Memo to Broadcasters: You need a number, and a concept, to fight with

THE PUBLIC RELATIONS war between Canadian BDUs and broadcasters over fee-for-carriage got a little sillier yesterday.Right away, I already know the broadcasters are reading that opening line and getting hot under the collar. “It’s not fee-for-carriage, it’s value-for-signal,” or “it’s about the right to negotiate for fair value for our signals,” they are muttering.And now, the BDUs out there are thinking “screw that, it’s a fee, call it what it is.”In an extreme nutshell, broadcasters are trying to re-frame the debate saying now they only want the ability to negotiate for a fee for their local TV signals, which Canadians...