# The continuing saga between the CRTC, subscribers and TV signal providers



## carverman (Nov 8, 2010)

CRTC is proposing that the big three cut their subscription rates and provide subscribers with the channels they want to pick and choose.
Bell, Rogers and others are protesting this because this would curtail their free enterprise business practices, and eventually, they could be placed in a position of difficulty making ends meet, if subjected to such "draconian gov't edicts".



> According to the CRTC, Canadian broadcasters generated an extra $200-million in advertising revenues from repatriated Canadian audiences watching their channels instead of the source channels in 2010 alone.


CRTC wants to cap TV monthly charges somewhere between $20 ans $30 a month raising howls of protest from the
big service providers who claim this will cut into their profit margins drastically.



> Rogers Communications spokeswoman Patricia Trott said the company is pleased to see more choice and flexibility for customers but is *worried the regulator might throw a monkey wrench into the online distribution business with its new rules. “We remain concerned that the regulations should not disadvantage Canadian online distributors with rules that U.S. online distributors do not have,*” she said.


http://business.financialpost.com/2014/08/21/crtc-cable-tv-canada/?__lsa=dd00-f08a

Should Canadian TV subscribers "pass around the cup", so they can drop a few coins in it to
help the poor starving incumbents, Bell, Rogers, Shaw and others that are barely making ends meet?


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## sags (May 15, 2010)

The CRTC should just stop blocking Netflix and other alternative companies from showing their content in Canada.


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## carverman (Nov 8, 2010)

sags said:


> The CRTC should just stop blocking Netflix and other alternative companies from showing their content in Canada.


But the big three service providers would see that as "premium television' to sell with their premium priced packages 
at a cost far more than what Netflix charges for watching on line. 
Why not just slave the HDTV off the computer..most HDTV now have at least one HDMI port so
you can watch Netflix on a big screen.


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## HaroldCrump (Jun 10, 2009)

carverman said:


> Why not just slave the HDTV off the computer..most HDTV now have at least one HDMI port so
> you can watch Netflix on a big screen.


That works if your ISP is not throttling you.
But I believe all the 3 major ISPs watch your bandwidth usage patterns and throttle.

Secondly, unlimited internet usage costs.
If you want true high speed (upwards of 25 Mbps) with unlimited usage, you are looking at easily $65+ a month.


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## carverman (Nov 8, 2010)

HaroldCrump said:


> That works if your ISP is not throttling you.
> But I believe all the 3 major ISPs watch your bandwidth usage patterns and throttle.
> 
> Secondly, unlimited internet usage costs.
> If you want true high speed (upwards of 25 Mbps) with unlimited usage, you are looking at easily $65+ a month.


How does Bell do it with their ads telling us to watch TV on your smart phone? 
Do their customers get huge bills from watching TV that way?


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## HaroldCrump (Jun 10, 2009)

If you have a Bell Mobility phone as well, they include several hours of "free" mobile TV time along with all standard plans.
Not sure what the current limit is, but used to be 10 hrs. a month.

Bottom line is that data is the goose that lays golden eggs these days.
You decide how you want to pay for data - through your Internet plan, or through your mobile plan.


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## cainvest (May 1, 2013)

carverman said:


> CRTC is proposing that the big three cut their subscription rates and provide subscribers with the channels they want to pick and choose.


They've been talking about picking single channels for a while now, haven't seen anything happen yet. Hopefully this will come down the pipe as paying for a bunch of channels you never watch is silly. Shaw forces you to buy their entire basic SD package (~$40), which I never watched because I only watch HD, and then you have to buy packages on top of that to get the channels you want ... total rip off.



carverman said:


> CRTC wants to cap TV monthly charges somewhere between $20 ans $30 a month raising howls of protest from the
> big service providers who claim this will cut into their profit margins drastically.


About time people stopped getting ripped off for basic channels, IMO it should be no more than $10 a month for the regular network channels. After all, depending on where you live, those channels are completely FREE to watch OTA with a cheap antenna. Also note the the signal quality OTA is much better than the heavily compressed cable channel.

A big negative for me is the CRTC wanting to eliminate OTA signals. I dropped my cable TV service in favor of OTA which has been great and saves a fair bit of money for crap I don't watch. I would think the CRTC wants to do this so they can make money selling off more frequencies in the future. Having OTA is also a good backup in severe weather when you lose cable services (TV, internet, VoIP phone) due to a power outage.


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## carverman (Nov 8, 2010)

cainvest said:


> T
> 
> A big negative for me is the* CRTC wanting to eliminate OTA signals*. I dropped my cable TV service in favor of OTA which has been great and saves a fair bit of money for crap I don't watch. I would think the CRTC wants to do this so they can make money selling off more frequencies in the future. Having OTA is also a good backup in severe weather when you lose cable services (TV, internet, VoIP phone) due to a power outage.


