News release

October 22^nd, 2002

CRTC issues report on Interactive Television
And calls for comments

OTTAWA-GATINEAU - The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) issued its Report on Interactive Television Services today. The report, which stems from a fact-finding inquiry launched by the Commission, provides a snapshot of the current state of interactive television (ITV) in Canada.

At the same time the Commission released a related Public Notice (CRTC 2002-63), which asks for responses from the industry, interested stakeholders and the public to a number of questions on ITV and broadcasting.

Commission aims

As a result of this process, the Commission has identified the following aims in dealing with ITV:

• Help guide broadcasters, distributors and creators in making the transition to ITV.
• Foster continued growth and strength in the Canadian broadcasting system.
• Maintain cultural objectives and benefit both consumers and industry members.

Request for comments

Some of the matters raised in the fact-finding proceeding deal with ITV services and its effects on traditional concepts of ownership and copyright, accessibility and consumer acceptance.

One of the key issues at this time, however, is whether elements of ITV are broadcasting that must be distributed as an integral part of a service. Accordingly, in Broadcasting Public Notice CRTC 2002-63, the Commission is seeking input to help define the term "program-related" and to determine the difference between "program-related" and other ITV services.

The Commission is asking a number of questions including:

• Should ITV be "integral" to a program in order for it to be deemed "program-related"? If so, how should this integral nature be determined?
• If certain types of ITV activity are determined to be "program-related", should a distributor be prohibited from altering or deleting a subsidiary signal containing such ITV activity?

For a complete list of questions, please see the reference documents. The answers to these questions will assist the Commission in establishing what forms of ITV content could be considered broadcasting by virtue of their relationship to programming.

The Commission would like to deal with this matter as quickly as possible as it is aware of some producers and broadcasters who are already developing ITV applications.

Comments can be emailed to procedure@crtc.gc.ca

Hard copies can be sent to the Secretary General, CRTC, Ottawa K1A 0N2.

As this is a 2-part process, all comments must be received on or before December 20, 2002. Those who wish to respond to these comments must do so by January 31, 2003.

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission is an independent public authority that regulates and supervises broadcasting and telecommunications in Canada.

Reference documents: Report on Interactive Television Services, Broadcasting Public Notices CRTC 2002-63, 2001-113 and 1997-83

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Media Inquiries:
   Denis Carmel, Tel: (819) 997-9403, eMail: denis.carmel@crtc.gc.ca

General Inquiries:
   Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0N2
   Tel: (819) 997-0313, TDD: (819) 994-0423, Fax: (819) 994-0218
   Toll-free # 1-877-249-CRTC (2782), eMail: info@crtc.gc.ca
   TDD - Toll-free # 1-877-909-2782

Copies of today's documents are available through our Internet site (http://www.crtc.gc.ca) or by contacting the public examination room of any CRTC office. These documents are available in alternative format upon request.

Date Modified: 2002-10-22

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