Broadcasting Policy and Regulation in a Converged Environment Cordel Green Executive Director Broadcasting Commission

1. Broadcasting Policy and Regulation in a Converged Environment Cordel Green Executive Director Broadcasting Commission Presentation to IEEE March 17, 2009 Broadcasting Policy and Regulation in a Converged Environment Cordel Green Executive Director Broadcasting Commission Presentation to CARIMAC Post-graduate Students March 16, 2009

2. Establishment of the Broadcasting Commission of Jamaica The Broadcasting Commission as established under the Broadcasting and Radio Re-Diffusion Act of 1986.

3. The Broadcasting Commission Its role is to monitor and regulate broadcast radio, television and subscriber television. Its subject areas include: Administering the Broadcasting and Radio Re-Diffusion Act and the Television and Sound Broadcasting Regulations

4. The Broadcasting Commission Evaluating licence applications and making recommendations to the Minister of Information on grant, renewal, terms and conditions of licences Ensuring that the operations and the programming of licensees it regulates meet the standards set out in law Providing media policy advice to the Minister of Information Conducting or commissioning research on all areas relating to the electronic media in Jamaica.

5. The Broadcasting Commission Fully independent in its decision making, but not fully autonomous. Acts in an advisory capacity in relation to the grant, suspension or revocation of licences. The Minister of Information is the final authority on licensing matters for broadcast and subscriber television. Spectrum Management Authority allocates spectrum and manages spectrum matters.

6. THE ROLE OF A REGULATOR Promotes diverse range of services Flexible control of services. Efficient competitive industry. Maintains community standards. Objective adjudication. Facilitates innovation while protecting consumer. Promotes public trust in the system.

7. Transition to Digital – The policy agenda Big Ticket Items In Jamaica: Regulatory Structure -Single Converged Regulator vs. -Single Telecommunications Regulator (distribution/transmission/spectrum management) + Separate Content Regulator (across all platforms) Digital Switch-Over

8. THE DIGITAL REVOLUTION-Observations We are experiencing the third media revolution, in which the Internet and digital technologies have brought about mass availability of information on a scale that is unprecedented and far surpasses the age of print and electronic mass media of radio and television.

9. THE DIGITAL REVOLUTION-Observations Mass adoption of technologies that offer new possibilities: interactivity, interoperability, selectivity of content ability to by-pass conventional networks, standard systems of delivery and many regulatory controls.

10. THE DIGITAL REVOLUTION-Observations New elitism, made possible by technology. It matters not who you are, there are boundless opportunities to be heard, read and seen, sometimes even without mediation. Best example is the Internet in which we communicate “many to many” and no longer “one to one” or “one to many”.

11. THE DIGITAL REVOLUTION-Observations Media consumers ability to make their own decisions about content and how to treat it points to a different regulatory environment.

12. THE Digital REVOLUTION-Observations In this type of environment, regulation, of necessity, has to be less about “inoculation” and more about “empowerment”, the watchwords being “”critical awareness”, and “democratic participation”.

13. Key Media Policy IssuesChanging role of media regulators Carriage vs content debate. Global experience suggests that the form of delivery will become inconsequential to a large extent. Content issues will remain as the dominant concern

14. Key Media Policy IssuesChanging role of media regulators Co-regulation and self regulation The Commission encourages self-regulation. However, self-regulation will not always be in the public interest - unless “self” is given a liberal interpretation to include civil society in the regulatory process. Where the licensed industry fails to regulate itself, the Commission will not resile from its obligation to intervene. It is against this background that the Broadcasting Commission introduced the Children’s Code for Programming on January 13, 2003.

15. STRUCTURE OF JAMAICAN INDUSTRY MEDIA OWNERSHIP liberal ownership policy leading to horizontal and vertical consolidation. Cable- cross-ownership of TV stations, radio stations, cable channels and newspapers e.g.- Columbus Communications owns Flow Cable, CVM - TV, CVM Plus cable channel, Hot 102 radio; & pursuing aggressive acquisition strategy in cable sector RJR Communications group owns 3 radio stations, TVJ cable channels (TVJ Sports, RE TV, JNN), Gleaner newspaper is majority owner of Independent Radio Ltd. which owns Power 106 &Music 99.

16. STRUCTURE OF JAMAICAN INDUSTRY MEDIA OWNERSHIP Vertical arrangements for sharing of distribution facilities –Nationwide Radio transmitted via RJR AM

17. JAMAICA’S LIBERALISED BROADCASTING INDUSTRY 3 free-to-air stations - TVJ, CVM, LOVE TV (& a 4th licence issued) 22 radio stations & more to come Spectrum licence given to a few Low Power FM radio stations 47 cable television operators across 246 zones National (wired) cable television operator (Flow) licensed August 07 2 additional National cable licences (wireless) Growing number of local cable channels and content providers, HYPE, RETV, CPTC, Music+, JNN etc.

