Consumers are largely opposed to the prospect of paying more for television because of fee-for-carriage, according to a report from the CRTC.

The 25-page report summarizes comments received last December during hearings on the contentious issue, and arrives after the CRTC last month gave, in principle, conventional broadcasters approval to charge such fees to cable and satellite companies.

The two primary themes that emerged, the report says, were a concern for the future of local television and an overriding opposition to paying more for the programming. ‘It is clear from the record of this proceeding that most consumers are opposed to paying more for television services,’ the report states.

A similar conclusion was reached by Mediabrands Canada and M2 Universal in a survey conducted last May. The study found that 42% of people interviewed said they would cancel their conventional channels rather than pay more for them, while only 16% said they’d pay more to keep them, notes Mediabrands chairman Hugh Dow.

‘So obviously there would be a very significant consumer backlash to any increase in fees,’ says Dow. ‘Admittedly, that was a year ago, and perhaps things were a little tighter for consumers than they are now, but regardless, that’s a phenomenal amount of consumers that are obviously not prepared to pay any more. The implications for that are major. If they cancel channels, that means no viewing, and no viewing means no advertising revenue.’

The CRTC notes a few caveats, however. It found that the ad campaigns waged by the broadcasters had an influence on the public, most significantly the ‘Stop the TV tax’ spots which claimed fees could be as high as $10 per month per customer, a figure on which, it says, many respondents based their reactions. ‘The consumer reaction to such a fee can be characterized as one of outrage,’ the report states.

However, when asked how they would react to a fee regardless of price point, the most common responses from the public were that they would either switch to ‘other sources’ of TV programming, ‘re-evaluate’ their cable packages or even their choice of TV as their information and entertainment medium of choice.

From Media in Canada