GATINEAU – After a two-day ad campaign by Shaw Communications that ran in numerous newspapers across the country prior to the company’s appearance at the CRTC’s TV Policy Review hearing Thursday morning, Commission vice-chair broadcasting, Michel Arpin, opened proceedings this morning by letting Shaw executives know he was not pleased.
The ads (which appeared in the Vancouver Sun, Edmonton Journal, Calgary Herald, Winnipeg Free Press, Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, Victoria Times Colonist – which are all in Shaw Cable territories – as well as the Globe and Mail and National Post) asked Canadians to let the CRTC know whether or not they opposed paying more for their TV signals. "How would you like to pay for something you can get for free?" reads the ad, which also said Canadian broadcasters are "crying poverty."
"(T)he CBC, which already receives over $1.2 billion in taxpayer money and subscriber fees, has its hand out again," it reads.
The ad can be viewed by clicking here.
Noting that the public comment period had closed, an irritated Arpin said the Commission has fielded many e-mails and phone calls on the matter now and noted Shaw’s ad campaign was "not the correct way" to handle their opposition to fee-for-carriage. "We are not pleased," added Arpin.
Shaw president Peter Bissonnette told reporters after the company’s presentation that Shaw was concerned too few Canadians knew of the potential that their cable or satellite bills could go up and it wanted to make sure the Commission and others were aware of how consumers feel.
"The media were not representing this story to Canadians (prior to the hearing) so they really didn’t know what was going on. We’ve just taken the time to explain to them what is really going on. They now know," said Bissonnette.
"It’s not an attack on the Commission," added CEO Jim Shaw. "It’s us telling Canadians what’s happening so they can have a voice."
– Greg O’Brien