Heard about that..is that the CRTC or the TV signal providers? Bell owns CTV in Ottawa, so I wouldn't put it past them to eliminate the transmissions from the Camp Fortune tower if they get cut back on the Basic TV by the CRTC. 

It's always possible that in order to force the public to subscribe, they could cut the transmissions and get CRTC to agree to that.

Shaw owns Global. Haven't seen CITY broadcasts over OTA for a few months now, so that just leaves the CBC
and the programming there is sparse with the cutbacks they have undergone. Even the morning news is now from 6am to 7am. Then, after that, there is just kids cartoons.
I can still get CHCH, the only independent station for now..as long as they don't sell out on us. 

"The war" doesn't appear to be over yet, and the public may even lose more than what they gain.

I cut Bell TV almost a year ago and went to OTA..save myself about $300 a year + taxes. 

Now that I am free from the apron strings tied to Ma Bell, I'd really prefer not to go back again..I suppose there is always the internet TV.


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## Eclectic12 (Oct 20, 2010)

cainvest said:


> They've been talking about picking single channels for a while now, haven't seen anything happen yet...


That's where the province matters ... my co-worker in Quebec has been paying for a pack for twenty channels for years, where he can swap them once a month. 

During hockey season he loads up on this type of channel and the rest of the time he loads up on channels for his kids.



Cheers


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## cainvest (May 1, 2013)

carverman said:


> Heard about that..is that the CRTC or the TV signal providers?


That's #16 on the CRTC discussion list, the ability for local stations to shut down their transmitters. Hopefully they won't shut down here.

I only get 3 real stations here in Winnipeg, good enough really as it covers most of the common network shows.
In Ottawa you should be getting 10+ channels with a fairly good antenna, more with a roof mounted one.


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## carverman (Nov 8, 2010)

cainvest said:


> That's #16 on the CRTC discussion list, the ability for local stations to shut down their transmitters. Hopefully they won't shut down here.
> 
> I only get 3 real stations here in Winnipeg, good enough really as it covers most of the common network shows.
> In Ottawa you should be getting 10+ channels with a fairly good antenna, more with a roof mounted one.


Well so far. it is just hearsay. Somehow, with the outlying rural areas, I doubt that CTV, CBC and Global will get a mandate from the CRTC to shut down transmitter broadcasting, as not all subscribers have access to cable or the new and more expensive "fibe" service that Bell is advertising.
I get 4 English stations I watch, CTV, CBC. Global and CHCH (Independent broadcasting from Hamilton On)
Haven't been able to capture any US stations about 80-100km south of me. There is one in Watertown NY.

The other 4 stations are French programming. Used to get CITY out of Toronto broadcasting from the
Camp Fortune tower for a few months, but they seem to have discontinued broadcasting to here.

As far as an outdoor antenna, mine would have to be mounted on a 30 ft tower , which is an eyesore
and expense, I wasn't prepared to invest in..especially if they do cut out transmitter service some day. 

If that happens, I would then probably go back to "Robbers", as I have existing disconnected cable service coming into my house. Don't want to go back to the dish set up again..service cuts out during snow storms, freezing rain and other atmospheric disturbances..very annoying when this happens in the middle of a program you are watching. Happened a few times the winter before.


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## cainvest (May 1, 2013)

carverman said:


> Well so far. it is just hearsay. Somehow, with the outlying rural areas, I doubt that CTV, CBC and Global will get a mandate from the CRTC to shut down transmitter broadcasting, as not all subscribers have access to cable or the new and more expensive "fibe" service that Bell is advertising.


Yes, unlikely they'll shutdown transmitters due to the rural use but I see many out of the city are using satellite. I believe all the major TV cable providers are losing TV customers due to the high costs and redundant channels. 

To make matters worse for providers, most popular shows can be watched on the internet, from the local station's website, the day after the broadcast which I'm sure they get much less ad revenue from. In another 5 years dedicated TV equipment like cable boxes and DVRs will fade away in favor of watch anytime shows on the internet and TV sets and/or gaming platforms will likely become more web friendly/enabled. Kind of ironic that the providers own internet service is cannibalizing their TV market ... of course they'll just likely up the costs for internet use and the CRTC will have a different "discussion" in the future.

One big positive for the internet side of viewing programs, it's a true "pick and pay" (pay by watching the ads) model with no bundles. Even better, no need to subscribe to a channel at all, just watch the actual program(s) you want and nothing else.


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## carverman (Nov 8, 2010)

cainvest said:


> One big positive for the internet side of viewing programs, it's a true "pick and pay" (pay by watching the ads) model with no bundles. Even better, no need to subscribe to a channel at all, just watch the actual program(s) you want and nothing else.


I coule even go for that. As long as it's under $10 a month. :biggrin:


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