OTTAWA-GATINEAU – Two-thirds of Canadians would prefer a basic cable service that is the lowest price possible, and more than half prefer to ‘pick a pack’ of television channels rather than ‘pick and pay’. That’s according to the results of the Let's Talk TV Choicebook questionnaire, released Thursday by the CRTC.
In total, more than 6,300 people filled out the interactive questionnaire issued in February as the second phase of the Let’s Talk TV initiative.
A self-selected group of Canadians undertook the Choicebook process by going to a public site, encouraged to visit through outreach and advertising by the CRTC as well as through word-of-mouth and the encouragement of stakeholders. A total of 6727 people started the Choicebook and answered at least one of the first two substantive policy questions. Questions were not mandatory, so not everyone completed the whole Choicebook. A total of 6068 answered the last question.
Additionally, a select panel of over 1,200 people representative of the Canadian population also filled out the Choicebook. The panel, randomly selected to participate in this study, were invited (by email) to visit the Choicebook site and a total of 1252 completions were achieved. A sample of this size has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8% and the data was weighted based on age within gender within region.
The Commission issued four reports that set out the results:
Analysis of CRTC Choicebook: Public
Analysis of CRTC Choicebook: Panel
Analysis of CRTC Choicebook : Comparison of Panel, Public and Public Weighted
Qualitative Analysis of CRTC Choicebook
As Cartt.ca reported last week, the CRTC is proposing “significant changes” to the Canadian television system to ensure that it fosters choice and flexibility in selecting programs, encourages the creation of compelling and diverse content made by Canadians, and empowers Canadians to make informed choices.
These changes will be discussed at a public hearing beginning on September 8, 2014. With the release of the Choicebook reports, the CRTC also encouraged Canadians to take part in this process by commenting on the proposed changes by June 25, 2014. Participants can also indicate whether they wish to take part in the public hearing.
www.crtc.gc.ca
