In a battle of Goliath versus Goliath, whom do you root for?

That’s the situation Canadians are facing as two multibillion-dollar money-spinners, the Canadian broadcasting industry and the Canadian cable and satellite industries, duke it out for the country’s hearts, minds, and dollars.

At stake, supposedly, is the future of Canadian television. Or even worse ... higher cable bills!
In this corner are the conventional broadcasters, CTV and Global. After years of easy profitability under the protective umbrella of government regulations, the so-called “local” broadcasters are crying “crisis.” Thanks to a combination of the steady fragmentation of the viewing audience, the growth of the Internet, and the gut-punch of the recession, local TV revenues have decreased. CTV has actually closed a couple of smaller stations in Ontario under their second-tier “A Channel” brand, and threatened to close others. Global has its dreadfully ill-conceived E! Channel on the block. To tug at the old analog heartstrings, CTV has launched a “Save Local TV” PR campaign, portraying itself at a beleaguered ma-and-pa operation just a-fightin’ to stay alive.

The solution? Something called “fee-for-carriage,” a practice by which cable and satellite companies would pay TV stations for retransmitting their signals. The trouble is, cable pays fee-for-carriage only to the American channels they import for our viewing and brain-rotting pleasure. Locals don’t get fee-for-carriage. The broadcasters say just give us some fee-for-carriage, and all will be well. “Local” television will be saved, and our local anchors will continue to get their six-figure salaries for their coveted skill of reading out loud.

In the other corner are the cable and satellite companies, obscenely profitable media giants Shaw and Rogers.

While CTV has gone all down-home and friendly, Shaw is screaming like a Fox News commentator on crack. In Shaw terminology, broadcasters are looking for a “bailout.” The fee-for-carriage request is (shield your eyes if you are sensitive to strong language) a “tax.” According to full-page newspaper ads from Shaw, broadcasters are “holding you hostage, demanding a tax on subscribers as the ransom.” That “ransom” demand, according to Shaw, comes to $6 a month, or $72 a year. 

But the CTV website makes this claim about fee-for-carriage: “We want to make it clear that we do not want the cable and satellite companies to pass on these fees to consumers. Whether the cable or satellite provider increases your monthly bill is independent of fee-for-carriage.” In other words, I guess, CTV wants cable to pay for the fee-for-carriage.

If local broadcasters get a slice of the fee-for-carriage/tax, what will they do with this bonanza? According to CTV’s website, the fees “will be used to sustain local TV.” Liar, liar, says Shaw, which claims the locals will simply turn around and use the money to buy more of that evil American programming that we all love to watch. Canadian TV spent $775 million last year on mostly American TV. (The irony of Shaw questioning the patriotism of broadcasters is delicious. No single industry has done more to destroy Canadian TV than cable, which has funnelled American TV into almost every Canadian home. Shaw has also complained bitterly about paying into the Canadian TV fund, which supports the production of Canadian TV shows.)

And what of the broadcasters’ complaint that cable pays American TV for rebroadcasting, but not Canadian TV? The cable conglomerates say the locals already get a good deal in that Canadian TV gets guaranteed carriage on cable, preferential placement in the TV universe, and free carriage on their super-slick info highway, into which they claim to have invested some $5 billion over the past eight years. 

Is “local” TV hurting? In some cities, yes. But while CTV is claiming poverty, the specialty channels owned by CTV, like the Comedy Network, TSN, MuchMusic, and Discovery, are doing very well. CTV is conglomerate, and like many conglomerates, some arms are muscular, some are skinny and weak. Hey, that’s business.

It’s a complicated issue, but I’m not particularly sympathetic to the broadcasters. This claim of being “local” TV is about as legitimate as Boston Pizza claiming to be a “local” restaurant. CTV and Global have cookie-cutterized their channels, stripping “local” TV of any personality. Their only contributions are newscasts, and in Edmonton at least, they are at best mediocre, mostly a rehash of stories from that day’s newspapers. (Even though nobody watches it, the best local TV newscast is probably CBC Edmonton.)

Would I be willing to pay for local TV, something that has been free since TV came to Edmonton more than 50 years ago? No, I wouldn’t — at least not if they’re only going to offer wishy-washy newscasts that I don’t watch anyway. While I’m not a fan of the cable industry with their ever-rising rates, I’m on cable’s side on this one.

As for “local” TV ... times are tough all over, pal. Just ask the newspaper industry. So suck it up, princess. 

Maurice Tougas is the former Liberal MLA for Edmonton-Meadowlark.
mauricetougas@live.com