CALGARY – In a full page ad which is slated to run in tomorrow’s Globe and Mail, Shaw Communications says it believes over-the-air television has a bright future and it will purchase three stations CTV says it wants to close because it could not find a buyer for them, even for a buck.
The ad, (click here to see it) signed by CEO Jim Shaw, warns Canadians their broadcasters are seeking a bailout worth hundreds of millions of dollars. “They call this Fee for Carriage. Without mincing words, this is a tax. It is a direct tax on you and 10 million Canadian families who are cable or satellite TV subscribers,” reads the ad.
“These broadcasters are threatening to cut local newscasts, cut jobs and close television stations. They are holding you hostage demanding a tax on subscribers as the ransom. Fee for Carriage will result in a $6 a month increase in your cable or satellite bill. That’s $72 more per year,” it adds.
The cable and satellite company’s missive notes that times are hard enough right now and Canadians deserve better than threats to close local news outlets unless consumers fork over “another tax rewarding broadcasters’ poor performance,” it reads.
Noting that CTV has announced the closure of its stations in Wingham, Windsor and Brandon, because the broadcaster couldn’t find anyone to buy them, not even for $1, Shaw says it is willing to take the stations off CTV’s hands. “We believe television has a bright future; Shaw will take them up on their offer and purchase them,” reads the ad.
No word yet on whether CTV will take them up on this offer (or perhaps revise their asking price). And no word out of Shaw whether or not this is a little tongue-in-cheek, meant to provoke, or whether they will buy the stations, should that asking price rise. We’ve asked both for additional comment.
The ad did not mention whether the company will also bid on Canwest’s stable of five E! stations, which are also for sale. Shaw does own a single broadcast station already, CJBN-TV in Kenora, Ont.
“At Shaw, our customers already support these two broadcasters in too many ways. We contributed over $400 million to support the production of Canadian television programming for their networks, including $70 million this year alone.”
Readers who have been following along this week at the CRTC hearing (not to mention many other prior hearings) will know that conventional broadcasters are insisting that the hundreds of millions which a new fee for carriage and an expanded Local Programming Improvement Fund would bring in are necessary for their survival.
“Canadians should not pay for fixing broadcasters’ problems. They’ve spent billions of dollars acquiring foreign programs and media assets and now they say they’re broke? These private companies need to be held accountable for their decisions. They should spend less time lobbying for bailouts and more time managing their businesses,” continues the Shaw ad.
“Canadian broadcasting faces an exciting future. The government has done a remarkable job kickstarting the economy, eliminating unnecessary taxes and assisting Canadian television production. A new tax would drag this progress down. If the broadcasters get this bailout, you can be sure they will be back for more.
“We think it is time to speak out, we should say no to this tax.”
– Greg O’Brien
