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CRTC to allow a-la-carte channel picking

13K views 60 replies 41 participants last post by  luvgolfing 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060228.gtdigital28/BNStory/Technology/home

The tier system, which was pioneered during the analog cable days and requires that subscribers buy TV channels in set groups or tiers, must be offered on digital cable until at least 2010, the CRTC said.

"Programmers are generally opposed to stand-alone or à la carte program offerings," the CRTC said in a lengthy policy statement.

"Nevertheless . . . consumers should be free to subscribe to them."

As the industry shifts from analog to digital transmission, which provides a high-definition TV signal through a set-top box, cable companies have sought to sell channels individually.

However, in a show of support for analog cable networks concerned that their audiences may plunge, the CRTC said the tiered system must be kept in place on digital cable until 2013. If cable providers have transferred more than 85 per cent of their subscribers to digital after 2010, that system can be dropped.
 
#27 ·
Interceptor said:
How are you getting "a better value" if you are paying for channels you don't watch. You're drinking too much kool-aid.
The suppliers should supply us with what we want, not what they want, and for the same price. We'd get rid of a lot of deadwood channels with their most popular programs finding new homes.
I agree that in the end the non-tiered system will be more expensive. As it is now, yes, I do get channels I don't watch often. But is good to have because you never know when IFC shows a decent flick.

Every now and then Telelatino might show a soccer game that Fox doesn't show. Sometimes Drive In shows a cool movie from the 60s that I've always wanted to see.

I hardly watch these three channels but am glad I have them. If I have to start paying for each channel individually, I probably will lose them
 
#28 ·
Bundled Groups or theme packages are good in some cases for digital cable, my system is setup by, the more theme packs you get the lower the per pack price gets, and A La Carte is available at 2.49 The only time A La Carte makes sense, is if there is only 1 or 2 channels in a theme pack that you want, if not makes more sense to go with the theme pack.
 
#31 ·
Free to Air

This whole á-la-carte thing is part of the reason I'm adding FTA satellite to my TV habits.

If you are a soccer fan, there is GolTV located on Echostar 8 (All you need is an unused Bell ExpressVu dish/LNB and an FTA receiver).

If you like old TV (Like "Mission: Impossible"), check out the Retro Television Network on Galaxy 10R. (You'll want a 33" Dish with Linear LNB - not the same type as Bell) G10R also has an ABC and a FOX station.

Do you like Satellite Radio? Echostar 7 has that as well as NASA TV. (Again, Circular feed like Bell ExpressVu).

I can't wait for á-la-carte programming. There are only 5 or 6 specialty channels that I watch. The rest I can get on a pair of Rabbit Ears or off of free satellite.
 
#32 ·
I don't think we will see many BDUs go to à la carte (aka pick'n'pay) because it will be a nightmare to administer. It will drive customer support costs through the roof. The logistics of selecting 10, 20, 30 channels with a CSR will be very time consuming. Some customers will choose the cheapest package and constantly switch to get shows on unsubscribed channels. I can't see it happening unless the process in completely automated somehow, such as through a web site. Seeing as some BDUs can't even get their web sites working properly for current program selection options or even bill payments, it may never happen. :rolleyes:
 
#33 · (Edited by Moderator)
But they have Internet on computers now. :rolleyes:

IF (and in terms of cable providers like Rogers, it's a BIG if) the providers allowed consumers to login to their web sites and pick 'n choose their channels from a list of choices, and IF that was done in a simple/intuitive way (and it's not rocket science) it would be an ideal consumer self-serve model - and a serious competitive advantage if the other players didn't provide the same.
 
#34 ·
Not sure if I follow exactly the last few posts but with Videotron I can already log into my account and select the individual channels and or packages I want. Is this what you are talking about? I just assumed everyone else (Rogers etc) has this.
 
#35 ·
Rogers has had pick'n'pay on a limited number of channels for some time. You can buy 1, 5, 10, 20 channels and choose what you want. The issues arrive when selecting all channels that way. The CRTC has various regulations regarding ratios of US and BDU owned channels to other channels. I believe some BDUs have agreements to package channels in a certain way as well.

