1 edit | Cable TV is for chumps Its days are numbered... | |
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 |  ThrowDemsOutIf you can't convince 'em, confuse 'emPremium
join:2002-03-03
Mullica Hill, NJ
kudos:4 | Re: Cable TV is for chumps said by Malovech:Its days are numbered... If true, which I don't believe, it would be because of the money grasping overtaxing by the government - like in this case. | |
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| |  sbrookPremium,Mod
join:2001-12-14
Ottawa
kudos:4
 ·TekSavvy Cable
·Rogers Hi-Speed
| Re: Cable TV is for chumps It isn't government taxation, it's regulatory redistribution of funds that was not intended to be passed down to the consumer. The CRTC indicated the fee should be paid by the BDUs (Broadcast Distribution Units - like cable operators and direct broadcast satellite companies) for distribution to tv stations and networks to pay for local programming.
The fund is a scam produced by broadcasters who don't know how to manage their advertising business in the light of falling advertising revenues. | |
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 pnh102Reptiles Are Cuddly And PrettyPremium
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD | Stupid If people aren't willing to pay for local TV programming through voluntary and traditional revenue streams, then by definition it is not worth "saving."
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Blagojevich / Madoff 2012! | |
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|  mlernerPremium
join:2000-11-25
Nepean, ON
kudos:5
 ·TekSavvy DSL
| Re: Stupid Partially yes but the real troubling part here is the funding is going to CTV and Global who the bulk of programming is to American programming. They are NOT interesting in local programming and we do not need them spending that money because our cable and satellite providers already pay for the US feeds. IF these fees were actually going to local affiliate stations who were creating more local programming then it might be justified. | |
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| | | | Re: Stupid Just like many of our shows are filmed and everything else in Canada?
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|  alanxenosH. Sapien
join:2008-09-26
Winnetka, IL | If we don't want to donate, we dont need it that much. | |
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| | mlernerPremium
join:2000-11-25
Nepean, ON
kudos:5 Reviews:
·TekSavvy DSL
| Re: Stupid Well we don't want to donate because there is no incentive. If CTV and Global were gone leaving CBC and maybe some smaller local stations then most people would not be complaining. Except the hour of local news there is nothing of value to Canadian programming. | |
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| | | | | Re: Stupid ...nothing of value
This + 1000
If there was something worth watching that was actual Canadian content, and not just re-branded versions of So You Think You Can Dance or Idol, more people would be inclined to watch.
...though I hear The Listener has been well received... | |
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StojkoPremium
join:2007-10-20
St John's NL Reviews:
 ·voip.ms
·NBTel now Aliant
·FreePhoneLine
| Tax me, I'm Canadian. Awesome, more money for CTV and Global to buy more American "local" programming! CTV's whole "Save Local TV" campaign was a joke. Local TV has already disappeared in Canada, unless you call local TV an hour of news at 5 and reality TV and sitcoms from the US for the rest of the day.
Is NTV getting any of this tax? Channel 199 Bell TV/310(?) Starchoice? I wouldn't want to lose my local St. John's TV shows like the Young and the Restless, Days of our Lives, The Doctors, Tyra Banks, Entertainment Tonight, Deal or no Deal, Big Brother and all the other local programming they air through the day, not to mention the NTV Comedy Hour, their attempt at primetime local news using equipment from 1980s and journalists that make me wonder how they graduated high school.
If you ever want to see 10 minute stories on fender benders in the St. John's metro area, look for CJON-TV/NTV in your TV Guide around 4:30pm eastern. They run around this city looking for car accidents that they report on like people actually want to listen to a 10 minute report on some idiot yapping on their cell phone coming down the parkway at 80KM/h, runs through a red light and hits a pole and puts a dent on their bumper. I guess there's nothing else to talk about in Sinjawnz.
NTV is a disgrace to Newfoundland on a whole, not to mention their subbing of ASN/A Halifax programming on Rogers Cable in St. John's... | |
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Reviews:
·Bell Sympatico
| Less for More! There is little local to save, CSV owned A channel news is a farcical joke; the local newspaper (owned by SUN) is equally decrepit.
Since many of the "local" TV stations are networked owned (which are partly held by the Cable & Satellite companies) they really should point the finger at themselves rather then go on a government mandated fishing expedition in the consumer’s wallet.
