OTTAWA — The country’s broadcast regulator is planning to significantly ease rules governing Canadian content on TV — in hope of boosting the quality of local programming.
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission says it will eliminate rules that require Canadian-made programs to make up at least 55 per cent of local, daytime TV broadcasts.
The CRTC, however, says it will continue to require that at least half of prime-time programming aired on local TV stations is Canadian.
The regulator says it hopes the changes encourage stations to invest more in made-in-Canada content and help reduce the number of repeated Canadian programs on the tube.
The CRTC’s changes will also require that at least 35 per cent of the programs aired on specialty channels are made in Canada.
Currently, specialty channels must broadcast between 15 and 85 per cent Canadian content.