The Pearson Centre for Progressive Policy

Progressive Dialogue and Policy for a Better Canada

Netflix vs the CRTC

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October 1, 2014

Netflix vs the CRTC

By Andrew Cardozo

The spat between Netflix, the American super cable company, and the CRTC, the Canadian broadcasting regulator, has all the markings of an iconic battle.  It involves a lot of fault lines in our society: American giant versus the pseudo-governmental Canadian regulator, the American cultural behemoth versus the ongoing battle to maintain some sense of Canadian culture, freedom to choose for customers versus regulated and balanced choices, new media versus old media, technological innovators versus laggards (both of which exist among the industry, consumers and the regulatory body), a total free market for business versus a regulated market, a populist government agenda versus regulation in line with the Broadcasting Act as passed by Parliament, politicized instructions to the CRTC from cabinet versus the role of independent quasi-judicial and (supposedly) non-political decision making of the regulatory agency.  It’s a doozy – all part of a larger hearing on the future of television in a changing world.  A timely hearing no less.

The pressure to de-regulate completely has been present for years. What the CRTC has done since the beginning of time, to various levels of success, is to help build the Canadian film and television industry, and in so doing to advance Canadian cultural product.  Its efforts with CanCon in music has been most successful, as it regulated music on Canadian radio and more recently on specialty music channels on TV. French language television has been a success story too because of the uniqueness of the Quebec culture and audience.  The problem has always been with the English language television  market, whose product ends up being so similar to the Hollywood mega-machine, albeit lower budget.

With the arrival of the digital world over recent years, however, the issues have changed and generally don’t favour the protection or facilitation of Canadian content.  It’s just getting tougher out there for Canadian producers, and what’s left is for the CRTC to find the nooks and crannies where it can regulate, not for the sake of regulating, but for the sake of doing whatever is possible to help Canadian content, in the face of the tsunami of foreign digital content.

It’s about more than regulation or the CRTC.  It’s about Canadian culture. No, seriously.

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