five years, we
will say: we did it, we did it together, we did it for Canada, for consumers -
the Canadian people.
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Contact: CRTC Public Affairs, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0N2
Tel.: (819) 997-0313, TDD: (819) 994-0423, Fax: (819) 994-0218
Date Modified: 1996-10-28 |
