Canada Gives Cable Consumers Choice

U.S. Should Follow Canada’s Example

The Parents Television Council praised the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) for ruling yesterday that cable and satellite providers must offer subscribers a way to choose and pay for only the networks they want. “Oh Canada -- what an historic day for your cable customers! Today’s announcement by the CRTC allows our friends to the north the freedom to choose and pay only for the cable networks they want. Let’s have that same freedom here in the US-of-A,” said PTC President Tim Winter. “America should follow Canada’s shining example and give cable customers real freedom of choice in this country. Congress and the FCC could craft such a solution, or the cable industry could implement change on its own. Either way, Americans are fed up with the bloated programming bundle. Consumers are cutting the cord and services like Apple TV and Sling are being offered, making it clear that the current cable model cannot continue. “If ‘Cable Choice’ were to happen in the U.S., cable networks would be forced to compete for the consumers’ business, instead of perpetuating the cartel-like powers they currently hold. ‘Cable Choice’ is the ultimate free market solution to this problem and would help control costs for consumers in this country. It would also allow parents and families not to be forced to underwrite graphic, explicit and increasingly pornographic content in order to receive the programming they do want coming into their homes. That’s a winning solution.”