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VMedia believes it is within its rights under The Copyright Act, as a licensed BDU, to retransmit over-the-air channels. In response, VMedia has filed an application with the court for a declaration confirming VMedia’s right to carry the channels. Bell, in turn, filed an application for an injunction asking the court to order that VMedia remove the channels.

This promises to be a costly process for VMedia, a startup still working its way to profitability. For Bell however, the cost of taking this to the Supreme Court is a rounding error. For Bell, legal action can be a win-win even if the court does not agree with it since the costs will grievously impair VMedia’s ability to compete.

While this may be a short-term win for Bell, in the long-term, this approach — keeping live TV off the open Internet — may be fatal to our broadcasting system.

If Bell is allowed to succeed, it is difficult to imagine regulators and policy-makers will be able to claim support for innovation, competition and the benefits to consumers with a straight face again. The migration of millennials will continue, our broadcasting system will continue to weaken, and the cultural identity we all profess to cherish will fade.

Indeed, Bell should not be opposing VMedia, but should instead be joining it, hoping for a declaration from the court clearly permitting the streaming of live TV by VMedia — and should begin to do so itself.

This is the only way to reclaim viewers lured away from conventional TV delivery platforms by the affordability and convenience of streaming content. Only then will Canadians be able to enjoy the disruptive benefits that the Internet can bring to their TV experience, and hopefully remain connected to the riches of live TV and what our broadcasting system has to offer.

George Burger is a co-founder of VMedia.