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Court deals broadcasters costly ruling

GRANT ROBERTSON

From Tuesday's Globe and Mail

Latest comment posted at 12:00 PM EDT 06/05/08

Canada's broadcasters are scrambling to appeal a federal court ruling that may cost the industry more than $100-million a year ...Read the full article

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  1. James McGillawee from Oshawa, Canada writes: This will only be passed on to the viewers in the form of more frequent advertising and higher cable/satalite rates plus more on the shelf price increases to the products advertised. Rather than fight this to the Supreme Court the television broadcasters should demand that the politicians immediately roll these fees back. Guess who want our votes sooner or later and stand to lose their indexed pensions and other perks. It is about time we fired the whole lot of them and started fresh.
    So much for open transparent accountable governance!
  2. White Man from United States writes: BooHoo for the poor broadcasters. The American stations should sue them for hijacking their signals and subjecting Canadians to simulcasting.
  3. Koolest Cat from Canada writes: Good on the Federal Court.

    Canadian broadcasters really have been sheltered from real life for too many years. I have had it with their crying and whining and it's time for them to start paying the piper.
  4. John Connor from Canada writes: Koolest Cat from Canada writes: Good on the Federal Court.

    Canadian broadcasters really have been sheltered from real life for too many years. I have had it with their crying and whining and it's time for them to start paying the piper.

    Except they won't be coughing up for this.
    The viewing public is about to get bent over.
    Again.
  5. Scott Anderson from London, Canada writes: How can sat and cable companies go in press charges against someone who is watching those very channels that they themselves did not pay for and stole?

    Only if the Sat companies provided those channels without scrambling them that they have taken for free without permision should they have the right to them. It is like me borrowing your car and using your gas to be a taxi driver and not returning your car with gas and me lining my pocket from your car and gas.

    Descramble all the stations they are getting free or they should have to pay as they are selling what they would call hot murchaindise. Because if you were caught descrambling those very channels you would be in jail for theft.
  6. Robert Boyd from windsor, Canada writes: I don't see why the industry should complain.
    Political Sleazoids run 'surpluses' from over-taxing the rest of the supine population to use as bribes for their re-election.
    Nothing new here.
  7. Gardiner Westbound from Canada writes:
    If the business is unprofitable why did the media giants buy so many TV stations?
  8. Peter Lefaivre from Edmonton, Canada writes: These fees are just a cost of doing business. I might have some sympathy for the industry if consumers really had a choice in programming, but we don't.
    We are inundated with 'reality and other junk' programming designed to fill the airwaves and the pockets of the robber baron broadcasters.
    Meanwhile, our tax dollars are spent to create an 'artistic industry' for the benefit of these same self serving monopolies without recourse to alternative programming with substance rather than the quality poor menu of choices we are provided for our monthly fees.
    This same industry, via their many and varied subsidiaries, lobby the government and receive funding and then present it to us as free or pay broadcasting when in fact we are paying twice.
  9. Dig Deeper from Canada writes: Interesting that broadcast owners like Rogers and Bell are whining about fees. Aren't these the same companies charging cell phone users the "fictitious" system access fee?
  10. John Doucette from Manotick, Canada writes: $100 million a year! That will reduce Asper's and Bell/Globe/Teacher profits by about 1 percent.
  11. Khalid Rahim from Canada writes: We the ordinary subscribers have to pay through our nose and keep getting
    knocked from both sides. CRTC is State cartel that has holes in it's pockets,
    that needs to be repaired? On the other hand some of the fees charged by
    the big corporations, such as 911 and system access fee need to go off. They earn enough profits from other charges to pay those themselves, as it
    always happens CRTC feels the pangs of hunger and passes the beggar's bowl to the public.
  12. Milan Stevulak from Saltspring island, Canada writes: -This is an opportunity for this revenue to be used to fund public television and/or develop canadian programming!

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