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.

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.

I don't think any of those are Pay stations. They all have commercials, and derive most of their income from commercials. I'm not sure what the reference to KKK is supposed to mean ...

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.

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

"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.

"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.
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.

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

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).

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. :(

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.

"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.

The only OTA available is CBC French.Surely Quebec City would have TVA, TQS, Radio-Quebec available OTA. Also isn't there a UHF CBC English rebroadcaster, and the Global station (CKMI) is based in Quebec City as well?

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.)

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

First Canadian cable TV in 1966? I don't think so. Nelson, BC had cable TV in the mid 1950's and I don't think it was the first. I am not sure when it started for sure but it was with Spokane, Washington channels. There were lots of small systems in Southern BC in the mid 50's and later.

lol the first cable company in canada was in brantford ontario

Not even close. Ted Jarmain started in London in 1952 by wiring up 14 houses in the Wharncliffe Rd/Commissioners Rd area. He put up an antenna on the same elevation as CFPL's tower now stands. He offered Detroit 2/4/7; Cleveland 3/5/8 + Erie Ch 12. The cost was $1/month

Ted Jarmain started in London in 1952 by wiring up 14 houses in the Wharncliffe Rd/Commissioners Rd area

My Grandfather was one of the 14

Here is an interesting link about CATV in Canada called "Basic Cable: Marrying twists of fate with entrepreneurial spirit launched CATV in Canada"

http://www.mediacastermagazine.com/issues/PrinterFriendly.asp?story_id=136591163359&id=76456&RType=&PC=&issue=11012002

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.)

But why does this mean that the US networks still have to be "must carry"? Basic cable is so commonplace now that there can't possibly be any need to require BDUs to deliver them, especially since Canadian broadcasters deliver the exact same content. I believe that must carry should only include Canadian OTA stations, and that some kind of premium has to be instituted for the US networks, since it's only a vocal few who actually want the networks themselves. This way, we may see a significant reduction in simsubbing, since it wouldn't be commercially imperative for programs to be broadcast at the same time..

Should be no must carry. People should be free to choose the channels they want but that aint gonna happen.

I never watch CMT, Shopping, Vision, APTN etc and many other channels I get but I have to get them if I want the channels I want. Like wtf is that? There are only about 16 channels I want yet i have to pay to get channels I never watch.......