The CRTC has announced a series of decisions stemming from fall’s “Let’s Talk TV” hearings, most notably the elimination of simultaneous substitution (“simsub”) for the year’s most-watched TV event.
In one of the biggest decisions stemming from the hearings, the federal broadcast regulator announced Thursday that it would eliminate simsub for the Super Bowl beginning in 2017, meaning that Canadian viewers will now be able to see U.S. commercials featured in the telecast.
The CRTC noted that current rights holder Bell Media – which yesterday announced a full roster of advertising partners for this weekend’s Super Bowl telecast – could also waive its simsub privilege beginning in 2016.
It stopped short of eliminating simsub entirely however, acknowledging that the revenue generated by the practice (pegged at around $250 million per year) is important to the broadcasting system – keeping ad dollars in Canada and helping create valuable programming such as news and information.
It said that TV stations and BDUs would be allowed to keep simsub “for the time being,” although cable and satellite companies would no longer be permitted to perform it on specialty channels.
In a Thursday speech before the London Chamber of Commerce, CRTC chairman Jean-Pierre Blais said that simsub presents a “dilemma” for the regulator: it is disliked by consumers but adored by broadcasters.
He said that the revenue it draws – and “the addiction it creates” – has caused broadcasters to lose sight of its negative effect on Canadian programming, which is often shunted to undesirable timeslots or secondary channels to accommodate the “scheduling whims” of U.S. networks. “Why must our creators take second-class seats?” he asked.
However, he said that simsub is also here to stay, “too intertwined to remove entirely without upsetting the existing business model.”
In its decision, the CRTC acknowledged that the Super Bowl is a unique event and that big-budget U.S. commercials are “part of the spectacle.” The regulator said it would “not tolerate” avoidable errors related to simultaneous substitution, and is putting regulatory measures in place to ensure that viewers don’t miss “important parts” of programming they want to watch.
It’s not uncommon for Canadian commercials to run long and cut off parts of U.S. programming, which can be particularly galling for Canadian viewers. However, Blais said that the CRTC would implement a zero-tolerance policy.
“It’s as simple as that,” he said. “In this day and age when technology allows us to wear computers, put a Canadarm in space and land a satellite on a comet, I cannot believe that every broadcaster does not have the wherewithal to execute simsub flawlessly. There will be no more sleeping at the switch.”
The regulator urged viewers to be vigilant and send complaints when they see a sim-sub error. It said that cable and satellite companies making errors might have to give customers a rebate, while local TV stations could lost the privilege of sim-sub for a period of time or on specific types of programming.
The CRTC said it would announce further details on the implementation of this particular measure at a later date.
Antenna Antagonism
The CRTC also announced its decision relating to over-the-air (OTA) signals, which provide approximately 76% of Canadians with free access to between five and 15 channels via a digital antenna.
Broadcasters including the CBC and Bell had sought to close their over-the-air transmitters, but Blais said in his remarks that Canadians overwhelmingly told the CRTC that OTA services were of great importance.
“This is not surprising when you consider that over 40% of viewing between 7 and 11 p.m. in the English-language market and over 50% in the French-language market is to local television stations,” he said.
The CRTC is also is ordering Bell Mobility and Videotron to stop giving their own mobile television services an unfair advantage over other Internet services.
The two companies have exempted their own mobile television services from their standard monthly data charges while content from other websites or apps is counted against a customer’s data cap.
Videotron had already indicated it was ceasing the practice by the end of 2014, but the CRTC says it wants proof of that by Mar. 31.
Bell Mobility is being given until Apr. 29 to stop doing it.
Blais said in a age of rapidly-changing communication platforms, the regulator still has a key role to play in enabling fair and open communication.
He said too much focus on the bottom line on the part of broadcasters is worrisome, especially when it’s followed by the reduction in funding of local television.
News reporting and analysis are critical, he said.
“An informed citizenry cannot be the sacrificial offering on the altar of corporate profits or deficit reduction,” he said.
