Conventional Networks want new 'fee for carriage' General News / C.R.T.C. Posted by RAD on Nov 27, 2006 - 05:57 PM |
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You probably know that some of the subscription fees you are paying for cable or satellite service goes to the channels you subscribe to. What you may not know is that the public or private conventional networks like CTV, CBC, Citytv don’t receive a dime from subscription fees. Today marked the start of the public hearing to discuss and review the regulatory framework for over-the-air television in Canada and from what was mentioned in day 1 of the hearing, public and private broadcasters want the ability to charge for the transmission of their signal, which could have an important impact to what you’re currently paying for your cable and satellite subscriptions. Today marked the first day of the CRTC's review of over-the-air tv policy with the interventions of CBC/Radio-Canada, TQS, CanWest MediaWorks Inc and CTV Inc. All companies request a so-called ‘fee for carriage’. The addition of countless number of new specialty/digital channels over the years has trimmed the total viewership from the conventional networks, trimming at the same time the revenue generated. Add that to the people who record them on Personal Video Recorder (PVR), skipping ads altogether or those who obtain the programming in other ways like with the internet, they say it will be increasingly difficult for broadcasters to generate revenue from conventional advertising. They state that they need a new form of revenue that will also help with the cost for new platforms as well as the transition to high definition. They also mentioned that the goal set by the CRTC to new Canadian programming will be difficult to reach without a new form of revenue. Of course, cable and satellite providers are against this proposed fee because they would have to forward the bill to their subscribers – yep, that you! Stay tuned to Channel Canada as we will surely have more details tomorrow about this first day. Tomorrow, Quebecor Média Inc, OMNI Television, Channel M, Corus Entertainment, TV Ontario as well as a few others are expected to appear before the CRTC. In the meantime, feel free to discuss this public hearing on our viewers.ca [1], Channel Canada’s discussion forum. |
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This article is from CHANNEL CANADA http://www.channelcanada.com/ The URL for this story is: http://www.channelcanada.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=1653 Links in this article [1] http://www.viewers.ca/ |