I spent some time this morning going over the comments posted by the CRTC regarding "Review of the regulatory frameworks for broadcasting distribution undertakings and discretionary programming services". I haven't gone into all of the postings, but did hit most of the big cable companies and comments from individuals. Here is my summary of comments:
Regarding set-top-boxes:
Several people (21 by my count) wrote in regarding their dissatisfaction with the requirement for set top boxes, and their suggestions on changes that the CRTC can make to improve the situation. Most everyone agreed with my position that basic cable be delivered unencrypted, and pay cable be delivered in a way that allows 3rd party devices to watch, record, and play back the content.
The big cable companies:
In general, the big cable and satellite companies are asking for the following:
- Reduction or elimination of regulation on their market
- The ability to carry foreign (ie US) channels like ESPN, Comedy Central, etc.
- The right to insert their own commercials into those foreign channels
- Reduction of Canadian content requirements
- Elimination of linkage rules (ie you subscribe to only the channels you want, not bundles)
- Acceptance of the notion that programming can be delivered in many ways, including Internet distribution (and fear that over-regulation in Canada will cause more people to get their content over the internet from foreign markets.)
Community Channels
Besides set-top-box arguments, the other major grassroots issue seems to be around community television and the requirement to carry that programming. Several individuals and groups wrote in on this issue, especially those in Quebec, to reinforce that community television should be kept as a requirement.
The knee-slapper award:
I'm not a Rogers cable customer, but I think that most of their customers will appreciate the humour in Rogers' recommendation that the CRTC "Refrain from introducing new customer service standards or a new body to oversee them, which would represent an inefficient duplication of efforts and resources given the existence of longstanding and effective cable industry customer service standards." Now I'm not saying that I think that the CRTC needs to regulate this, but I think the notion that Rogers thinks they are running a top-notch customer service organization is laughable.
My position:
After reading several of the submissions, I'd say that I'm generally in agreement with the overall call for less regulation. I know, that seems odd given that I've been pushing for more regulation in the area of content access. Perhaps a better way to state my position is this; that overall lower regulation on the content provided is warranted and that consumer choice will dictate the market, but that certain regulations should be put in place to prevent distributors from colluding on consumer-unfriendly practices such as price-fixing, device lock-in, and negative billing. Give the cable companies the freedom they desire, but in trade ask (ie require) that they promise to do so in a way that does not hurt consumers.