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sudoer541
November 4th, 2009, 03:45 AM
I need help from Canadians to support local tv.
Local tv stations have been struggling financially over the years because they dont get a fair share of the money that satellite and cable companies make.
So please visit localtvmatters.ca (http://localtvmatters.ca/) and send a letter to the CRTC in Ottawa.
If you are not a Canadian you can still send an electronic letter to the government by visiting the website listed above, but I am not sure if they have a filtering system.

I decided to post this here because I know you people are fair so I am counting on you.

sudoer541
November 17th, 2009, 09:09 PM
Canadians!
Canadian TV stations need your support. so please support Canadian Local tv by visiting localtvmatters.ca. (http://localtvmatters.ca/)

sudoer541
November 17th, 2009, 09:34 PM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4WESKWFcGk

cariboo
November 17th, 2009, 09:58 PM
This whole thing really annoys me, the for profit television stations are trying to hold us for ransom just because their advertising revenues are down. If they put half as much effort into creating new revenue as they do with this advertising campaign they would be just as well off as they were before the business turn-down.

sudoer541
November 17th, 2009, 10:16 PM
This whole thing really annoys me, the for profit television stations are trying to hold us for ransom just because their advertising revenues are down. If they put half as much effort into creating new revenue as they do with this advertising campaign they would be just as well off as they were before the business turn-down.

local TV stations are providing their signal to satellite and cable companies for free and they don't gain a cent from them. If this problem is not solved then I am afraid that some TV stations will go bankrupt and this will affect many television viewers. I myself rely on local TV since I get my news, weather, movies and entertainment from local TV. Its true that local TV stations get their money from ads but thats not enough. Rogers, bell TV, Shaw, Telus and other cable and satellite providers make more than 2 billion a year by carrying the local TV signal for free. If cable and satellite companies win the battle against local TV stations then (we) the consumer would expect our bills to go higher because cable and satellite companies will charge local TV stations to carry their for a "carriage fee" in exchange.

betrunkenaffe
November 17th, 2009, 10:50 PM
I will not be supporting the Canadian networks for a few basic reasons.

a) Majority of programming (sans CBC) is imported from US and isn't Canadian developped. They pay ALOT of money for that programming.

b) Substitutions over US stations is mandated by the CRTC which provides all the Canadian networks with free advertising revenue. This is already a very large benefit provided to Canadian networks which foreign networks have no competing grounds.

c) All Canadian television providers are mandated to provide the "local" Canadian networks on their system AND that it must be available to all customers whether they want it or not. They cannot opt to not carry said programming and MUST put it in prime channel numbers.

d) All the "local" Canadian networks are available for free, over the air in their local areas that they are represented.

e) "Timeshifted" Canadian stations are already paid for as there is a fee associated with it to the television providers.

f) The fee for carriage does not stipulate that it will be used for Canadian programming.

The only way I would support a fee for carriage would be if the CRTC were to make the local programming stations be OPTIONAL. In other words, as a customer, I am given my CHOICE back which was removed by the CRTC and Canadian networks. I know that I personally would be opting out of paying any fee for the programming on the Canadian stations since all of it is available on the US stations. The only way I would be willing to pay said fee would be if there was a stipulation that it was for Canadian content.

Forgot to mention, the television providers shouldn't be paying the fee anymore than consumers should be.

I am tired of the "we don't make enough but can afford to make ads for you to give us money"...

betrunkenaffe
November 17th, 2009, 11:00 PM
I just went to site simply to read what this "letter" reads, here's a summary of what I read:

1st paragraph, unimportant fluff

let local TV stations negotiate with cable and satellite companies for fair value of their signals and programming.

I am also concerned that my cable company is threatening to double bill me more for local television. We already pay for local TV in our basic service and we should not be double billed.

So the statement that is being made here is that the various cable providers are already charging a fee for said (mandatory) channels in the basic service fee. So if we dropped the mandatory requirement then my cable bill will drop in price, sweet. Do it.

The CRTC and the federal government should protect consumers by regulating the cost of basic services.

They do, that's really not a contention.

This solution will provide more transparency and fair billing practices.

How? Will you be enforcing a complete bill breakdown for every service and eliminate the "packaging" prices? No, hence, this is false.

It is time for the government to do what is right and move forward with implementing a reasonable solution that provides local TV stations the right to negotiate with TV distributors and protect consumers with the regulation of basic TV rates.

Absolutely, charge the fee and remove the mandatory protection.