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CRTC Enforced $25/mo Cable TV Is Now Available To Canadians, But With Caveats

Posted by timothy on from the in-the-us-caveats-are-extra dept.

Deathspawner writes: Last March, Canada's regulatory agency for all things broadcasting, CRTC, ruled that cable TV providers would soon be forced to offer $25/mo packages. With enforcement having kicked-off on March 1, these inexpensive packages have now been made available. As Techgage has discovered, though, the first packages out-of-the-gate pack a number of caveats, and in some cases, are outright misleading. And, despite a simple framework to worth with, the two largest providers in the country, Rogers and Bell, offer vastly different packages, and ultimately vastly different values to the consumer.

3 of 194 comments (clear)

  1. wrong solution by slashping · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The government shouldn't enforce prices. It should ensure there's enough competition, and that the competition is fair. When that is done, prices should automatically fall.

    1. Re:wrong solution by Mashiki · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Canada operates as semi-protectionist. Meaning you're never going to see enough competition here, especially for the landmass and number of people(more people live in California then Canada last I looked). That means the government is left with the option of imposing things when stuff gets out of whack, which it is in Canada right now. Most people I know who had cable up until a few years ago was paying $90/mo for 55 channels. Many dropped cable for netflix and so on. Hell even my parents are considering it, because the only stuff that they see is: Reality TV, reality TV, reality TV, reality TV and more reality TV. Most of what is watched in their house is AMC. What most of my friends watch was sports(which they can pay for online).

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      Om, nomnomnom...
    2. Re:wrong solution by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Most of the issue has nothing to do with the number of people living in Canada, as most people in Canada live in a very small strip of land near the US border.

      The issue has to do with the fact that many cities in Canada sold their souls to the cable company and nobody else is allowed to compete. The correct method would have been for the city to install the cables and then lease access to anyone who is interested in using them, with preferably multiple interconnects offered in each distribution panel.

      Throw in also that the CRTC makes it illegal to have any satellite service competition (It is a crime in Canada to view any unauthorized signals, this even includes Canadian signals if they have not received CRTC authorization!) and you have a perfect storm for what is happening now.

      The cable issue is presently unfixable. If the CRTC would delete the rules regarding satellite competition, DirecTV/Dishnetwork would destroy Bell/Shaw in seconds.

      Yes, it's bad enough DirecTV is a saviour compared to Bell. It's like wishing Mussolini would move run your country because the current leader is just *that* bad.

      If you keep trusting the CRTC to force the competition on Bell and Rogers, I have a bridge to sell you... One that, like the CRTC, is indirectly operated by Bell and Rogers.