TORONTO — The head of Canada's broadcaster regulator says it's too soon to tell if Canadian TV service providers are respecting the spirit of the CRTC's new basic cable regulation, often referred to as skinny basic.
However, Jean-Pierre Blais hints that the CRTC has a big stick to wave for those who don't comply — television licence renewals.
Blais notes that most of the television service providers' licences will be up for renewal in the near future.
In an interview following a speech to the Canadian Marketing Association in Toronto, Blais said enforcement action isn't necessary when the companies' licences are before the CRTC.
The CRTC has been on the lookout for anti-consumer practices since the March 1 deadline requiring all cable and satellite TV service providers to offer basic cable packages capped at $25 a month.
Companies must also let consumers add on a la carte channels or pre-packaged bundles, and must offer both of these options by December.
After cable companies rolled out their new offerings, some consumers expressed discontent at the packages, with the CRTC having received 600 consumer calls on the issue since March 1.
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