Broadcast subscriber fees considered

Canada’s federal broadcast regulator will consider the issue of a subscriber fee to fund the operations of conventional over-the-air broadcasters, reported CBC. The decision to consider such a fee, to be paid by cable and satellite firms to carry the signals of conventional broadcasters, is a reversal of a position the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission took in May.

The story quoted a speech by CRTC chair Konrad von Finckenstein: “The OTA (over the air) sector has been a mainstay of the Canadian broadcasting system, but there is no mistaking the fact that it now faces significant challenges. Consequently, we have adjusted our approach to the upcoming review.”