Metro Vancouver board approves staff recommendation regarding Shaw TV
On Friday (November 27), the Metro Vancouver board approved a staff recommendation that won't please Shaw TV.
Earlier this week, the Straight reported that regional staff were seeking the board's approval to file a submission to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission.
The submission calls upon the federal broadcast regulator to remove Shaw's name from the community channel in Metro Vancouver.
Shaw got into this mess in part because it gave a rotten time schedule to Metro Vancouver's TV show, The Sustainable Region. Eight of the 10 spots are in the middle of the night. The "primetime" spot was at 10:30 p.m. on Wednesdays.
Now, the CRTC will evaluate Metro Vancouver's submission, which includes a detailed denunciation of the way Shaw has operated the community channel in this region since taking control from Rogers a few years ago.
Shaw has been overplayed its hand by pushing its own programming over contributions from the community on the community channel. As a result, it has alienated municipal officials across the region.
It couldn't come at a worse time for the cable giant. Shaw is trying to persuade the CRTC that its operation of the community channel is proof that it is providing benefits to the community. The broadcasters, on the other hand, want the CRTC to force Shaw and other cable operators to pay a fee for disseminating their conventional television station signals. Shaw opposes this fee, which is has dubbed the "TV tax".
Metro Vancouver has undermined Shaw's message by approving the staff report on Friday. And Shaw has no one to blame but itself.
Comments
2 Comments
Fade to black
Nov 30, 2009 at 9:49am
I used to bust my ass for Shaw's community channel in Edmonton. I used to believe in the benefits of Community access,but one day after giving them the best hours of my days I was told that things just weren't working out and that they were going in a different direction. They now charge HUGE amounts of money for community groups to rent their mobile production truck to cover events. This IS NOT Community Access. They fazed out their volunteer program in favour of cast out broadcasters from radio & television in Edmonton.
19Marie71
Dec 24, 2009 at 3:42pm
Cable sucks this year, it's Christmas Eve and there's nothing on for Christmas movie, not even The Christmas Story is on. All that's on for movies is the Star Wars movies whoohoo!!
Why charge so much when the only entertainment are the commercials??