The great "skinny basic" experiment officially begins on Tuesday, and has been the subject of much debate and speculation here. This was put into place by the CRTC, ostensibly as part of its more 'consumer' friendly attitude towards regulation. And then I come across this Toronto Star article which seems to at least partially contradict that 'help the customer' leaning.

 "As cable and satellite service providers ready low cost “skinny basic” TV plans to be launched by March 1, Videotron has been told it can’t offer additional channels for the same price. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission on Wednesday denied the Quebec-based distributor’s request to provide more content even though the plan would have conformed to the CRTC’s $25 per month cap.

The regulator said Videotron would have exceeded the maximum number of local and regional channels allowed under its rules.Videotron said it wanted to continue offering the channels, including CTV Montreal and Canal Savoir, in the interest of consumers and to simplify marketing efforts. But the CRTC said the move would blur the distinction between entry level and first-tier services and could encourage others to submit similar applications. It would also run contrary to its goal of establishing a service for Canadians who want only a basic package." 

So let me get this straight. A competitor to the big cabals tries to offer something extra (albeit relatively minor) as part of its skinny basic package and the CRTC says no, because others might offer even more? How, exactly, is that consumer friendly? As long as the price is $25 and no more, they should be able to offer as many channels as they want.  

The tone seems to be that it's anti-competitive (absolutely laughable, considering the normal practices of Bell and Rogers) and that everybody has to offer the same or the nearly the same in their skinny basic package.

My question is how can that possibly be justified? If I run a grocery store and want to offer a special that says 'buy these grapes and you get five bananas for free,' is some government body going to come in and say, 'sorry, that's not fair to Loblaws and you have to stop.' No, of course not. It's absurd. What Videotron tried to do was commendable, not condemn-able. And it makes me wonder what the real skinny is behind this skinny basic package that officially launches on Tuesday.

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(By the way, Bell's response in the article for comment on its slimmed down package is equally hilarious, with just hours to go before the launch date. “For competitive reasons, we don’t announce new offerings in advance of their availability,” [a spokesman said.] Wow. If not yet, then when? )

Last edited by RadioActive (February 26, 2016 11:44 am)