CMDC Media Digest, 2015-2016
REGULATORY NEWS INFORMATION Never before have we seen a year when regulatory issues have captured the interest of consumers and marketers alike with much active discussion in the consumer and trade press Typically the word regulatory conjures up images of bureaucratic legal heavy maybe somewhat boring processes But this year regulatory has a dynamic innovative the times they are a changing vibe The Canadian Media Directors Council in partnership with other leading Canadian trade associations has been an active participant in all aspects of regulatory oversight in this dynamic year CRTC LETS TALK TV 2015 saw the outcome of the CRTCs Lets Talk TV A Conversation with Canadians process which launched in 2013 and after three phases culminated in two weeks of live hearings in September 2014 The CMDC and the Association of Canadian Advertisers ACA made a joint appearance at the Lets Talk TV hearing concentrating our remarks on the four key areas of pick and pay simultaneous substitution removing barriers to reaching Canadian audiences and set top box based audience measurement system The CRTC released their decisions in four themed stages from January to March 2015 The key decisions impacting the media marketplace in each phase were Stage 1 From Past to Future January 29 2015 Simultaneous Substitution The practice of SimSub was prohibited for the Superbowl only starting with Super Bowl 2017 SimSub was also banned for specialty channels which affects live sports programming on other networks and put in place regulatory measures to prevent substantial and avoidable simultaneous substitution errors on all broadcasts The Impact Viewers will be able to watch U S Superbowl ads the majority of them readily available on YouTube while Canadian advertisers will be forced to watch the years most watched telecast from the sidelines The 2017 Superbowl broadcast on CTV could lose up to 50 of its viewers to U S stations The value of the property would therefore be dramatically reduced in Canada for the broadcaster the advertiser and Canadian only sponsors Whats Next This decision has been decried by industry bodies Requests for the decision to be reconsidered rescinded have been made to both the CRTC and Heritage Canada On March 2 2015 Bell Media filed a motion with the Federal Court of Appeal seeking leave to appeal saying the CRTC acted in error calling the decision unfair This issue is far from over Stage 2 Create Content March 12 2015 Canadian Video on Demand Services Canadian video on demand services through a BDU Crave from Bell and Shomi from Rogers Shaw will be able to offer exclusive content and be exempt from Canadian content regulations as long as they are available to all Canadians over the internet without a cable or satellite subscription 24 The Business of Media CANADIAN MEDIA DIRECTORS COUNCIL COMMENTARY Anne Myers COO Starcom MediaVest Group
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