CRTC To Look At Broadcasting In New Media

On May 15, 2008, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) issued a public notice indicating that it would be commencing a proceeding later this year to examine broadcasting delivered and accessed over the Internet and over mobile devices. This promises to be a far-ranging proceeding, with a public hearing planned for early 2009. The Broadcasting Act includes a broad definition of broadcasting, extending to video-on-demand as well as streamed audiovisual services. Given this definition, it is clear that much of the traffic on the Internet would now qualify as "broadcasting" – perhaps over 50%. And the quantum of video traffic is rising. The Act states that every element of the Canadian broadcasting system is to "contribute to the creation and presentation of Canadian programming." An issue that will be highly controversial is whether Internet service providers (ISPs) should