That Cable vs Television broadcaster debate

My good friend Ian Morrison at the Friends of Canadian Broadcasting is urging all of us to get involved in the great cable vs broadcasters debate. We have all seen the ads. How could we miss them, both sides have spend a small fortune in advertising.

To be honest, as I have said in earlier posts I find the television Broadcasters position a bit galling since they have done so much to undermine local television programming themselves over the last 30 years. But, some of the facts in this argument need a second look.

• Cable companies pay nothing for the CBC, CTV and Global signals they distribute. They earn a good deal of revenue distributing that same product.
• Television station in smaller communities are marginal at best and those that have survived so far, are on the verge of shutting down all together.
• TV Broadcasters are loosing money hand over fist. CTV lost $100 million this year, CBC has a $171 million shortfall and CanWest Global...well, they are in a league of their own and may not survive at all.
  

I urge you to follow this link and visit the Friends of Canadian Broadcasting site Read the info and use their automated link to write to the CRTC. It just takes a few seconds. The CRTC isn't known for making bold decisions and needs to hear from Canadians on the issue.