The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
On the surface, the decision by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to reject the TV networksÕ bid for Òcarriage feesÓ was good news for Canadian consumers. But it could be bad news for independent Canadian programming. The networks Ð primarily Global and CTV Ð were seeking a 50-cents-per-subscriber fee from the cable companies for the privilege of carrying their signals. The fee would have meant hundreds of millions of dollars in new revenues for the networks, but the cost would almost certainly have been passed on to consumers by the cable companies. The networks argued that they are bleeding revenues to specialty channels (which already get carriage fees) and the Internet. However, noting that the networks are Ònot on the verge of disappearing,Ó CRTC chair Konrad von Finckenstein declared: ÒThere is just no economic rationale for doing it.Ó CTVglobemedia had no immediate comment on the CRTC decision. But Leonard Asper, CEO of Canwest Global Communications, did not hide his disappointment. ÒWeÕre going to have to go back and look at our business models once again,Ó he was quoted as saying. ÒNothing is too outrageous to consider.Ó Translation: There are cutbacks coming. It is easy not to feel sorry for Global or CTV, but the expansion of the media market has cut deeply into their revenues. Ultimately, if that trend is not reversed, it likely means less Canadian programming and more recycled American shows on our television screens. Then the Canadian consumer would be the loser as well.
