The CRTC has made public two documents that may hold clues about the future of new media regulation in Canada. One of the key issues at stake: Should there be a fund to support the creation of television content for new media distribution?

The first document suggests that a levy on Internet service providers should be implemented to create such a fund. The report, TV or Not TV: Three Screens, One Regulation? , was prepared at the request of the CRTC by Eli Noam, director of the Columbia Institute for Tele-Information in New York. The broadcast new media funding recommendation is only one aspect of Noam’s conclusions, but as a hot-button issue it is sure to be one that sparks a vibrant discussion.

According to Canadian Interactive Alliance executive director James Lewis, there are a number of problems with the idea. ‘The ISPs have already said flat out that any such levy would be passed directly on to consumers through higher access fees,’ he says. ‘When you consider that most Canadians aren’t even watching video online, it just wouldn’t be fair to consumers.’

The second document suggests that Lewis is not alone in his opposition to a levy. It contains the results of an online consultation on the issue of new media regulation that ran from May 15 to June 15, garnering over 2,600 visitors and yielding a total of 278 comments. Of the 50 respondents who commented on the issue, 70% were against supporting the creation and promotion of Canadian new media.

The issue will be decided at an upcoming hearing, to be held in early 2009, concerning the possible regulation of broadcasting over new media. The next step in that process will be a notice of public hearing this fall in which the commission will announce the details of the hearing, to determine whether the current new media regulatory exemption orders will continue to be appropriate, or to what extent, if any, such orders need to be revised.