Canadian broadcasters stepped up a war of words with the cable industry by launching a public campaign for proposed new fees they say are critical to the survival of local television. Cable providers contend these fees could cost their customers an extra $10 a month.
The "Local TV Matters" campaign includes TV spots, a Twitter account and a YouTube video - sample line: "cable bills are flying higher than a kite, soon they'll get 'em high enough to charge us for space flight."
The broadcasters claim that as many as 30 local TV stations are at "immediate risk" of going off the air if they can't convince cable and satellite companies to start paying for local programming.
Paul Sparkes, executive vice-president of corporate affairs for CTV, said at a press conference that the current model for Canadian television is "broken." He explained, "the foundation of the Canadian broadcasting system is crumbling." He added, "local television stations from Victoria to St. John's are heading, unfortunately, for financial ruin. They cannot survive by a single source of revenue."
The broadcasters said the survival of many small-and medium-market TV stations is threatened by slumping ad revenues.
The CRTC has two hearings scheduled to deal with the issue of fee-for-carriage - one on Nov. 16, which will work to determine the value of broadcasters' signals, and one on Dec. 7, which will allow for public comments on whether a fee should be implemented.
Source: Broadcaster, 10/09/2009
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