Close X
Saturday, November 23, 2024
ADVT 
National

Telecom giant says U.S. channels need to be included in smaller basic cable

Darpan News Desk Canadian Press, 11 Sep, 2014 12:54 PM

    One of Canada's biggest cable service providers is rejecting the idea of allowing Canadians to pick TV channels one at a time.

    Rogers Communications has told the country's broadcast regulator it agrees with a proposal to offer its customers a smaller basic service.

    But it says the price for that service should not be capped, and it should include channels from the major American TV networks.

    The company has also strongly rejected a proposal to ban the simultaneous substitution of Canadian advertising over American ads.

    The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission is holding two weeks of public hearings on how Canadians receive TV programming and how they pay for it.

    One proposal on the table, which is being promoted by the federal government, would see a so-called pick-and-pay system established.

    The proposal, if enacted, would allow Canadians the ability of picking individual channels, on top of a smaller basic service made up of Canadian channels.

    The CRTC is also debating the notion of capping the cost of basic service at between $20 and $30 per month.

    Rogers also slammed a proposal to include the online revenues of broadcasters in the definition of broadcasting revenue.

    Rogers executive Keith Pelley said that would put Canadian online services at a competitive disadvantage to non-tradition online broadcasters, such as Netflix.

    The Ontario and Quebec governments, along with the CBC and cultural organizations, have suggested that the CRTC regulate Netflix and other online video services to force them to contribute to Canada's television content production system.

    But the Harper government has warned the CRTC that it will reject any attempt to created what it has dubbed a "Netflix tax."

    Rogers executive Phil Lind, who has been with the company for decades, told the commission that the current set of hearings are the most important for Canada's television industry that he's seen in his career.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Ottawa man facing deportation loses round in fight for Canadian citizenship

    Ottawa man facing deportation loses round in fight for Canadian citizenship
    An Ottawa man says he will appeal after losing a round in his court battle for Canadian citizenship.

    Ottawa man facing deportation loses round in fight for Canadian citizenship

    B.C. teachers get a helping hand from the province's labour movement

    B.C. teachers get a helping hand from the province's labour movement
    Labour leaders in British Columbia are expected to announce later today financial aid for the province's striking teachers, who will themselves take a vote on binding arbitration.

    B.C. teachers get a helping hand from the province's labour movement

    No element of Canada's new prostitution law should target women, advocates say

    No element of Canada's new prostitution law should target women, advocates say
    No element of a proposed new prostitution law should criminalize prostitutes themselves, a coalition of women's groups said Wednesday.

    No element of Canada's new prostitution law should target women, advocates say

    Federal program focuses on "root causes" of missing aboriginal women

    Federal program focuses on
    One of the Conservative government's key programs on missing and murdered aboriginal women includes a focus on "addressing the root causes," despite the prime minister's suggestion that sociology isn't the right lens to use.

    Federal program focuses on "root causes" of missing aboriginal women

    BMO offers five-year, fixed mortgage rate of 2.99 per cent - again

    BMO offers five-year, fixed mortgage rate of 2.99 per cent - again
    The Bank of Montreal has slashed its five-year, fixed mortgage rate to 2.99 per cent, a level that had previously raised concerns about it leading to an overheated housing market.

    BMO offers five-year, fixed mortgage rate of 2.99 per cent - again

    New regulations must balance consumer, broadcaster needs, says BCE

    New regulations must balance consumer, broadcaster needs, says BCE
    Consumers will get less and pay more, and jobs will be lost, under proposals being debated this week to modernize television program delivery, the country's broadcast regulator has been told.

    New regulations must balance consumer, broadcaster needs, says BCE