Currently, á-la-carte is slightly different since it assumes you add individual channels at a fairly high cost per channel to existing packages. Up to now, this has only been allowed with certain channels. The cost is prohibitive since two or more channels often exceed the cost of a single theme pack.

I believe we should be moving toward the Roger's pick'n'pay model for all channels. That would help weed out the under performers and stop certain broadcasters from violating their license agreements with impunity, as some are doing now. We have many specialty channels that are blanketed with low cost filler that has little or nothing to do with their mandate. Pick'n'pay would let people drop channels that program in this manner.

Many BDUs have web sites that claim to let you select or change programming on line. Some work better than others. One just sends the request to a CSR who makes the changes manually, several day later. Another frequently fails with an error message, usually after you have spent time making selections. There is a lot of of room for improvement.
 
#36 ·
A-la-carte == scaled up PPV

I don't think we will see many BDUs go to à la carte (aka pick'n'pay) because it will be a nightmare to administer. It will drive customer support costs through the roof. The logistics of selecting 10, 20, 30 channels with a CSR will be very time consuming.
Thank you for explaining why PPV (Pay-Per-View) doesn't work;) . But guess what, PPV *DOES* work. You can press a few buttons, and select...
- a specific channel that you want to watch
- the specific time you want to start watching it
- the specific time it stops

The PPV infrastructure is *EXACTLY* what is required to support a-la-carte channel selection. Think of it as PPV where, instead of selecting a movie channel for 90 minutes, you're selecting a regular channel for a whole month. Otherwise, it's identical.

Some customers will choose the cheapest package and constantly switch to get shows on unsubscribed channels.
The answer to that is to make a channel selection a one-month minimum.

Any more questions?
 
#37 ·
PPV works because it is a money maker for BDUs. A-la-carte may be available because it makes money due to the high cost per channel, $3-$5 per month retail for a wholesale cost of $0.50-$1.00. Pick'n'pay will probably not be implemented due to the fact that it will not increase profits and will increase costs. It's not so much a technical issue as a corporate decision due to cash flow.

Add a channel for only a month? Dream on. Some providers just let you add programming with their automated system and you must call to drop anything. The only difference between that and PPV is that PPV programs are automatically terminated at their end. Packages and a-la-carte additions have no termination and likely will not due to corporate policy.

Yes, some BDUs make you wait until the end of the month to drop programming now. That won't stop people from adding and dropping channels. Others make changes right away but that will likely change if they need extra CSRs to handle the demand for pick'n'pay.
 
#38 ·
"Add a channel for only a month - Dream on" I WANT MY HDTV-
With Videotron, i Pay for 30 channels, and can change any channel during the month. I presently change 3 to 4 channels in a given month.
The only restriction, is that if you cancel channel XYZ you cannot re-activate that channel in the same month.
All this is done via internet using the "self service" option. Within minutes, the changes are made. You can can also use the "interactive" option on the TV via Illico, however, i never tried.
 
#47 ·
I change my channels via Illico (SA 8300) and it works well. But there is other restrictions: you need to subscribe to a channel for 1 month minimum (you can't subscribe to a channel just for one hour to see a specific show) and you need 50% of your channels "à la carte" from Canada.
 
#39 ·
Star Choice has just implemented a new pricing policy for Pick 'n' Pay with any two channels for $2.99. Granted this does not apply to all channels such as Showcase or Bravo but only to the newer diginets such as TV Land, Scream, Showcase Diva, etc. This compares to a set of bundled channels for $4.99 in a theme pack. SC is open 24/7/365 and you can drop and add channels at will so if you wanted to trade TV Land for IFC because there was a movie you wanted to see, you could do that. With virtually no hold times, the process can be quicker than logging into any website.
 
#40 ·
I_Want_My_HDTV said...
PPV works because it is a money maker for BDUs. A-la-carte may be available because it makes money due to the high cost per channel, $3-$5 per month retail for a wholesale cost of $0.50-$1.00. Pick'n'pay will probably not be implemented due to the fact that it will not increase profits and will increase costs. It's not so much a technical issue as a corporate decision due to cash flow.
Posts by "rogerduvernay" and "starchoice" indicate that this is available right now on Videotron and StarChoice. A-la-carte is effectively a scaled-up PPV. If anything, it BENEFITS from economies of scale. instead of having one purchase transaction per 90 minutes (the length of an average movie), you're looking at one purchase transaction per 43,200 minutes (30 days). That's 1/480th of the transaction overhead.

