GATINEAU – CRTC chairman Konrad von Finckenstein pronounced himself “frustrated” with the months-long public battle between broadcasters and BDUs heading into this morning’s Commission hearing into the future of over-the-air TV.
The public battle lines drawn have the broadcasters in one camp demanding a fee and cable/DTH in the other saying if one is imposed, the consumer will have to pay more.
After seeing months of back and forth in print, on TV and online, von Finckenstein said he was “frustrated with this confrontational relationship.”
Could you not throw all into the mix – sit down and work out the relationship, what the regime is and come to me for sanction?” he asked.
“Why should I sort this out?”
Fee-for-carriage, if allowed as currently contemplated, “will be passed on to the consumer, we know that,” said von Finckenstein, who wondered if there isn’t a way where broadcasters and BDUs could lock themselves in a room, negotiate about all the services and products they provide to and for each other and divide the dollars in the system themselves, and work on growing it together.
“All of it is a pie,” he said. “Why don’t you guys split it up and come to me and we say yes or no or not.
“It gives us no joy to be in this kind of situation with them,” responded CTVglobemedia CEO Ivan Fecan. “In no way are we happy to be in this place,.”
Then, referring to the BDUs, he added: “My partner doesn’t want to talk to me, so here I am.”
Von Finckenstein then added he would like the BDUs and broadcasters to sort this out on their own “without being a direct charge to the consumer."
More to come…
