Monday, June 14, 2010
Affirmative Action For Fox News North?
Dan Leger thinks the CRTC, under pressure from Stephen Harper's Conservative government, will "find a way" to put make Fox News North part of the basic cable package, thus giving the new tv station a guaranteed revenue stream out of the pockets of unwitting and unwilling Canadian cable subscribers. My opinion: if FNN is willing to fight for its audience--like Al Jazeera, for example--then let 'em come. But I would strongly oppose handouts for what appears to be a line-up of has-beens from the Reform Party era. And since this application will come under enormous public scrutiny, I suspect Stephen Harper will keep a mile away from the process, and will accept whatever decision the CRTC makes with uncharacteristic grace.
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12 comments:
I can't believe that Canadians see a necessity to this monstrosity.
Wish somebody would explain why a 24/7 Harpercon informercial channel is so necessary here.
I wouldn't mind seeing this come to fruition. First, I don't think it would survive long-term as it's audience will be limited here &, secondly, it will be fun to watch the garbage, lies, & spin all focussed in one network instead of across the spectrum. The more right wing pundits there the less frequent on the other channels.
"...thus giving the new tv station a guaranteed revenue stream out of the pockets of unwitting and unwilling Canadian cable subscribers."
Oh, so Fox-North would need to feed from the public teat huh? I wish these assholes would practice what they preach about pure capitalism and the evils of broadcasting subsidies.
@penlan:
It would survive long term if it's getting fed from the cable subscriber subsidies.
As an aside, this is precisely the reason I refuse to subscribe to Cable or Satellite TV - my subscription fees go to a lot of channels that I have zero interest in, and no willingness to subsidize.
Having worked in the industry, I can confirm what lengths right-wing cable/sat owners went through to get Fox "News" Channel up here. Alberta also has the highest "request for" and viewer base for Fox News.
CK:
In a society where freedom of expression and freedom of the press are fundamental rights, it should not be a matter of proving "necessity", but simply of exercising one's rights.
I'm tired of the government deciding what Canadians "need" in terms of broadcasting.
rabbit - what freedom of the press. Harper has blocked that. He controls the questions and he blocks access to information - some freedom.
So, rabbet, you think every station should be in the basic cable package? I could go with that.
BCL:
The cable companies carry hundreds of channels. There is no shortage of bandwidth.
Thus the proper government response is "carry Fox News Canada if you want and charge for it what you want."
Fox News North? I hope it's not lame.
Who would host the Canadian version of Hannity and Colmes? I'm thinking Jay Currie and BCL.
Does Canada produce anyone crazy enough to fill the shoes of Glenn Beck?
I'd get a cable subscription just to watch that.
Terrence C. Watson said...
"Does Canada produce anyone crazy enough to fill the shoes of Glenn Beck?"
Just go on the FD forum to see for yourself. Quite a number there that are a few french fries short of a Happy Meal.
Cable companies do not have unlimited bandwidth. HD channels are compressed on the analogue channels which preceded them (that is why "over the air" HD signal is much, much better than anything your cable/sat provider can do). With the switch to HD, more bandwidth is being used (not that the HD channels use more bandwidth, but because there are so many more digital and HD channels available daily - while providers still need to provide the "bandwidth pigs" like analogue). This limits the amount of channels a provider can "push". Internet users use more and more bandwidth every day. The cable tycoons have started creating different "levels" of service, with different costs. You want more bandwidth, you pay for it. More people watching interactive games/content online means that there is a struggle. There are online gamers who can't play "full out" because cable companies across the land are throttling down the speed (capping it actually - and using sniffers to find out who's downloading, who's using the most bandwidth - resulting in a phonecall to stop, etc.).
How do I know? Because I've been management at an ISP, and know just what the limits are.
As far as "Fox/NeoCon News North" goes, that channel would replace other content. Viewer demand/popularity/requests, are weighed out against shareholder demands and advertiser demands (Al Jazeera Canada didn't stand a chance, but Fox News got full props, etc., etc.).
I welcome the NeoCon channel, but would love to see a left wing channel to replace it. CTV, CBC, and to a much lesser extent, Global, are fairly "center" in their reporting. There is a need for a "social action" network, or news channel. Canada could do this. Canadians could do this.
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