18. STRUCTURE OF JAMAICAN INDUSTRY With such a number of operators in the Jamaican marketplace, it is not surprising that standards are inconsistent. There seems to be a general lack of acceptance of the media’s responsibility to its audience. Commercial imperatives and a culture of narrow competitiveness are diverting broadcasters’ attention from basic social obligations.

19. OTHER Key Media Policy Issues- Regulatory Structure - Convergence Challenges • Institutional-Shift towards a converged licence regime • Alternative infrastructure providers • Therefore need for unified regulatory framework • BUT argument for distinctive broadcasting/content regulator - broadcasting is a 'merit good‘ – has very important and specialised non-economic cultural criteria.

20. Key Media Policy Issues- Convergence Challenges Competition issues Levelling the playing field (across multiple platforms, systems of delivery and reception) –although broadcasting obligations (e.g psb requirements) are different? Cross licensing Consolidation

21. Key Media Policy Issues- Convergence Challenges Technical standards and Frequency spectrum Technology neutrality Demand for Optimal spectrum allocation

22. Key Media Policy Issues- Convergence Challenges Culture and Content Cross-media distribution -BUT differences in access, some free over the air, others by selection and subscription Erosion of boundaries (risk of homogeneity?) Distribution channels morphing into a single Internet platform Audience autonomy (how to control problematic content)

23. Key Media Policy Issues- DIGITAL SWITCH-OVER ‘What kind of public policy do we need here?’ -engagement with key stakeholders – everyone must first understand the subject.

24. Key Media Policy Issues- DIGITAL SWITCH-OVER In Lieu of a Conclusion, a set of indicative questions are proposed for discussion and debate: the wider context of convergence, including mobile communications content and diversity benefits : new/more content ?, pluralism, diversity, local programming

25. Key Media Policy Issues- DIGITAL SWITCH-OVER designing a switchover policy – and the ‘do nothing’ alternative the different groups of technical standards (ATSC, DVB, ISDB etc) Cost-Benefit Analysis, and considerations affecting the choice of technical standards. high definition versus standard definition (nb. compression systems)

26. Key Media Policy Issues- DIGITAL SWITCH-OVER ‘must carry’ issues competition and fairness issues licensing issues frequency planning and interference issues level of interest in new uses for spectrum

27. Key Media Policy Issues- DIGITAL SWITCH-OVER – Role of Regulator Advocate or Facilitator -’committed advocate’, pushing for switchover to achieve spectrum efficiency gains, or - ‘wise facilitator’ Jamaica’s Approach -‘wise facilitator’ because Digital switchover needs collaboration between policy-makers, industry stakeholders and consumers

28. Key Media Policy Issues- Transition to Digital – OTHER ISSUES Digital Rights Management -Is interoperability a necessity? Spectrum Dividend -More TV? (HD, Standard Definition, Mobile TV, IPTV) -WiFi, WiMAX and other technologies? -More spectrum for mobile?

29. Key Media Policy Issues- Transition to Digital – OTHER ISSUES Spectrum Dividend -Will consumers (who are not clamouring for switch-over) be rewarded with just more services and content or improved and different service offerings, including PSB and community services? -Any demands by the “Sovereign Citizen”? - My Information Service (MIS) over the air ala YouTube and MySpace?

30. Key Media Policy Issues How will BCJ rulings impact the future of broadcast media operating in the digital space? BCJ’S approach to content regulation will continue to take account of convergence (both infrastructure and content) - Consumers want information faster, digitized, personalized, on demand, and accessible across all platforms and devices (broadcast media, fixed telephony, internet and mobile).

31. Key Media Policy Issues How will BCJ rulings impact the future of broadcast media operating in the digital space? • BCJ will consider relevant global practices e.g. • Regulatory controls should be proportionate to the pervasiveness and impact of the service involved. • A “lighter touch” approach to new niche or encrypted channels, aimed at self-selecting audience.  • Self-regulation’  - Content users provided with ‘self-regulation tools’ such as ratings mechanisms and content filters

32. THE END THANK YOU

33. Feedback Contact: • www.broadcom.org • info@broadcom.org • www.myspace/cordelgreen THANK YOU

34. References • Future of DTT in Doubt, By Valerie Milano, 2006 Video Age International • Comparative Review of Content Regulation, A McKinsey Report for the Independent Television Commission 1 May 2002 • All Media Monitoring Survey of 2006