Let’s Talk TV – The future of broadcast advertising

July 7th, 2014 | ACA Team,

By Bob Reaume, Vice President, Policy & Research, ACA

Canada’s broadcast regulator, the CRTC, is having a really good look right now at how the television system operates in this country with its upcoming hearing, “Let’s Talk TV”. Advertisers have a lot at stake.

That’s why the ACA invited the Canadian Media Director’s Council to join us to file comments on several areas that could possibly affect our future use of the medium. Here are the issues at hand:

Pick-and-pay. The Commission has become very consumer friendly of late, and the idea of viewers being able to choose and pay for only those stations they wish to receive is quite a popular notion. Except that on this basis many stations will probably not survive and those would likely be the very stations that attract special segments and/or light TV viewers. Not good for advertisers who are trying to target their unique customers.

Removing barriers. Consumers have never had such choice in viewing options as now. The problem is they quite often choose American channels. We’ve suggested to the Commission that removing barriers for advertisers to access the ‘local availabilities’ and non-simultaneous program substitutions would not only go a long way toward repatriating lost Canadian audiences, but inject much needed funding into the broadcasting system.

Simultaneous substitution. The long standing policy of simultaneous substitution is also under the microscope. It’s important to remember that though these shows may be American in origin, their audiences are 100 percent Canadian, and the very kind of audiences that advertisers in Canada are seeking to reach. This is the kind of barrier we don’t need removed. In fact, taking this substantial amount of inventory from the marketplace will only create increased demand and cost pressures for what little Canadian TV audiences are left, and quite likely force advertisers to transfer ad budgets to other media.

Set-top-box (STB) audience measurement. The Commission has asked for comments on establishing a new STB-based audience measurement system. We’ve whole-heartedly supported this idea and not only because it will result in more accurate measurement. An STB-based system could also provide enhanced metrics such as commercial audiences to be used as a currency. With commercial audience data, advertisers could plan and buy TV with more accuracy and confidence.

For over sixty years, ad-supported television has been an essential marketing tool for advertisers. Last year we invested over three and a half billion dollars in the medium and I don’t think it is a stretch to say that advertising today is still the financial underpinning of the whole broadcasting system in Canada. We think it should, and can, continue to be so.

See our full submission to the CRTC.