Canadian regulator rules in Netflix's favour

Canada's broadcast regulator, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), said on Wednesday that it found “no clear evidence” that services offered in the country by Netflix are spurring Canadians to reduce or cancel their television subscriptions, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Netflix launched its Canadian service in September 2010, allowing consumers to stream television and movies over the Internet, at prices cheaper than purchasing speciality-television programming from established Canadian providers.

According to The Montreal Gazette, the decision followed a months-long consultation into whether such companies should be considered broadcast undertakings akin to traditional television networks, and therefore should be subject to the same rules - especially as Netflix and others are perceived to be poaching subscriber revenues from the system.

Reuters adds that the CRTC said it would continue to monitor so-called “over-the-top” services, and the subject would be a main focus of its annual industry consultations in November.