TORONTO – The majority of Canadians say that they support their local TV stations, and that cable and satellite companies should as well, a study by Nanos Research has found.
About 70% of respondents said that they supported the statement that ‘local TV stations should receive a portion of the amount that customers pay on their monthly bill for cable or satellite TV’. When asked if ‘the government should force the cable companies and broadcasters to negotiate payment for local TV signals’, 72% agreed. Over half (57%) agreed that ‘local TV stations will close if cable companies don’t pay for the local TV signals’.
"Canadian consumers get it”, said Paul Sparkes, EVP of corporate affairs for CTVglobemedia, in the press release. “They’ve heard both sides of the argument and clearly support our position that cable and satellite companies must sit down and negotiate. We want to continue to deliver trusted local news and community programming, and Canadians are overwhelmingly behind us."
The random telephone survey of 1,005 Canadians was conducted from October 10 through October 18, 2009. The margin of accuracy for a sample of 1,005 is +/- 3.1%, 19 times out of 20.
