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The CRTC released standard conditions of licence Monday for video-on-demand services.
The conditions of licence will apply to new video-on-demand services, including those with licence applications under consideration at the commission, as well as existing video-on-demand services at the time of their licence renewals.
The conditions say that licensed services must ensure that no less than five per cent of their English-language feature films are Canadian; no less than eight per cent of French-language films are Canadian; and that not less than 20 per cent of all programming other than feature films is Canadian.
Among other licence conditions, the CRTC said that video-on-demand services must contribute five per cent of their gross annual revenues to a Canadian program production fund.
The commission added that advertising on video-on-demand services are permitted under a number of conditions, such as if the ads are obtained from a Canadian broadcaster unaffiliated with the operator of the service, or if the ads are inserted into a program to which an affiliated broadcaster has acquired the broadcasting rights.
The CRTC also issued an exemption order Monday that, effective immediately, exempts small video on-demand services from regulation if they are not owned and operated by an existing broadcasting distributor.
That means companies like Shaw Communications Inc., Bell Canada Enterprises Inc., and Quebecor Media Inc., which operate both broadcasting distribution services and video-on-demand platforms, do not qualify for the exemption.
Video-on-demand services eligible for the exemption should apply to the CRTC for the revocation of their licences, the commission said.
"In this way, VOD [video-on-demand] undertakings in most need of regulatory relief will be captured, while those belonging to the largest cable undertakings will continue to fall under a single licence," the CRTC said.
Source: The Wire Report, 01/31/2011
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