COMMENTARY: Dropping the LPIF could be a mistake. A TV review topic for the CRTC

ELEVEN MONTHS AGO, the CRTC announced it would get rid of the Local Programming Improvement Fund, a line item applied to the monthly bill of every cable, satellite and telco TV subscriber in the country which was dreamed up and made part of the 2008 Broadcast Distribution Undertaking policy as a stop-gap measure to aid local, non-major-market broadcasters. It has brought in just over $100 million a year for local private and CBC broadcasters since 2010 ($112 million in 2012), roughly split 60-40 in favour of the privates. Former Commission vice-chair telecom and acting chairman Len Katz was not a...