True or False?
CTV
and Global TV are trying to convince Canadians that local TV is in trouble. What they’re really doing is trying to push through a TV tax. Why? Because they’ve misspent the hundreds of millions of dollars they’ve already received from taxpayers, cable and satellite companies.
Taxing Canadians to provide broadcasters with yet another bailout won’t help fix the problem. What it will do is add up to $72 to your cable bill. Enough is enough.
Not sure how this is a new "tax"? I find this POV curious as hell. Enough is enough? I say Shaw's predatory pricing practises are more shameful.
Local television needs to be saved.
FALSE:
The broadcasters are asking Canadians to help “save local TV”, but local TV doesn’t need saving. The truth is that CTV and Global TV are very big businesses who generate major advertising profits and choose to spend hundreds of millions on foreign programming every year. Let’s be clear: it’s not local TV that needs saving. Broadcasters need to invest in local TV instead of spending on foreign content.
Really! Perhaps they are spending on foreign programming. It's what ratepayers are demanding. I wonder were Shaw to provide pure a la carte programming choices, would the local channels exists today?.
Broadcasters, like CTV and Global TV are asking for money for nothing.
TRUE:
The broadcasters want to charge you, the cable customer for a service you receive for free today for nothing in return. In fact, they refuse to agree to produce new local programming with the funding TV tax would generate. This is why the Canadian government has already turned down their demands twice. Where do you think they would spend your money if it’s not on local content?
Not true. They are asking the cable companies to pay for something they've had for free themselves for a couple generations.
Canadian broadcasters can’t afford to produce local programming.
FALSE:
Broadcasters, like CTV and Global TV, choose to spend more than $700 million annually purchasing American programming. In fact, foreign purchases decisions cost one broadcaster $4 billion last year. They claim the only way local programming can survive is by demanding more money from you. Hold them accountable for their decisions.
A very disingenuous argument. I can't imagine Canadian TV producers creating the volume of quality programming the Americans do. Economies of scale play a huge role here. As do aftermarket sales of Canadian produced TV. If there was a market globally allowing Canadian producers to recoup their investment mayhaps we'd see more Canadian content. Even still, the cheaper, higher quality US produced programming would still appear nightly on our TVs.
Broadcasters only generate revenue from funding.
FALSE:
The truth is, government regulations are designed to ensure that broadcasters maximize their advertising revenue by giving them guaranteed access to you - the Canadian viewer. Canadian cable and satellite companies are required to spend millions carrying the major Canadian broadcasting networks for free so that they can sell messages inserted into their locally produced and foreign purchased programming.
Spend millions? Huh? I'll admit I know nothing about cable TV but what real costs are there for these companies to carry locally produced TV? Indeed I expect there is a huge market out there for the local channels. Public demand would and does insist there be local TV.
Shaw doesn’t pay to support local broadcasters.
FALSE:
Nothing could be further from the truth. Shaw and Shaw Direct alone contribute $1.8 million every week in support of Canadian programming and local broadcasters, and that’s just our share. We are now also required to contribute 1% of gross broadcasting revenues to a new fund that will generate another $66 million per year to support local broadcasters. Enough is enough.
Another specious comment from Shaw. If they were not mandated to provide this funding, funding that comes from my pockets by the way, would Shaw really make that investment. Not on your life!
Canadians don’t currently pay for local programming.
FALSE:
Cable and satellite companies contribute hundreds of millions of dollars to support the development of Canadian programming. As much or more funding is also provided by the Canadian government. Where does that money come from? It comes from you, the Canadian taxpayers.
Ummm, see my comment above.
Shaw is against saving local programming.
FALSE:
Shaw produces more than 9,000 hours of local programming every year and Shaw TV is 100% local programming, all day every day. We fully support the development of Canadian content and even offered to buy three CTV stations because we believe in the value of local programming. In comparison, broadcasters produce one to two hours a day of local programming each day, and are now asking the government for the right to produce even less.
Ha! The three local stations they "offered" to buy were offered at $1 each. It remains to be seen what content they will broadcast and how many local jobs still exists one year down the road.
I will credit Shaw for the content I see on Cable 9 here in Winnipeg.
Major broadcasters are at a disadvantage and need help.
FALSE:
Canada’s major broadcasters are guaranteed access to all Canadians for free. They receive special tax breaks, funding and are shielded from international competition. And that’s not all, cable and satellite companies are mandated to give them priority position on our line-up, limited competition from non-Canadian networks, and mandatory substitution over US televisions signals all to ensure they and they advertisers win. Canadians have subsidized the major broadcasters for so long that they have lost the ability to stand on their own.
You can choose whether you have local broadcasters in your TV package.
FALSE:
Canada’s broadcasters have had access to public airwaves for decades. The Canadian government has always required cable and satellite companies to carry the major networks, including CBC, CTV and Global, and that means you have no choice in whether they are included in your TV package.
Then fight the CRTC on that ruling. I want pure a la carte programming choice. Let me decide what broadcasters I want to see and pay for.
My bill wouldn’t go up if TV tax, or fee-for-carriage, is introduced.
FALSE:
Fee-for-carriage is really a tax for something you are already getting for free and have no option to refuse. You will be required to pay up to $72 a year to these broadcasters for their channels, with no promise of new local programming.
Possibly. But again, give me a la carte choices and I'll mitigate the $72 right away.
