CRTC renewing most TV provider licences for one year instead of the usual seven
TORONTO — Canada’s broadcast regulator renewed the licences of most TV service providers for one year, rather than the usual seven-year term, as it keeps a close eye on whether their basic cable offerings are keeping customers’ interests and wallets in mind.
“We have the one-year licence renewal to have a watchful eye on the deployment of this next phase of the Let’s Talk TV policy,” said Scott Hutton, the CRTC’s executive director of broadcasting.
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission’s so-called skinny basic TV policy goes into full effect on Dec. 1.
Since March 1, TV service providers have had to offer customers basic cable packages at no more than $25 monthly, and allow them to add on extra channels individually or through pre-packaged bundles of up to 10 channels. Starting in December, companies must offer both individual and small packages of channels to customers.