The Southern Ontario/WNY Radio-TV Forum / Is This Possible On Canadian Cable? Or Is It Against The Rules?

**Posted by RadioActive** April 6, 2025 7:40 am

I was talking to an old broadcasting colleague of mine Friday night, and he told me something I simply could not fathom. He said he used to like watching “Law & Order Toronto,” but had to stop.

When I asked him why, his answer left me speechless. He’s on Bell and claims they dropped City TV from his package, leaving him unable to see the station. He says he called Bell to ask what happened and was told in no uncertain terms that unless he was willing to pay for it, it was no longer available on his package.

I don’t doubt what he told me but if it’s true, is Bell breaking the law? City TV, even if it is a Rogers property, is also an over-the-air TV station, and should not only be on basic cable, but also as a Canadian TV broadcaster, should be must carry.

Can Bell legally do this? It seems to me they don’t have the right to drop a local free-to-air local Canadian station just because it’s owned by a competitor. If this is true, it’s pretty outrageous. And he should be able to call them on it and demand they restore the channel.

**Posted by Shorty Wave** April 6, 2025 7:48 am

Not too sure about this as I am fairly certain Citytv is part of the “basic” package with Bell, so basically you get it, like it or not. I’m with Bell and Citytv is still there, just checked! Maybe he’s talking about Citytv+, which is a separate service.

**Posted by paterson1** April 6, 2025 8:12 am

Does your friend live in the GTA? I have Bell and CityTV is right beside CBC Toronto. I agree maybe your friend is talking about City+ or the person at Bell thought he meant City+. Does seem odd however that he knew where City was before in the channel lineup and now it isn't there. Did he change his cable package recently? What channel does he now have where City was before?

**Posted by Scarboroughbluffsradiof99** April 6, 2025 9:09 am

Are you sure bell was not scamming him?
I remember rogers blocking the sound on some channels for me.
I had no sound on voiceprint, the fm radio stations, family west and others.
This was in the mid to late 00s

**Posted by Radiowiz** April 6, 2025 9:18 am

I could not find anything about Bell dropping City TV, the channel, but I was able to find this:
AS OF FEBRUARY 25TH 2025 CITY TV VIDEO ON DEMAND IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE WITH BELL.

SOURCE: https://forum.bell.ca/t5/TV/Bell-fibe-tv-app-missing-recorded-City-Tv-channel/td-p/79112

Last edited by Radiowiz (April 6, 2025 9:22 am)

**Posted by tvguy** April 6, 2025 10:44 am

CityTV Toronto and various Citytv branded stations owned by Rogers in Montreal, Calgary, Winnipeg and Vancouver are all up on Bell Satellite and the Bell Fibe App.

I suspect that Rogers withdrew their "rights" granted to Bell to provide Video on Demand content for Citytv.
That would be, likely because of the spat between Rogers and Bell over the re-launch of HGTV Food Network etc. Bear in mind that Rogers is very actively promoting Citytv+ streaming service, which is primarily a video on demand service, within its own broadcasts on Sportsnet, Citytv, etc.

I very much doubt that Bell "dropped" the Citytv VOD content. I think Rogers has blocked Bell. By the way there is no regulatory obligation for a Canadian broadcaster to provide VOD content. But, there's a big qualifier. If for example, Rogers is providing Citytv VOD content to its own systems, such as Calgary and Toronto, and is refusing to provide the same content to Bell, Bell might have an argument, under the "undue preference/undue disadvantage" rules of the CRTC that Rogers is subjecting Bell to an undue disadvantage with respect to the VOD content. It would likely take a complaint from a member of the public, such as your friend to get the ball rolling with the CRTC. Worthwhile to see if Citytv VOD content is on the rogers systems - without a subscription to Citytv+.

I should also add I only have the "basic" Bell satellite service, plus a sports package and one US additional service. So, I can confirm that Citytv is in the basic - lowest level package everywhere.

Last edited by tvguy (April 6, 2025 10:46 am)

**Posted by RadioActive** April 6, 2025 11:25 am

So I just called my friend back for clarification. And it turns out he WAS referring to the on demand service. But what he said was he couldn't get City TV, which made it sound like he meant the station itself. This makes far more sense and I reminded him he could still see L&O: Toronto if he DVR-ed it on Thursday nights at 10. It's virtually the same thing as on demand, because you can watch it whenever you want.

There was a small part of me, though, hoping my first interpretation of it was true. It would not surprise me at all if Bell or Rogers could find a legal way to block each other that they wouldn't jump at the chance to do it!