Mark Waller is executive vice-president of the National Football League
When the Atlanta Falcons and New England Patriots take to the field in Super Bowl LI on Sunday, football fans know what to expect: the best athletes in the world competing under clear rules on the world's biggest stage for the biggest prize in sports.
Canadian football fans will enjoy a great event, and that's important to us because our relationship with them has long been a source of pride. More than 11 million Canadian NFL fans have supported our athletes, backed our teams and come to our games.
We are enormously grateful for the continued support of our Canadian fans, and we are looking forward to presenting another great Super Bowl matchup this weekend. Unfortunately, however, the very integrity of the Super Bowl broadcast in Canada is in jeopardy.
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When the Super Bowl is broadcast from the U.S. into Canada, it has historically been under clear Canadian broadcast rules in place for more than 40 years. Ironically, the clear rules that our fans have come to rely on within the sport seem to no longer be a hallmark of the regulatory environment in Canada.
Canada's television broadcast referee, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), decided to single out the Super Bowl and change long-standing Canadian broadcasting rules in the middle of the game – after contracts were already signed – without notice or consultation. If allowed to take effect, not only will this arbitrary and retroactive decision harm the NFL, it will also undermine the countless Canadian broadcasters, advertisers, creators, performers and local stations that depend on the significant economic activity and cultural interest generated by the Super Bowl broadcast in Canada each year. In short, this change would penalize Canadian consumers and businesses.
Canada rightfully prides itself on its diverse and exceptionally talented creative community. Creators tell important stories, lift us up, enlighten lives and draw people together in good times and bad. To support our creators there is a delicate balance between the wants of consumers and the needs of creators. Canada's broadcast policy has always struck that balance. Until now.
While we understand the universal popularity of Super Bowl commercials from the U.S., we do not understand the CRTC's unexpected and discriminatory action, which changes decades-long Canadian broadcast policy for a single program while undermining the bilateral relations between our two countries. The NFL welcomes a comprehensive dialogue with all interested parties, especially our fans, about the future of Canadian broadcasting. Regrettably, there has been no dialogue here. Instead, the CRTC's decision severely undermines the integrity of and confidence in the Canadian broadcast system.
At a time when the future of the Canada-U.S. relationship is in the headlines daily, we want the NFL-Canada relationship to continue to serve as a positive example – to government and to business – of what works. The CRTC's Super Bowl decision moves in the opposite direction. Fortunately, there is still time to fix this discriminatory action.
We urge the Government of Canada to abide by its own rules of the road and set aside the CRTC's harmful order prior to Super Bowl LI. Doing so would reaffirm the value of business certainty in Canada, support Canadian creators, keep the Canada-U.S. relationship strong and allow for a more objective discussion with all Canadians, including our fans, about the future of broadcast.