Lind says networks are pulling stunts with station-closing threats

Source: Toronto Star

Rogers Communications Inc. has launched its latest salvo in the political battle over television carriage fees, accusing conventional broadcasters of fear-mongering with their plans to shutter or sell some local stations.

Vice-chair Phil Lind says broadcasters such as CTV and Global have launched "a political campaign" with members of Parliament to pressure the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission to approve fee-for-carriage.

The proposal, already twice rejected by the regulator, suggests charging cable and satellite companies a fee to carry the signals of over-the-air broadcasters. The CRTC is expected to reconsider the issue during the broadcasters' upcoming licence renewal hearings.

"They're going around and campaigning – closing stations or threatening to close stations to scare MPs," Lind told the Star's editorial board yesterday. "You know, they are taking advantage of this economic downturn to do things that probably they would have done anyway ... because in a downturn, you can do things the public won't blame you for."

Cable and satellite companies are girding for a fierce fight. Broadcasters are arguing the very survival of local television is at stake, suggesting the recession has only exacerbated the "crisis" by triggering layoffs, programming cuts and the slated closure of some stations.

CTVglobemedia Inc. has said it will not renew licences for stations in Windsor and Wingham once they expire in August. Canwest Global Communications Corp., meanwhile, has launched a "strategic review" of five stations, in Hamilton; Montreal; Red Deer, Alta.; Kelowna, B.C.; and Victoria. A sale is only one of many options.

When the CRTC considered fee-for-carriage in 2008, both sides launched a public relations blitz with each purporting to champion the interests of consumers. This time around, winning support is more urgent.

For his part, Lind warned of "consumer outrage" and suggested that cable bills could rise by as much as $7 a month. He suggested that some consumers would either walk away or downgrade their service to absorb the costs.

He conceded Rogers's recent fee increases on its cable packages did elicit some anger, but suggested the hikes were a pittance compared to the impact of carriage fees.

"We have never, ever said that the consumer should pay for this. It's the cable companies who have given this threat," said Paul Sparkes, executive vice-president of corporate affairs at CTVglobemedia. Broadcasters, he added, have warned about the local programming predicament for years.

"It is not something that we are using as a political tool. That is the last thing we would want to do," Sparkes said. "This issue is serious, it's real and if nothing is done about it, we are going to see continued closures across the country and the demise of conventional television in Canada."

John Douglas, vice-president of public affairs at Canwest, echoed those concerns.

"The bigger question should be how will consumers across Canada feel when the local stations that they know and trust close?" he said. "Consumers are at the heart of this debate and we are working as hard as we can to ensure they continue to get the same strong local programming that they have come to expect."

© Toronto Star