Hello from Prime Time in Ottawa! I’ll be providing quotes from CRTC Vice-Chair, Broadcasting, Nathalie Theberge’s speech this morning. #PrimeTimeInOttawa

The Japan Commercial Broadcasters’ Association issued a statement against OpenAI’s Sora 2 and other similar AI video generation models, warning of the dangers that their unregulated use poses, both to Japan’s content industry and society as a whole.

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Bell Media signs exclusive Canadian ad sales deal with free streamer Tubi www.bellmedia.ca/the-lede/pre... The deal includes adding Bell's FAST channels like TSN The Ocho and Corner Gas Channel to Tubi, plus co-development of programming.

Not sure where you heard that? Check out factcheckhere.ca

MAGA’s Plan for AI Dominance vs. Canada’s Quest for AI Sovereignty: Is North America Big Enough for Both? Don Lenihan breaks it all down. nationalnewswatch.com/2025/09/02/m... #nationlnewswatch via @natnewswatch

Let’s goooooo

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Fu** the CBC. ;)

Now Tara Henley discusses the future of the CBC #digitalxroads

Here’s one of Stursberg’s more interesting slides. The differences in size are enormous. #digitalxroads

Richard Stursberg just gave a mic-dropping speech on the future of private broadcasting in Canada. Effectively, he says it’s dead and it’s the CRTC’s fault. #digitalxroads

After a much needed break, back to program. Next up: Supporting Equity Deserving Groups Through the Regulatory System, with Sally Lee, Richard Cavanaugh and Tonya Williams #digitalxroads

A brief plug to follow Howard Law on his blog: mediapolicy.ca

Law: A musician has to stream a song (or songs) 6 million times annually on Spotify to make approximately $100k #digitalxroads

Law: Can we nuture a domestic industry in which enough artists can make enough money over enough of a period of time that they can fill the pipeline? #digitalxroads

Canada is a substantial streaming market #digitalxroads

Law: For Canadian music to have real prominence domestically, we need to create a music ‘middle class’ in Canada. But streaming is now the dominant music platform and music streaming is controlled by foreign companies. #digitalxroads

Next up, Howard Law and the future of Canada Music #digitalxroads

Hill: Canada is way behind in digital and media literacy. There is no coordinated effort in any jurisdiction in Canada. There are provincial efforts but they are not aligned and the evidence suggests that the impact is mixed at best. People don’t take the subject seriously enough. #digitalxroads

Hill: One of the impediments to the conversation is that older generation view online life as somehow ‘less’ than real life, a distinction that younger generations don’t make. #digitalxroads

Next up, Kathryn Ann Hill on the challenges associated with digital and media literacy #digitalxroads

Moore: the arts sector needs to band together to force interoperability on platforms - digital media companies have no incentive to do so #digitalxroads

Next up, Catherine Moore discussing the benefits and challenges of interoperability #digitalxroads

Next up - a busy day already - is Lorena Escandon speaking about the social financing of the arts and media #digitalxroads

There’s too much to skybomb about this talk but Caldecott is doing a terrific presentation on the impacts of the Bureau’s case against Google. Not sexy stuff but utterly crucial to the long term viability of Canadian cultural industries #digitalxroads

A summary of the Competition Bureau’s case against Google. #digitalxroads

A terrific slide from Caldecott demonstrating Google’s dominance in the digital ad space #digitalxroads

Caldecott says, in this space, we’re looking at abuse of dominance provisions. From a policy perspective, digital channels are outstripping traditional channels and several giant tech players control digital advertising. #digitalxroads

Next, Michael Caldecott on Competition Policy and Online Advertising. #digitalxroads

Thirdly, online harms legislation is about freedom of expression. That analysis is different than normal legislative development. There need to be compliance tools put in place on social media platforms and efforts made to mitigate harms. #digitalxroads

Secondly, corporate governance of social media should be the focus of online harms legislation. At present, we rely on corporate governance with no oversight and changes in ownership can drastically transform a platform. It’s about putting in place measures to mitigate potential harm. #digitalxroads

Laidlaw says she’ll focus on three main points: first, online harms is about access to justice. The harm is the social media algorithm itself. Laws do nothing to mitigate these harms in the first place. No one wants a regulator but sometimes we need them. #digitalxroads

Day 2 at Digital Media at the Crossroads! First up, Emily Laidlaw and what can be done about Online Harms. #digitalxroads

Théberge notes that, of the several upcoming consultations, one will deal with ‘tailored conditions of service’ in late 2025. I’m sure the steamers’ ears are burning. That will be a big one for them. #digitalxroads

Théberge stresses two words: flexibility and sustainability. All of the work they do this year to implement the Online Streaming Act will focus on those two goals. #digitalxroads

Last up for the day: Nathalie Théberge, Vice-Chair of Broadcasting at the CRTC to talk about the CRTC’s agenda for the year #digitalxroads

Stephen Stohn: “We need to fight, fight, fight over the next few years” against AI encroachment in culture industries. Defend the human element to all creations and grant new neighbouring rights to authors/creators whose work is used in whole or in part in an AI-created work. #digitalxroads

Next up: the impact of AI on the Canadian Creative Sectors #digitalxroads

Nordicity’s concluding thoughts: audiences are the key currency today. It’s a crowded global marketplace where few command the most revenues. Content with confirmed ‘sticky’ audiences is very valuable. Huh…not exactly surprising results. #digitalxroads

Nordicity: It’s not about making more content, it’s about making the right content that resonates #digitalxroads

CanCon and foreign service production is still big business: almost 180k jobs and $11 billion in GDP #digitalxroads

In the audiovisual industry, the market is dominated by six companies, led by Netflix, and account for 51% of global spend. But YouTube makes up 10.4% of audience viewership, surpassing even Netflix. #digitalxroads

Kristian then continues an analysis of the video game industry, concluding with the similarities between the music and gaming industries: financing is becoming contingent upon market validation and audience engagement. The marketing never stops; audiences are kept forever (hopefully). #digitalxroads

Canada is the third biggest music exporter in the global music industry and the #8 recorded music market in the world #digitalxroads

Kristian says he’ll be focusing on audience engagement via IP. Why? It reflects the changing conversation Bram platforms and creators, promotes projects with greater potential for success, enables creators to transition audiences to new projects and it builds sustainable companies. #digitalxroads

First up: Nordicity to talk about revenues in the Canadian digital media landscape #digitalxroads