CBC licence renewal delayed by broadcast review

The CRTC has agreed to delay CBC/Radio-Canada's licence renewal for a year while it reviews over-the-air television.

CRTC chair Charles Dalfen confirmed the postponement this morning afterFederal Heritage Minister Bev Oda's announcement of a six-month review of new television technologies, also to be performed by the CRTC.

The two reviews together are expected to create the framework for broadcasting in the 21st century.

In an address at the Banff Television Festival on Sunday, the minister said that the Canadian broadcast industry needs to be modernized.

"Other nations began to build the policy network for the digital world decades ago. Unfortunately, Canada did not," Oda said.

The review would touch on the role of the internet, downloading technologies, phoneand high-definition TV.

CBC president and CEO Robert Rabinovich said the public broadcaster welcomes the review and the opportunity to engage in the review process.

"CBC/Radio-Canada sees the emergence and acceptance of new technologies as a real opportunity for public broadcasting, not a threat," he said in a statement released Monday.

"Look at what we're doing with initiatives like satellite radio and podcasts: we're more than just a traditional media company. The national public broadcaster hasn't, and won't, shy away from the digital world."

CBC/Radio-Canadas Television, Radio and CBC Newsworld and RDI licences expire Aug. 31, 2007. The review process was to start later this year.

Oda hadspoken in the House of Commons of a mandate review for the public broadcaster, but failed to mention it at Banff. Instead she expressed support for public broadcasting.

The actor's union, ACTRA, also reacted to Oda's statement Monday, saying any CRTC broadcast review must result in more homegrown drama in prime time.

"We welcome the CRTC's acknowledgement that it has to take a look at fixing its 1999 Television Policy mistake. We've been calling for this review for a long time," said Stephen Waddell, ACTRA's national executive director in a statement.

ACTRA contends that the 1999 change in policy allowed Canadian broadcasters to satisfy their Canadian content mandate by producing cheap reality programming, instead of homegrown drama. Any review must change that rule to force broadcasters to make Canadian drama, he said.

In 2005, Canadian private TV broadcasters spent $401 million on imported drama, mostly from the U.S., and only $86.6 million on original Canadian drama, ACTRA said.