Blood Feud of the Broadcasters and Broad bands

The trial balloon floated by Canada’s mainstream broadcasters earlier this week (see previous Podunk story here) has been taking some heavy chaff from the big boys of cable and satellite television.

Yesterday, Ted Rogers echoed the thoughts of many Canadians, when he wrapped up his submission to the CRTC with some Churchillian prose to reporters gathered at the hem of his frock, Said Chairman Ted: It's very imaginative, it's very creative and its bullshit.

This if you think about it, pretty nicely sums up the idea of asking Canadian television viewers to subsidize the big networks for their suddenly declining bankroles. Mind you the idea of Ted Rogers, the king of all Canadian media, becoming the defender of the little guy TV viewer seems a tad hard to believe; it would be like Donald Trump speaking out on behalf of social assistance.

But if Ted was on our side, how about this from Jim Shaw of Shaw Cable and Starchoice satellite TV fame, Shaw had his turn at the network’s piñata and took some pretty heavy swings in order to make a few points. Shaw expressed a bit of skepticism over the poverty claims of the folks at Global, CTV and the Mother Corp by pointing out that some of them are pretty savvy business folks.

“Some of these guys, they're really successful guys,” Mr. Shaw said.

“For a guy to come and argue that you couldn't afford to go and spend a little on your business, I've got to say, you should maybe get out. Or I guess maybe they'll phone us to sell.”

Ouch, ouch, ouch the newest kids in the television world are starting to take their shots aren’t they?

Today it was the folks from Bell ExpressVu to step up and shoot down the idea. Gary Smith who runs the satellite service for the Bell Empire said that the idea from the networks is just a ‘cash grab’. Calling the plan: “the wrong solution to an unsubstantiated problem”.

He also took the opportunity to float an idea of his own, that if the networks are successful in grabbing the cash off the table that Canadians should have the right to decide if they even want to pay for their services in the first place. “We think our customers should have the right to choose whether they essentially pay it or not by putting it in a discretionary package”.

That is an option that many Canadians have been calling for over the years, as tier after tier of programming has to be bought just to get one or two channels that are really wanted. A complete a la carte system would finally give the Canadian television viewer the opportunity to truly pay for only those channels that they actually intend to watch, a dangerous concept no doubt, allowing the consumer to have a choice!

It will be interesting to see how Mr. Smith's bosses react to his defense of the little guy, Bell ExpressVu is but a cog in the vast BellGlobeMedia empire, which owns among other things the CTV Television network, who ahem, are one of the applicants at the desk looking for the cash.

Only the Quebec based Cogeco cable system spoke in favour of the suggested plan to raise money by subscription fees, putting them quite out of step with the rest of that nation that is on the other side of the within the nation clause.

The Final word though on the issue has to be returned to Mr. Shaw of Shaw Cable and Starchoice, he neatly wraps up the issue in a blunt no nonsense form that should be faxed and e mailed to network executives at least once an hour.

"Is this like a big feed trough? You just come and feed on Canadians? And we're so dog docile we just sit there and take it? Cmon."

Be forewarned big shot network folks, the little Canadian dogs are getting angry and those dogs just might bite!