Rogers is planning to dump the various American PBS stations (many of which are local to Canadian cites) with one PBS station out of Detroit. Rogers have used the flimsy justification of HD (though most of the other PBS stations involved are broadcasting in HD already), or ‘improving’ service. »www.digitalhome.ca/content/view/3902/279/
Rogers Corp is merely interesting in provided the least amount of service for the maximum amount of profit - if they could outsource anymore of their ‘Local TV’ they would have.
“Give us your wallet and watch our commercials” 
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Life - A bitter little ray of sunshine. | |
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·Bell Sympatico
| Re: Less for More! Having been stuck with CFLP I have to disagree about CHUM, having watched their station in Toronto I had high hopes that London would improve, it didn't. CHUM, CTV and Baton each milked out revenue while stripping the station bare.
When CHUM(P) took over they replaced the news anchor with a man that had great difficulty in enunciating, he later moved over to Rogers local dog & pony production (an equally as bad, but shorter news cast). They also merged the master control operations to Toronto. The noon news also was cancelled around the change of ownership (not sure if it was CHUM or CTV); however the net effect certainly didn't increase local coverage.
CHUM's addition of a morning program was nice, though poorly executed; breaking news was paned for vendor plugs, and advertising; it less about news and events and more about product placement and or ad revenue. Their selection of hosts also added to the 'circus like' QVC atmosphere.
CKCO has lost some if its shine certainly, however when compared to CFLP, CKCO is a beacon of light, CFLP's looks like a turd. The consolidation of local TV stations by networks as killed off local programming, not the consumer; I agree that the lack of competition is the cause, not the cure.
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Life - A bitter little ray of sunshine. | |
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| | Just wait until fee for carriage If you're pissed about the LPIF, just wait until fee for carriage hits and you're paying another $5-$6 per month. | |
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| | | Re: Just wait until fee for carriage Agreed, the greedy cable and satellite companies will try to download these costs on us as well. It is crazy. That is why the CRTC has to re-regulate cable billing practices. | |
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Reviews:
·TekSavvy Cable
·Bell Sympatico
·Rogers Hi-Speed
| LPIF Fees, Carriage Fees, Local Programming, Providers, etc. TV is doomed. Long live the Internet!
Of course this assumes cable companies don't abandon the net for their antique broadcast service containing highly compressed low-quality HD channels wedged into their pipes.
So how do we kick the CRTC out of Canada? I'm ready to administer those numb-nuts an enema. | |
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| | | Re: LPIF Fees, Carriage Fees, Local Programming, Providers, etc. any chance of getting a tax deduction for contributing to these non-profit/charitable small market TV stations... at least we should get shares in the company or something... I hate Rogers/CRTC putting their hand in my pocket without my consent... so much for democracy... these gov entities need to stop assuming that they know better than me where I'd like to invest my hard earned dollars.
If somebody wants to pay LPIF fee, then have at it... but don't ram it down on me...
Canadians... unite... let them know they cannot do what they want and that the people still have some say... | |
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 MurdocPremium
join:2009-02-08
Manitowoc, WI | I thought the US cable was shady Save local programming? Hardy har har....Theres nothing but racy garbage on there, like soaps and more soaps. Just basically garbage. If I ever see that down in the US on a cable bill they will be dropped like a hot potato. | |
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UofT23 teksavvy.com
join:2008-07-23
Toronto, ON | death of traditional cable unavoidable I cancelled my roger's cable over a year ago. It was a little weird at first having to decide what I wanted to watch and then go find it instead of mindlessly staring at whatever slop the overpriced channels were serving up at that hour. Oh look, 10 channels playing the same horrible rerun from 20 years ago.
But you do get used to it and realise that time shifting, tivo, and all their other sad attempts to make you THINK you're getting to choose what you watch for $50 a month were just a wider selection of their choosing. And who needs TIVO with dirt cheap massive hard drives. Sure my PC won't record for me what it thinks I want to see, but it doesn't need to. The internet runs on my time unlike cable and I can watch whatever I want whenever I want.
Sure some stuff on the internet isn't as clear as HD tv but it will be in the near future I have no doubt and if seeing a pimple on a zebra's backside clearly is worth $50 month for poor programming then go for it. Most of the mainstream programmes can be watched in reasonably high quality anyway either on network websites or ultimately downloading.