CTV
and Global TV are trying to convince Canadians that local TV is in trouble. What they’re really doing is trying to push through a TV tax. Why? Because they’ve misspent the hundreds of millions of dollars they’ve already received from taxpayers, cable and satellite companies.
Taxing Canadians to provide broadcasters with yet another bailout won’t help fix the problem. What it will do is add up to $72 to your cable bill. Enough is enough.
Not sure how this is a new "tax"? I find this POV curious as hell. Enough is enough? I say Shaw's predatory pricing practises are more shameful.
Local television needs to be saved.
FALSE:
The broadcasters are asking Canadians to help “save local TV”, but local TV doesn’t need saving. The truth is that CTV and Global TV are very big businesses who generate major advertising profits and choose to spend hundreds of millions on foreign programming every year. Let’s be clear: it’s not local TV that needs saving. Broadcasters need to invest in local TV instead of spending on foreign content.
Really! Perhaps they are spending on foreign programming. It's what ratepayers are demanding. I wonder were Shaw to provide pure a la carte programming choices, would the local channels exists today?.
Broadcasters, like CTV and Global TV are asking for money for nothing.
TRUE:
The broadcasters want to charge you, the cable customer for a service you receive for free today for nothing in return. In fact, they refuse to agree to produce new local programming with the funding TV tax would generate. This is why the Canadian government has already turned down their demands twice. Where do you think they would spend your money if it’s not on local content?
Not true. They are asking the cable companies to pay for something they've had for free themselves for a couple generations.
Canadian broadcasters can’t afford to produce local programming.
FALSE:
Broadcasters, like CTV and Global TV, choose to spend more than $700 million annually purchasing American programming. In fact, foreign purchases decisions cost one broadcaster $4 billion last year. They claim the only way local programming can survive is by demanding more money from you. Hold them accountable for their decisions.
A very disingenuous argument. I can't imagine Canadian TV producers creating the volume of quality programming the Americans do. Economies of scale play a huge role here. As do aftermarket sales of Canadian produced TV. If there was a market globally allowing Canadian producers to recoup their investment mayhaps we'd see more Canadian content. Even still, the cheaper, higher quality US produced programming would still appear nightly on our TVs.
Broadcasters only generate revenue from funding.
FALSE:
The truth is, government regulations are designed to ensure that broadcasters maximize their advertising revenue by giving them guaranteed access to you - the Canadian viewer. Canadian cable and satellite companies are required to spend millions carrying the major Canadian broadcasting networks for free so that they can sell messages inserted into their locally produced and foreign purchased programming.
Spend millions? Huh? I'll admit I know nothing about cable TV but what real costs are there for these companies to carry locally produced TV? Indeed I expect there is a huge market out there for the local channels. Public demand would and does insist there be local TV.
Shaw doesn’t pay to support local broadcasters.
FALSE:
Nothing could be further from the truth. Shaw and Shaw Direct alone contribute $1.8 million every week in support of Canadian programming and local broadcasters, and that’s just our share. We are now also required to contribute 1% of gross broadcasting revenues to a new fund that will generate another $66 million per year to support local broadcasters. Enough is enough.
Another specious comment from Shaw. If they were not mandated to provide this funding, funding that comes from my pockets by the way, would Shaw really make that investment. Not on your life!
Canadians don’t currently pay for local programming.
FALSE:
Cable and satellite companies contribute hundreds of millions of dollars to support the development of Canadian programming. As much or more funding is also provided by the Canadian government. Where does that money come from? It comes from you, the Canadian taxpayers.
Ummm, see my comment above.
Shaw is against saving local programming.
FALSE:
Shaw produces more than 9,000 hours of local programming every year and Shaw TV is 100% local programming, all day every day. We fully support the development of Canadian content and even offered to buy three CTV stations because we believe in the value of local programming. In comparison, broadcasters produce one to two hours a day of local programming each day, and are now asking the government for the right to produce even less.
Ha! The three local stations they "offered" to buy were offered at $1 each. It remains to be seen what content they will broadcast and how many local jobs still exists one year down the road.
I will credit Shaw for the content I see on Cable 9 here in Winnipeg.
Major broadcasters are at a disadvantage and need help.
FALSE:
Canada’s major broadcasters are guaranteed access to all Canadians for free. They receive special tax breaks, funding and are shielded from international competition. And that’s not all, cable and satellite companies are mandated to give them priority position on our line-up, limited competition from non-Canadian networks, and mandatory substitution over US televisions signals all to ensure they and they advertisers win. Canadians have subsidized the major broadcasters for so long that they have lost the ability to stand on their own.
You can choose whether you have local broadcasters in your TV package.
FALSE:
Canada’s broadcasters have had access to public airwaves for decades. The Canadian government has always required cable and satellite companies to carry the major networks, including CBC, CTV and Global, and that means you have no choice in whether they are included in your TV package.
Then fight the CRTC on that ruling. I want pure a la carte programming choice. Let me decide what broadcasters I want to see and pay for.
My bill wouldn’t go up if TV tax, or fee-for-carriage, is introduced.
FALSE:
Fee-for-carriage is really a tax for something you are already getting for free and have no option to refuse. You will be required to pay up to $72 a year to these broadcasters for their channels, with no promise of new local programming.
Possibly. But again, give me a la carte choices and I'll mitigate the $72 right away.
