Canadians lose in CRTC decision
After an exhaustive review of this issue and two previous decisions to reject the proposal, the CRTC has recommended a form of fee-for-carriage for over-the-air broadcasters which will increase cable rates and may result in programme blackouts.You can read it here.
Rogers Communications believes that the CRTC has essentially placed a tax on all cable [...]
Cable and Satellite Subscribers tell CRTC "No Thanks" to a TV Tax
Customers make case to CRTC against Big Networks’ proposed TV Tax
GATINEAU, QC – Cable and satellite subscribers today made their case against a TV Tax to the CRTC commissioners during the regulator’s public hearings on the impact of a TV Tax on Canadian television consumers.
Presenter Rosalie Persechini of York Region owns a family [...]
Angelo Persichilli: Broadcasters change channel in middle of show
A few years ago, a licence to broadcast was considered a licence to print money. The same TV broadcasters are now begging the CRTC to allow them to get more money from us without giving us anything in return.
In the past, they lobbied the CRTC against granting any new licenses on the primary tier. New [...]
Geist: Broadcasters want more than fee for carriage
The following article was published in the Toronto Star:
In the weeks leading to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission hearing on broadcasting licences, Canadians were inundated with splashy advertising campaigns claiming that new fees for local signals were either a TV tax or would save local television. With all of the major broadcasters and cable [...]
Alan Sawyer: The Canadian broadcasting system crisis
The following was written by Alan Sawyer, an independent blogger and industry thought leader:
I certainly don’t speak for BDUs but if I did here’s what I’d say to conventional broadcasters:
You buy content and sometimes you create it yourself. You sell advertising that you wrap around that content. Then you give that away for [...]
Opening Remarks of Rogers Communications Inc.
The following remarks were delivered at the November 16, 2009 CRTC Hearings by Rogers Communications.
Mr. Chairman, Members of the Commission:
Good afternoon, I am Ken Engelhart, Senior Vice President, Regulatory. Let me introduce our panel to you.
Seated to my left are: Phil Lind, Vice Chairman; Nadir Mohamed, President and CEO; Tony Viner, President, Rogers Media; [...]
Sign the Petition!
The deadline has passed to submit official comments to the CRTC, but the fight to stop the Big Networks’ new TV Tax isn’t over yet!
On November 16 the CRTC will begin proceedings to review the Big Networks’ proposal to impose a TV Tax that will add up to $10 to every cable and satellite subscriber’s [...]
Belleville Intelligencer: Broadcasters have underfunded and undersupported local television for decades
The following is an excerpt from today’s Belleville Intelligencer:
…for years television networks happily let cable companies pay the freight for delivering their products far and wide, jacking up advertising rates and allowing those stations to rake in profits, which for the most part they used to purchase American programming. Now as the advertising cash cow [...]
Bloggers and Editorialists React to the TV Tax
The TV Tax issue has been receiving a lot of attention online in the past two weeks. Here is a small selection of articles the broadcasters don’t want you to read.
The Soo News tells readers that the broadcasters are not telling them the whole story:
They claim if rewarded with the fee for carriage, it will [...]
TV Tax not the answer
From today’s Woodstock Sentinel-Review:
Canadians are closely watching the battle between the providers of cable and satellite television service and the media companies that provide domestic broadcast content.
It’s hard not to. This a full-blown battle for public opinion, one waged over the airways and through full-page ads in major newspapers.
The subject is “fee for [...]
Facts a moving target in Local TV Matters press conference
Members of the Local TV Matters coalition held a press conference today to outline their numerous complaints about the TV Tax debate. Claiming they were not asking for a new fee, the broadcasters promoted their campaign that would result in a TV Tax of up to $10 per month on cable and satellite bills.
There are numerous important facts, however, that the Big Networks did not tell Canadians today:
Canadians Respond to the Stop the TV Tax Campaign
Since launching our awareness campaign earlier this week to set the record straight and help Canadians Stop the TV Tax, here is what they have been telling us.
This tax is ridiculous! Why should I bail out these television outlets. Restructuring can be good for a company, and I suggest these companies that want the tax [...]
STOP THE TV TAX, COALITION URGES CRTC
Saying that this is no time to ask Canadian families to pay up to $10 more per month on their cable and satellite bills, a coalition of Canada’s leading cable and satellite providers today launched a campaign to Stop the TV Tax at www.stopthetvtax.ca.
The campaign responds to the attempts by the large television networks [...]
CRTC seeks consumer input on television services
At the Government of Canada’s request, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) will hold a public hearing on the implications and advisability of implementing a compensation regime for the value of local television signals. The hearing will begin on December 7, 2009, in Gatineau, Que. The CRTC is considering whether local television stations should [...]
