travel plans: Canadian Online TV Grows Though Traditional TV Still ...

Sunday, September 29, 2013

Canadian Online TV Grows Though Traditional TV Still ... - internet TV

The development of internet TV around the world continues to grow as proven by every passing report, with the latest effort emerging from the North American nation of Canada, with a suggestion that one-third of all citizens ?watched television online? during the year?2012.

crtc_logo A report (the ?Communications Monitoring Report?) created by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC),?puts?forward that services such as Netflix are the main driver for such development, although ?traditional methods??for both TV and radio?are still primarily applied throughout the country.

For Canadian internet TV consumption, the average amongst the 33% of viewers is noted as 3 hours per week of content, rising from a figure of 2.8 hours measured in 2011, whilst for viewing platforms, it was noted that 6% of Canadians watch content via a mobile device (tablet computer or smartphone), and?4% view ?TV programming? online-only.

People listening to streamed radio in 2012 was also on the rise with a rate of 20% partaking, whilst 22% streamed audio via devices (with 14% and 8% through smartphones and tablet computers, respectively), and 13% stream music through a ?personalized internet service?.

The totals for online activity as a whole carried a split measurement regarding Canada?s famed linguistic divide, with English-speakers consuming an average of 20.1 hours of internet connection per week, whilst French-speakers averaged 13 hours.

In a press release over the study, CRTC chairman Jean-Pierre Blais stated: ?It is interesting to note that Canadians? habits are evolving. More Canadians than ever are watching and listening to content on their computers, smartphones and tablets, yet the vast majority of programming is still accessed through traditional television and radio services.?

The organization note that a key reason for the fast-growing success of online TV is the lack of their own restrictions that TV stations have to follow regarding a ?Canadian content quota?, with the lack of CRTC control over the internet meaning a wider variety of shows and movies can be found.

Leading the online figures used for the CRTC report is naturally those regarding Netflix, with 17% of citizens registered to the service in 2012, though?the average rises to 25% when only counting the anglophone community. 84% of those Netflix users claimed they used their subscription to stream at least one video (TV episode or movie) per week.

CRTC vice-chairman Peter Menzies added to the opinions from the regulatory body over the developments, summarising: ?We?re looking at a communications environment that is radically different from what it was only 10 years ago. Since then, the structures, the business models, the products and the technology of the industry have been dramatically transformed?- to say nothing of the needs, the tastes, the expectations and the behaviour of consumers.

?But the overall result has been a complex system of rules built on an old foundation that was never designed to support them. [Due to internet access, the CRTC] can no longer define ourselves as gatekeepers in a world in which there may be no gates. [We must now ask ourselves how we can] act as an enabler of Canadian expression, rather than as a protector?? We can?t tell Canadians what to watch, nor should we. They are free to enjoy a much wider range of information and entertainment than ever before. And they are.?

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