OTTAWA – The CRTC is asking if it should eliminate winback rules for incumbent cablecos with 6,000 or more subscribers serving multiple-unit dwellings (MUD).
Broadcasting Public Notice 2007-48 was issued Tuesday following a request last month from Rogers Cable Communications Inc. for the elimination of the remaining winback restrictions. The cableco argued the imposition of winback rules on the cable industry creates an asymmetry in the broadcasting system that protects telephone companies entering the TV distribution business and the country’s two satellite TV distributors from the normal workings of a competitive market.
Rogers noted that a similar winback restriction was recently removed with regard to local exchange carriers, even in markets where the incumbent telephone company has close to 100% market share.
Winback rules make large cablecos in MUDs wait 90 days before they contact a customer who has switched to another provider, and prohibits them from offering discounts or other inducements to customers canceling their basic cable TV service.
Comments are due June 6.
