Good morning, Madam Chair and members of the committee. Thank you for letting me appear today.
My name is Brad Danks. I'm CEO of OUTtv Network, which is both a regulated linear TV channel in Canada and an online streaming platform in Canada and around the world. By way of background, I worked in the entertainment industry in Canada for more than 25 years, first as an entertainment lawyer and later as a broadcasting executive. As an executive, I've negotiated many online streaming deals in Canada and around the world, including with Amazon, Apple and Roku.
To begin, let's be clear about what's happening in the television industry. Over the past decade, the industry has been steadily moving from delivery by Canadian-owned cable and satellite to delivery by foreign-owned online streaming platforms. The movement has accelerated over the past two and a half years, with the launch of studio platforms such as Disney+ and channel aggregators such as Amazon and Apple TV+.
It appears inevitable that over the next decade, or sooner, the foreign online streaming platforms will deliver 100% of Canadian media services. This is both a threat and an opportunity for the Canadian industry. The threat is obvious. For the first time in our history, our media services will be distributed in Canada by foreign-owned companies, which may not always have our national interests at heart. These online distributors also create an opportunity for Canadian media services to compete directly in international online markets. Global content markets are huge and can support a wide variety of media offerings of different scale and type. OUTtv and many Canadian services are taking up this challenge.
However, to meet these challenges, it is critical that Canadian services gain access to the online streaming platforms in Canada. This is why we need Bill C-11. We need to ensure that the Broadcasting Act requires online platforms to grant access to Canadian media services. Once given access, Canadian services must be able to compete for audience share on these platforms on an equitable basis and receive fair compensation.
The core concept is that Canadian services must always be able to access our domestic market. The CRTC must have the authority to make sure that this happens. Experience has taught us that distribution platforms—and this includes our own large Canadian distribution platforms—cannot be counted on to deliver and support a wide range of Canadian-owned services and diverse programming without effective regulatory oversight and rules. Over the past decade, we've learned the hard way in Canadian broadcasting about the difficulties and inequities that can happen when distributors show preference to their own content on their platforms. The CRTC is aware and well equipped to regulate these platforms, but only if it has the tools and the power it needs.
We have suggested critical amendments to ensure that Bill C-11 gives the CRTC the authority it will need in the years ahead in dealing with online distributors. First, the CRTC must have the ability to set terms and conditions for the distribution of Canadian services on online distribution platforms. This is a critical backstop power that any domestic regulator must retain to ensure that dominant global platforms serve domestic markets. Second, the CRTC must be able to create rules that will govern distribution so that it can regulate in a flexible way that adapts to how distribution platforms develop in the future. Third, the CRTC must have the ability to resolve disputes and issue orders regarding online distribution of media services. Otherwise, its authority as a regulator will be illusory. The CRTC is developing increasingly effective tools to resolve disputes and will be able to apply these tools to the online world.
Regarding the form of these amendments, OUTtv supports the IBG submission to the committee.
It is important that this legislation happen now. Global markets are in a period of transition, and the rules are being written now across the world. Competition is currently fuelling opportunity, but the market is maturing quickly. There is a real fear that much of our industry will miss the transition window. It is therefore critical that Bill C-11 be passed as soon as possible.
Thank you for letting me appear today. I'm always available for questions.