CRTC'S NEW TV POLICY RECEIVES UP AND DOWN REVIEWS
By Adnews Staff
Friday's announcement by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission regarding Canadian television has received mixed reviews. The announcement has angered some and pleased others in the industry. A coalition representing the Canadian advertising industry and consisting of The Association of Canadian Advertisers, the Canadian Media Directors' Council and the Institute of Canadian Advertising, feels the new policy will result in an unwanted increase in clutter. The new exemptions to the 12-minutes-per-hour limit on commercial messages will intensify an already existing problem of ad clutter, the coalition commented. "The clutter creep goes on," ACA's vice-president of media and research Bob Reaume said. On the other hand, The Global Television Network is "optimistic the regulatory changes made by the CRTC will lead to more and better Canadian programming for viewers." The network went on to further say the regulations were a good first step and it looked forward to implementing the changes with the CRTC. The Canadian Association of Broadcasters also feels that Canadian viewers were the big winners in the CRTC's decision. CAB feels that as a result of the decision, viewers will now have access to more quality Canadian programming and a wider variety to chose from. Some of the changes announced by the CRTC include: lengthening prime time hours, a change in the definition of priority programming and new incentives to air Canadian dramas. The CRTC's new policy on Canadian television is available on its website at <http://www.crtc.gc.ca>.