Not only that, it'll save the BDUs money by freeing up a lot of bandwidth, as a gazillion food-and-cooking-channels and watching-the-paint-dry-channels kick the bucket due to lack of VOLUNTARY viewership. The only reason they make money right now is because of forced bundles, along the same lines as convicted monopolist Microsoft.
 
#41 ·
Walter Dnes said:
Not only that, it'll save the BDUs money by freeing up a lot of bandwidth, as a gazillion food-and-cooking-channels and watching-the-paint-dry-channels kick the bucket due to lack of VOLUNTARY viewership.
So far though, since the Sept 2001 launch of those channels, few have gone under. Many have sold to larger companies, and got slightly to majorly reworked and rebranded.
 
#42 ·
Classicsat said
So far though, since the Sept 2001 launch of those channels, few have gone under.
The reason for that being that they're rammed down cable subscribers' throats, not to mention Ted Rogers and his "Negative Option Billing". Look at the following pay channels that are part of Rogers' "Basic Cable" service in the GTA...

22 Rogers Sportsnet Ontario
23 The Weather Network
24 CablePulse24
25 YTV (East)
26 CBC Newsworld/Voiceprint (SAP)
62 CTV Newsnet
63 Star!
65 Treehouse
69 RDI
71 APTN (Aboriginal Peoples Television Network)

If these pay channels weren't being rammed down cable subscribers' throats, many of them would've bit the dust just like "C Channel" in 1983, 6 months after it launched. And basic cable service would be less expensive. For that matter, just about all tiers of cable.

The CRTC lied through it's teeth back then about never making Pay-TV stations mandatory for cable subscribers. When they saw that Krummy Kanadian Kontent wouldn't attract a paying audience on its own, they eventually reneged on their promise.
 
#45 ·
Classicsat said
22 Rogers Sportsnet Ontario
23 The Weather Network
24 CablePulse24
25 YTV (East)
26 CBC Newsworld/Voiceprint (SAP)
62 CTV Newsnet
63 Star!
65 Treehouse
69 RDI
71 APTN (Aboriginal Peoples Television Network)

If these pay channels weren't being rammed down cable subscribers' throats, many of them would've bit the dust just like "C Channel" in 1983, 6 months after it launched.
Let me guess:
23 The Weather Network (who made this one mandatory?)
24 CablePulse24
62 CTV Newsnet
63 Star!

We already pay to keep those alive:
26 CBC Newsworld/Voiceprint (SAP)
69 RDI
71 APTN (Aboriginal Peoples Television Network)

"Must carry" should be: local OTA + US networks.

-gmd
 
#44 ·
I don't think any of those are Pay stations. They all have commercials, and derive most of their income from commercials.
Oops, I missed Vision TV on the mandatory pay TV list.

http://cmte.parl.gc.ca/Content/HOC/committee/372/heri/reports/rp1032284/herirp02/08-Ch07-e.htm
==========================================
VisionTV received its first licence in 1987. It is now available as part of basic cable or satellite service to than eight million households. The network is funded largely through advertising and subscription revenues and is allowed by the CRTC to collect 8 cents per subscriber each month. In 2001, Vision had revenues of approximately $15 million.
==========================================

Let's see... 8,000,000 x $0.08 x 12 months = $7,680,000. They said MORE THAN eight million households, so lets call it $8,000,000 of their $15,000,000 in revenue was from subscriber fees. That was 6 years ago; expect the monthly rate to have gone up since then.

Digging up the info is more difficult than I had expected. I will be back with documentation for the other stations.
 
#46 ·
"Must carry" should be: local OTA + US networks.
I couldn't have said it better myself. And I think it should also be available by unencrypted QAM for people with digital TVs... and why not, we're not preventing the cable co. from making the switch to digital, we gladly embrace it.
 
#48 ·
I've been complaining about the lack of a-la-carte channel selection for 15 years.

