Friday, December 26, 2025
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

    Fewer Flight Attendants On Air Canada Planes: Union Goes To Court

    Fewer Flight Attendants On Air Canada Planes: Union Goes To Court
    TORONTO - The union representing Air Canada flight attendants is taking the federal government to court, saying that allowing the airline to fly with fewer flight attendants poses a serious safety issue.

    Fewer Flight Attendants On Air Canada Planes: Union Goes To Court

    Gitxsan Nation Orders CN Rail, Foresters, Fishermen, Off Northwestern B.C. Lands

    Gitxsan Nation Orders CN Rail, Foresters, Fishermen, Off Northwestern B.C. Lands
    TERRACE, B.C. - It's business as usual in a large swath of land in northwestern British Columbia, despite escalating tensions spurred by an eviction order from the Gitxsan First Nation.

    Gitxsan Nation Orders CN Rail, Foresters, Fishermen, Off Northwestern B.C. Lands

    Ontario: Woman, 65, Charged In Deadly Crash At Costco That Killed 6 Year Old Girl

    Ontario: Woman, 65, Charged In Deadly Crash At Costco That Killed 6 Year Old Girl
    Charges have been laid in connection with a car crash at a London, Ont., Costco store that killed a young girl and injured her sister and their pregnant mother, whose baby later died.

    Ontario: Woman, 65, Charged In Deadly Crash At Costco That Killed 6 Year Old Girl

    BC SPCA investigates dead cat found hanging in Vancouver School Yard

    BC SPCA investigates dead cat found hanging in Vancouver School Yard
    VANCOUVER - Animal cruelty investigators in Vancouver want to hear from anyone who has information about what appears to be an appalling case of animal abuse.

    BC SPCA investigates dead cat found hanging in Vancouver School Yard

    Justin Bourque, Accused In Deaths Of Three Mounties, Due Back In Court

    Justin Bourque, Accused In Deaths Of Three Mounties, Due Back In Court
    MONCTON, N.B. - The case of a New Brunswick man accused of fatally gunning down three RCMP officers and wounding two others in Moncton returns to court today.

    Justin Bourque, Accused In Deaths Of Three Mounties, Due Back In Court

    Canada's Unemployment Rate Drops In July, With A Mere 200 New Jobs

    Canada's Unemployment Rate Drops In July, With A Mere 200 New Jobs
    OTTAWA - Trouble in Canada's anemic jobs market continued into July as a paltry 200 jobs were added during the month, falling spectacularly short of expectations.

    Canada's Unemployment Rate Drops In July, With A Mere 200 New Jobs