Bundling stymies CRTC push for skinny basic
GATINEAU, QUE. • The big four TV service providers are defending how they rolled out new, trimmed-down TV packages earlier this year, denying in hearings Wednesday that they were being “paternalistic” with customers by placing restrictions on the cheapest of their offerings.
The chairman of the Canadian Radio- television and Telecommunications Commission opened two days of hearings studying the newly mandated basic cable and satellite packages, saying some appreciate the new offerings, but many clearly are not happy with how the new package choices were implemented.
“We received a number of comments from satisfied Canadians,” Jean- Pierre Blais said. “However, other Canadians are dissatisfied and shared their concerns and frustrations about the way some providers are offering the affordable basic package and the new smaller channel packages.”
Blais pointed to one example of a cable customer who, while inquiring about a $ 25 package, was told he’d lose discounts on other services that added up to double that price.
The so- called “skinny basic” TV packages were mandated March 1, along with channel bundles of 10 channels or less, or à- la- carte programming.
Blais said one of the most common consumer complaints was that service providers made it complicated to switch services, noting in particular that Rogers Communications Inc., required customers to visit a Rogers store to finalize channel selections. But Rogers said that ensures customers get the services they want.
Many of the hundreds of complaints received by the CRTC and the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) centred on requirements imposed by some carriers, including Bell, to buy other services such as Internet, in order to gain access to the mandated smaller TV service.
Just ahead of the hearings, Bell announced Tuesday that it would offer its smallest TV package as a “stand- alone” service by March 2017, eliminating the bundling requirement.