If I were allowed to choose:

TVO, CBC, CITY, Rogers TV (if available free), CBS, NBC, ABC, The Shopping Channel (if available free), Sportsnet, Weather Network (until I have my secure wireless network setup), YTV, FOX, TSN, Spike (maybe), BBC World, Showcase, Bravo, Discovery, Comedy Network, Teletoon, SPACE

HD: Sportsnet, TSN, CBC, CITY, ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, PBS, HDNET

The girlfriend would add: Food Network, Showcase Diva, BBC Canada
 
#49 ·
Here's how I'd like to see the BDU's offerings structured:

-A regulated fee basic package including all of the Canadian channels which do not charge carriage fees and the major no-fee foreign channels. Cablecos should provide all of these channels in clear QAM and in clear analog so basic customers don't need to buy a STB. Analog feeds could be phased out at the cableco's discretion after the US analog cutoff in 2009.

-Pick and pay for the remaining channels. To support the Canadian industry, classify channels by "theme" and require subscription to one Canadian channel for each foreign channel. If a customer is subscribed to all the Canadian channels in a theme they could then subscribe to as many foreign channels as they wish in that theme. BDUs should also be allowed to offer ANY foreign channels they want subject only to the above cancon restriction. For example, if I subscribe to all the Canadian news channels I should be able to subscribe to any and all foreign news channels I want (say CNN, BBC, Foxnews and Al-Jazeera).

-Specialty channels should be sold on a markup + carriage fee basis, with each shown as separate line items on bills so customers can see how much money is going to the channel and how much is going to the BDU. The markup could be different for HD vs. SD channels, but should otherwise be the same for every channel.

-Bulk discounts on pick and pay channels should be allowed, but they should be threshold values, not fixed packages (ie. buy X or more channels, get Y% off the markup on ALL of your premium channels). Some limits may also be needed to keep the cost of individual channels reasonable (perhaps a $1.00/month maximum markup).
 
#50 ·
I am happy to see that some providers are offering a good pick'n'pay option. Does that apply to all channels or just a selection of tier 2 offerings? Rogers has had a tier 2 offering like this for several years but it only covered about 30 channels, far from a majority. I don't see the satellite companies doing this any time soon.

I like Titanium48's proposal. I wonder if it will ever come to pass though. The CRTC seems to be increasingly reluctant to tell BDUs how to deliver content, while becoming more restrictive on how Canadians may receive it. That kind of indicates who's running the country these days. I guess corporate dollars are more important than individual's rights or votes. :(
 
#51 ·
AFAIK, Alacarte applies only to the "digital" Tier 2 channels launched since 2001. Starchoice, at loast, has the majority of them Alacarte.

As for an Alacarte system, I devized one:

Channels would be given a point value., based on their tier status and other factors. A US channel would get 2-3 times points than is Canadian peer. That way, you have to get two equivalent Canadian channels to get a US one. Also, providers would be allowed to up to 10-15% of their bandwidth for any foreign channel they can arrange rights for.
 
#52 ·
"Must carry" should be: local OTA + US networks.

Let me add this...

Because many Canadians are not in big cities near the US border, not everyone has access to the same OTA channels.

So, I would say: "Must carry" should be: OTA available in major Canadian cities + US networks.

This would give all Canadians access to the same basic channels.

As you can see in my profile, I'm from Quebec city. The only OTA available is CBC French. I'm sure many other cities throughout Canada have the same problem.

Everything else should be available "À la carte"; not everybody has the money to buy packages. Of course, packages can still be an option.
 
#54 ·
Most cable systems in major centers had US OTA since their inception. Otherwise, nobody would pay for cable service. The signals may have been microwaved in for some areas. Cable TV was created to provide distant US signals to customers. The first "official" cable systems were formed in London, ON and Montreal at about the same time. Cable TV started in London solely to provide distant US and Canadian stations. Most stations on cable were from the US at the time (3 Canadian and 7 US.)
 
#55 ·
lol the first cable company in canada was in brantford ontario and it provided 25 channels when it started.it sarted in 1966 and you would get all the toronto chanels hamilton kitchener london barrie all the buffalo channels and all the erie channels.than rogers bought them out aand screwed brantford cause it dropped all the erie channels.liked it cause we got the nfl when buffalo was blacked out.all that cost was 14 dollars a month
 
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