GATINEAU, Que. – By the end of next year, Canadians will be able to pick individual television channels after subscribing to a “skinny basic” cable service costing no more than $25 per month.
The move to give Canadians more control over how they pay for TV they watch came Thursday in a decision from the national broadcast regulator.
“Today’s decision reflects what we have heard from Canadians. More and more Canadians are watching the content they want when they want and on the multiple devices they choose,” CRTC chair Jean-************ Blais told reporters. “By March 2016 Canadians will have access to an entry level television service that costs no more than $25 a month.”
Last spring, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission launched the Let’s Talk TV hearings during which members of the public and broadcast distributors laid out their ideas for confronting the changing television landscape.
The Harper government was pushing for the model the regulator revealed Thursday, allowing consumers to pick the channels they want to pay for.
The $25 basic service will include local and regional over-the-air channels, as well as little-watched educational and special interest services, such as CPAC and the Aboriginal People’s Television Network.
Blais characterized the decision as a way to prioritize local news and information programs.
However, unlike cable-only channels, local broadcast stations receive no compensation for the carriage of their signals and may be the most vulnerable to potential closure and job losses. The CRTC has recognized the tenuous state of local programming but deferred any decision on further supports for it until next year.
“This service will prioritize the local and regional news and information programming that so vitally connects viewers with their cities, their province, their territory, their country and the world,” Blais said.
http://globalnews.ca/news/1892474/c...erNational&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=2015
The move to give Canadians more control over how they pay for TV they watch came Thursday in a decision from the national broadcast regulator.
“Today’s decision reflects what we have heard from Canadians. More and more Canadians are watching the content they want when they want and on the multiple devices they choose,” CRTC chair Jean-************ Blais told reporters. “By March 2016 Canadians will have access to an entry level television service that costs no more than $25 a month.”
Last spring, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission launched the Let’s Talk TV hearings during which members of the public and broadcast distributors laid out their ideas for confronting the changing television landscape.
The Harper government was pushing for the model the regulator revealed Thursday, allowing consumers to pick the channels they want to pay for.
The $25 basic service will include local and regional over-the-air channels, as well as little-watched educational and special interest services, such as CPAC and the Aboriginal People’s Television Network.
Blais characterized the decision as a way to prioritize local news and information programs.
However, unlike cable-only channels, local broadcast stations receive no compensation for the carriage of their signals and may be the most vulnerable to potential closure and job losses. The CRTC has recognized the tenuous state of local programming but deferred any decision on further supports for it until next year.
“This service will prioritize the local and regional news and information programming that so vitally connects viewers with their cities, their province, their territory, their country and the world,” Blais said.
http://globalnews.ca/news/1892474/c...erNational&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=2015
