As part of its advocacy work, FRIENDS of Canadian Broadcasting frequently makes submissions and presentations to the CRTC, Parliamentary Committees, and other bodies.
FRIENDS encourages the CRTC to grant carriage fees to over-the-air broadcasters in return for commitments to local and drama programming and to reinstate a policy of requiring a percentage of revenue to be spent on the production of Canadian programming.
Friends makes recommendations on advertising regulations, subscriber fees, public broadcasting funding, out-of-market tuning, time shifting, Canadian programming, local programming, the benefits policy and HD issues.
Friends recommends that funding for Canadian public broadcasting should be increased to at least 0.14% of GDP, and in return for reducing, or eliminating its reliance on advertising revenues, the CBC's public funding should be increased.
FRIENDS recommendation to the Finance Committee states that the CBC's public funding should be increased in return for reducing, or eliminating its reliance on advertising revenues.
FRIENDS reccomends that public policy should ensure that all entities which benefit from access to Canadian viewers and listeners make appropriate contributions to support Canadian content, especially drama on television.
FRIENDS recommends that the CRTC not approve a satellite subscription radio application from Rogers Cable until sufficient Canadian audio programming is offered in accord with the Commission's policies.
Responding to a question posed by the CRTC Chair during the hearings on Commercial Radio Policy, FRIENDS provides information regarding its organization and financing.
FRIENDS says the CRTC's recent annual reports reveal that despite audience fragmentation, the private radio industry is healthy and capable of making a substantial contribution towards the development of Canadian music and talent, and should be required to do so according to its means.
FRIENDS supports the arguments in the joint submission of ACTRA, the Directors Guild of Canada and the Writers Guild of Canada that allowing Bell Globemedia to transfer ownership without payment of public benefits will create a significant and dangerous precedent; questions Bell Globemedia's reluctance to propose a benefits package consistent with that approved in BCE's year 2000 acquisition of CTV.
FRIENDS recommends that the CRTC increase the minimum airplay requirement for Canadian popular music on commercial radio to 40%, with at least one quarter of this minimum for new and emerging artists and genres, and comments on other important aspects of commercial radio regulatory policy.
