Today is the day the CRTC hears “input” to new fees, revenue share or something like that the TV stations and networks want from us, or the cable companies or somebody…?
Let’s look back for just a moment:
Pay TV comes in – Specialty Channels they’re called.
The rules – if we want to subscribe we pay a small monthly fee. Well too many channels, too much choice – not enough sales. Solution – charge a little bit more for the “small monthly fee” and allow the new specialty channels to sell some advertising minutes, not many just a few. Still not enough revenue – allow a few more minutes of advertising sales per hour.
Suddenly Good Morning. Networks and local stations are suffering as advertisers pull back faced with hundreds of channels, the net, paper, hell even images in washrooms and projected onto the sidewalls of buildings at night. Specialty Channels have a guaranteed income and ‘regular TV” suffers. They want “rev-share”.
What ensues is a comical series of Public Service commercials – each pointing out the “other sides” grotesquely large profits, all on the back of who? Oh their good friends and advocates – Joe Public. No, not MaCain’s Joe Public, our made in Canada Joe Public.
Lets 'Michael Moore' this for just a moment –
Specialty Channels – non competitive to regular network and local tv are introduced.
Specialty channels – start selling advertising minutes, and still get monthly “user fees”
Specialty Channels get to sell more minutes.
Shaw and Rogers come to a ‘détente” and split Canada into east and west zones. No more territorial fighting between them, no more price or feature wars. ((are you beginning to get it??))
Where was the CRTC then?
Where was the Competition Bureau then?
AND have you looked at which Networks, (the Tin Cuppers) actually own some of these Speciality Channels, that have dissected their revenue markets?
The stage for today’s battleground was set slowly, over the years. It should be no surprise about the Networks wanting revenue share…and it should be surprise that somehow we’re about to pay more….
