Rogers Sports & Media President Colette Watson told the CRTC’s The Path Forward hearing on modernizing the definition of “Canadian program” on Friday that broadcasters and the regulator “have to evolve” to meet audiences where they are.
Watson’s comment arose during discussion about at-risk programs – specifically children’s and youth television programming.
Rogers maintains that children are being well-served by Canadian content, but that viewing has moved outside traditional channels.
“From our perspective, this is not a case of market failure. This is actually a market outcome,” Dean Shaikh, Rogers Senior Vice President, Regulatory Affairs, told the hearing. “This is a response to a functioning market. Audiences – in this case, kids – have spoken, and they’re leaving the traditional system. We know that’s the case. My fear is that because there’s a perceived market outcome that the commission is not satisfied with, it may introduce regulatory tools that really aren’t about market failure, but actually create market distortions and inefficiencies.”
“In the case of kids programming, it’s a demand issue,” Shaikh continued. “Kids don’t want programming from traditional platforms in the way they historically did. The right response to an issue of decreasing demand is not to increase supply. And my fear is, in this hearing, there’s been a suggestion that because kids are leaving the traditional system, maybe we need to fund more or dedicate more funds to kids programming, allocate some CPE [Canadian Programming Expenditures] to kids’ programming. This would be an example, of what we would argue is a harmful regulatory distortion, because you’re actually responding in the wrong way to the wrong problem…if you introduce a new fund or funding commitments or CPE commitments, you’ll be taking money away from things like local news that in our model, we would like to continue to support.”
Watson shared, from personal experience, watching her grandson access Canadian kids programming on YouTube.
“But my grandson takes the remote control and talks into it and calls up his PAW Patrol or his Cocomelon, and up it comes magically. So where we came in, in the regulated system, was created a BDU product that allows for seamless transitioning between a variety of feeds,” explained Watson. “We have to evolve. We all have to evolve whether it’s in point systems or technology to meet the audiences where they are. So as a cable company, we deliver programming seamlessly to all audiences from the three-year-old to the senior citizen…we’re trying. And I guess what we’re saying is, if you try to solve all problems, you will dilute all contributions. And so, we we implore on you to not do the one size fits all.”
Rogers is proposing a framework for supporting Canadian programming that establishes a single financial contribution for each broadcasting ownership group. For Rogers, that would entail a single financial commitment on behalf of both its media and distribution businesses of no more than 5% of total combined BDU and media revenues. Rogers is proposing to focus on local, community and third-language news and information programming (requiring an exemption from the community television policy); and direct expenditures on Canadian programming, including a commitment to independent production and contributions to a private certified independent production fund (CIPF).
The hearing heard that Rogers lost about $10 million on its English-language news production last year.
BCE, which presented on Thursday, wants the flexibility to redirect local expression funding from Bell TV to Bell Media’s news operations. Watson said Rogers is not proposing “like Bell, to shut down in those markets,” but said there is tens of millions of dollars spent on community television access funding that could go to news at the community level.
“My kids live in Stittsville. They get their local news now from Facebook…isn’t that our job to make sure that they get some information, too?” asked Watson.
Rogers is also advocating for mainstream sports services to be maintained in a new regime, including streaming services like its Sportsnet+ direct-to-consumer product.
“Commission intervention is not needed to ensure these services continue to make meaningful contributions to the system,” Shaikh told the hearing during Rogers presentation.
“Canadian broadcast groups are competing directly against global streaming giants for subscribers and audiences. They are doing so while continuing to provide local news programming and wholesale fee payments to services of exceptional importance that no other participants in the regulated system are either willing or required to provide,” he continued. “In a marketplace where foreign streamers are rapidly expanding their share, Canada’s largest broadcasting companies cannot continue to shoulder the entire burden of achieving all the policy objectives set out in the Act. The future of a Canadian owned and controlled broadcasting system is at risk unless we are provided with the same regulatory and financial flexibility as the U.S. streaming giants.”