To believe traditional cable TV isn't going to be in for hard times and eventual death is the same as believing VoIP isn't giong to essentially kill the landline. I have no doubt services that mimic cable will persist on the internet. Bringing you programming that requires copyright's paid for etc all in one easily accessible place. Like megavideo is now. But they will be far cheaper and more competitive than "cable" and offer far better selection. | |
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| | Wow The CRTC is so corrupt. I can't believe how screwed up it is.
I listened to most of the CRTC hearings over Bell's throttling of wholesale bandwidth, and they seemed like normal people, with 1 or 2 of them even being pro-consumer. But wow, they really are overall a horribly corrupt organization.
I'm not Canadian, but I would think Canadians should demand legal action taken by the next head administration (president or prime minister?) against the head of the CRTC. Give him some serious jail time for completely disregarding his duty and edict, acting against the well-being of the Canadian public and rolling around in the brib-...lobbying from various incumbents.
Setting such a precedent would go at least some ways towards discouraging such corruption in a future agency. | |
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 dvd536as Mr. Pink as they comePremium
join:2001-04-27
Phoenix, AZ
kudos:4 | Ahhhhhh Slush fund for cable.
those they can't hit with digital gateway. | |
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|  jfmezeiPremium
join:2007-01-03
Pointe-Claire, QC
kudos:22
·ELECTRONICBOX
| Re: Ahhhhhh This LIPF fee is actually good.
It gives us the consumers, the ammunition to go to the CRTC and ask the CRTC to remove mandatory CTV/Global distribution. If we had to choose CTV and or Global and pay for them, we would then have the option to not buy their programming.
And in such a case, you could watch the original US network shows in their original quality without fear of CTV cutting off the last 10 minutes of the Friends series finale, or Global inserting commercials during SNL skits that parody a commercial, or live with inferior sound quality and bigger/more annoying logos/bugs on the screen
If CTV and Global had to compete to get our money, perhaps they would improve their service, remove the annoyting bugs and provide better quality delivery of the programs they purchase compared to the US stations carrying the same.
But as long as we are forced to watch CTV/Global no matter how hard we try to not watch them, then these 2 networks have no motivation to improve their service quality. | |
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| | | | Re: Ahhhhhh on satellite, we already pay over $20 for 'locals' package that bell is hijacking... | |
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JFM
join:2001-12-31
London, ON |  More profit for Rogers
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| | | Re: More profit for Rogers Check your facts... The original LPIF was 1.0%, the CRTC increased it by 0.5% to 1.5%. | |
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| | 911 Fee anyone? Remember the 911 surcharge on all cellphone bills. God forbid that you had to actually call 911, and then find out that you can't reach emergency service because Rogers took that money to shore up quarterly results. But don't worry, the board of directors have to pay for that new house in Forest Hill somehow. | |
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| | We should not let this happen without a loud protest First of all... I got the letter from Rogers... it said Cable companies are forced to pay this LPIF fee... this fee/tax is then passed on directly to the consumer... heaven forbid Rogers bottom line be hit... Secondly, we will be taxed at whatever our provincial tax rate is HST/GST on top of this tax also... Thirdly, I already emailed CRTC regarding LPIF expressing my disgust about this and asking a question about whether I would recieve a tax deduction for this fee which is legislated on me forcing me to subsidize unprofitable/charitable entities in Canada. If somebody wants to pay this fee by all means have at it... but if one feels they already pay through the nose and would rather not pay additional fees then this option should be available.
Personally I hate being gouged into supporting something which I don't really care about. And personally, I don't think Rogers or any other company who is given license by the Canadian government should be able to force such a subsidy upon me without my consent... an awful lot of power.
Enough is enough!!!!!!! Protest Canadians... don't let them away with this... this is robbery and especially now when families are hurting financially during this recession. | |
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| | reply from CRTC I complained to CRTC and this is the reply I got.
Thank you for your message of August 6, 2009.
"The CRTC established a Local Programming Improvement Fund (LPIF) to conserve and improve local television programming. In establishing the appropriate level of contributions to be paid by cable/satellite companies to broadcast local programming, the CRTC considered a number of factors including the ability by cable/satellite companies to contribute to the Canadian broadcasting system. Given their reported profits, the CRTC is of the view that there is no justification to pass the cost on to consumers. If your cable/satellite company has decided to increase the fees for your service, it is a business decision that is not regulated or mandated by the CRTC.
Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention and allowing us to clarify the issue"
they actually agree that there is no justification to pass this fee on to consumers. what a joke. | |
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