CBC.ca: Broadcast sovereignty in a digital environment

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), like many public broadcasters, has identified the value of branding their services on the world wide web as a crucial element in the strategy to bring radio into the digital era. Their approach highlights a number of strategically important issues facing broadcasters in the current environment. The internet, in Canadian terms, is an unregulated space and a not particularly Canadian space. Just as in the terrestrial environment, broadcasters like CBC have to operate in an environment dominated by United States-based interests. The regulatory solutions that Canada has previously pursued in order to preserve cultural sovereignty may be either inadequate or inappropriate for the new media environment. Evidence shows that, despite producing distinctive and innovative radio content informed by public service values, the new media marketplace in which internet and other forms of digital radio operate is one in which even significant brands such as CBC will find success difficult.