Pick-and-pay still has many ‘pitfalls’ for consumers: PIAC

As the CRTC’s rules requiring all TV providers to allow customers to sign up for channels individually came into effect Thursday, the regulator emphasized that consumers have to take responsibility to ensure they’re getting a good deal — a process the head of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) said is a significant amount of work for the average person. PIAC executive director John Lawford said in a phone interview “there’s a lot of pitfalls if you don’t, quote-unquote, do it right, and all the work is up to you.” Speaking on the final of day of a TV licence renewal hearing for English-language broadcasters, CRTC chairman Jean-Pierre Blais said Thursday that if “they’re unsatisfied with their TV services, Canadians have a responsibility as informed consumers to do their homework.” The new rules are the second and final phase of the commission’s skinny basic regime, announced last year. Blais added, according to a written copy of his remarks: “We, the CRTC, have made available online tools to help Canadians shop around for TV services. We have a checklist so they can figure out their needs and their budget. We show them the 5 steps to negotiating a better deal with their provider. We also gave Canadians tools to find other service providers in their area and links to online tools that compare services across the country.” Lawford said following those steps adds up to a lot of work for consumers. “Go to this part of our database, see who provides service in your area, decide what your needs are, make sure you find the information on their website, make sure you double-check that it’s clear, and then … interact with them on the phone with your list of needs printed beside you so you don’t go off message and fall for the ,” he listed. Given the cost of individual channels and, in some cases, skinny basic not being eligible for the same discounts or subject to charges more expensive packages aren’t, the skinny option may not end up being cheaper for some consumers, Lawford noted. “I think most people won’t find it’s that beneficial, because they’re either dropping down to skinny and they’re losing a bunch of stuff, or if they’re starting from skinny, then the pricing for individual channels will be quite high and approaching the basics here anyway,” he said. “So it’s not like a super deal overnight.” On Thursday, the websites of Canada’s largest TV providers listed individual English-language specialty channels for between $3 and $7 per month, while some sports channels cost as much as $15 to $20 per month. The prices at Rogers Communications Inc. and BCE Inc. were similar, at between $4 and $7 for non-sports English-language channels, while some of the highest-priced sports offerings included Bell’s TSN for $18 at Rogers, Bell’s RDS for $17 and Rogers’ Sportsnet World for $20 at Bell in Ontario. Prices at Shaw Communications Inc. and Telus Corp. in B.C. were lower, with Telus fixing most specialty channels at $4 and Shaw ranging between $3 and $5. Higher-priced sports offerings included BeIN Sports for $16 at Telus and Sportsnet World for $17 at Shaw. Independent broadcasting consultant and lawyer Peter Miller said in a phone interview the prices aren’t surprising, given the “vast difference” between the wholesale cost of sports channels and other specialty, non-sports channels. Miller said he agrees with the commission that consumers have to take responsibility, though he disagrees with the approach the CRTC took to pick-and-pay in general, arguing that the CRTC should have focused on creating a more-competitive environment instead of “hyper-regulating the incumbents.” He noted that it’s difficult to determine the success of such policies by judging the number of people who chose the options. The 177,000 subscribers who signed up for skinny basic after the first phase of the regime came into effect make up only a very small percentage of Canada’s 11.2 million TV subscribers, he added. “What makes a success? Is it successful because 20 per cent of people take it or is it successful because it’s there and some people take it that want it?” Blais noted in his remarks that the CRTC recently renewed TV providers’ licences for a one-year term, as opposed to the usual seven-year term and said that “next year, when those licences are up for renewal, we will not hesitate to take action if any provider doesn’t conform to the established policy or respect Canadian consumers and their right to choice.” Miller said such a short licence term was completely unprecedented. “So that’ll be, to me, the most interesting thing to watch. Because it’s obvious the current chair believes very strongly in this direction, and has been the driving force. And if he does leave in June, which is when his terms officially ends if it isn’t renewed, I would say the odds of a successor commission pushing as hard as this commission are not high.” The CRTC is making regulatory changes at the same time that the industry is undergoing technological change, Miller noted. “Five years from now, we’ll be looking back at this time and we won’t know if subscribers have dropped by a million, was it because of the CRTC influence or was it because of the market influence. You can’t really tell,” he said. Lawford said that if the CRTC makes the best practices for TV providers it released in November into official rules in a year’s time, the skinny basic and pick-and-pay system “might really, really work. But in the meantime, it’s going to be a transitional phase. Not perfect for consumers.” He said the risk for the industry is that “people will just say ‘screw this,’ and cut the cord.” — With reporting by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca and editing by Charelle Evelyn at cevelyn@thewirereport.ca

Pick-and-pay still has many ‘pitfalls’ for consumers: PIAC

Broadcast | December 1, 2016

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Pick-and-pay still has many ‘pitfalls’ for consumers: PIAC

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