OTTAWA - Canadians will be outraged to pay more to watch the same television stations, but they can afford it, the national broadcast regulator said Tuesday.
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) heard from 365,000 Canadians last fall during hearings on the future of local TV and the possibility of a "TV tax."
On Tuesday it released a report on the impact on consumers of a negotiated compensation system such as the one it recommended broadcasters and cable and satellite distributors adopt Monday.
"Consumers by and large stated that they do not want to pay more for the programming that they currently receive," the CRTC report states. "Some, such as those living on fixed incomes, indicated that they are not able to absorb additional increases to their cable bills at all."
CRTC chair Konrad von Finckenstein said he knows cable and satellite distributors will pass on extra costs to subscribers, a fee estimated at between $1 and $10 more a month, despite the fact the companies raked in $2.3 billion in profits in 2009.
But the TV regulator said it crunched the numbers and believes Canadians, based on their disposable income, can afford rising cable fees and will continue to absorb them.
The price of cable and satellite packages increased by 46.7% since 2002 and distributors continued to gain new subscribers, the CRTC said.
Facts suggest consumers will accept new charges despite believing they are "subsidiz(ing)" an "obsolescent industry," the CRTC concluded.
Heritage Minister James Moore said his government is concerned "by the idea of a new charge on consumers" but it would wait and see whether the Federal Court of Appeal allows the CRTC to send broadcasters and distributors to the negotiating table.
"We will always act in ways that we think will serve the best interest of consumers if we think we need to," Moore said.
Anthony Hemond from the Quebec-based consumer group, l'Union des Consommateurs said the CRTC was demonstrating its arrogance and the Conservatives should step in and cap basic cable packages.
althia.raj@sunmedia.ca
