The local tv tax

[KharmaGirl]

I could care less if the station name is CTV Canada if all they show is crappy Desperate Housewives crap. I care about the local programming. That's been my point all along. I like my news being shot and broadcast from my city. With people who know and care about this city. Not from someone who grew up elsewhere and is just reporting cause it's their job. You can't tell me that is safe when some local channels have already stopped producing local news. There ain't no more Local A channel news in my city. Other local news across the country has also already shut down. So no, I don't trust that my particular favourite local news is safe.

 

[Dr Dog]

I have never lived in a town big enough ( except when i cared about where i lived...the city)

But the majority of my life I have never had local news, our news come from the Toronto or Buffalo or Detroit stations. Pretty much always have. I have no idea what is goin on locally.

so the local thing does not hold any sentimental value to me

 

[KharmaGirl]

And that's cool. Like I said, I know not everyone is a news junkie. But, for those of us who do watch the news, I think we should at least have the option of what we want to watch and not be subjected to 2 choices: The National ( I watch that once in awhile too, but it doesn't tell me what's going on outside my front door) or American news. I figure if I appreciate local news, there's probably others like me too and we shouldn't have to pay $10 for local programming.

This is fun, but I'm missing hockey

 

[Dr Dog]

here is an idea for you

A lot of municiplaties are looking into supplying free internet, via WiFi thoughout their towns.

There will come a time, that the internet will be like water in peoples homes.

So local broadcasts take to the net most everybody has a pc of some sort by this point

So they get content from both sources, kind of like suntv in Ontario or msNBC

costs stay low for the broadcasters, and it is a fast growing media

Once people stop watching broadcast television, which is happening, the cable companies and satelitte companies will turn to another source of revenue, to replace the channels that stop broadcasting

Everything is moving to an ondemand world, I know I never watch anything LIVE anymore, even sports I delay the start of

 

[snaggy]

I have never lived in a town big enough ( except when i cared about where i lived...the city)

But the majority of my life I have never had local news, our news come from the Toronto or Buffalo or Detroit stations. Pretty much always have. I have no idea what is goin on locally.

so the local thing does not hold any sentimental value to me

Sounds like you forgotten about Windsor, Wingham, London, Kitchener, Hamilton which would be central (and prob. more local) to what you explained.


And yes.
The biggest killer to TV, Radio, Newspapers, and definitely Printing companies is ..................................... the World Wide Web!

 

[Dr Dog]

where the heck is Wingham

 

[Strike99]

where the heck is Wingham

by Lake Huron.... north west of Kitchener... near Goderich

 

[Dr Dog]

LOL where is Goderich,

what happens in places like that , that require local tv

 

[Strike99]

lolz.... like right by south east side of Lake Huron.....pull out a map

street closures, fairs/town events... there are a lot of things that national news does not address/would want to address that local would(unless this is a case of because they have the local TV they don't feel the need to address certain things...)... I am unsure... but I do not see a benefit in losing something that allows a community to focus on topics that would never get touched by larger networks... and being that reading news papers is becoming the thing of the past... i feel that the majority of people are getting information about their communities from the local networks or from some one who had viewed it.... that is just a personal opinion from what I have experienced/seen....

 

[flubnutz]

i can see local papers, tv closing down and being replaced by the 'net ... happening already. less overhead i'm betting. there's always a market for local news, it's just a matter of where you're getting it. i'm sorry, but i hate those s.o.b.'s, really, a monopoly trying to extort more money out of us. fcuk them.

 

[fatigues]

The cable bills have got ridiculously high. One more significant increase, we'll just get a HD antenna.

I expect the CRTC will approve the increase anyways. But this time, I expect to see a significant hit in people dropping cable. They are at the breaking point, and television watching habits have changed. Using torrents and the web as a PVR is beginning to take a significant chunk of viewers - and that is only going to increase as tech savvy youth get older.

When the marginal cost of that cable TV convenience approaches, after taxes, close to $100 a month? The numbers going to HD antennas and turning to torrent distribution will accelrate even higher.

I'm not even sure if there is a PLACE for local TV anymore in the longterm.

 

[danny karey]

Lodnon news sucks ballz, I wouldn't miss it, or any news station for that matter......It's all doom and gloom BS anyway.

Fuck the tv tax i say, it's pretty much a no-brainer really, especially with so many people out of work who can't afford the extra 10$ on there monthly cable bill, just to watch the local news, com'on!!!!

Danny

 

[intlplayr]

Yeah..........Rogers doesn't have to charge us....if they had paid up in the first place, like they were supposed to, they wouldn't be forced into doing do now. They don't have to charge us for their unwillingness. If Rogers really cared about the communities they are involved in and cared about their customers they wouldn't be passing the buck to us. They can afford the tax without us paying it. They are just greedy and don't want to pay their fair share. Yet, they use the programming the smaller stations produce. Not very fair.

yep, it's called a corporation and by definition, unless forced by gov't reg's, the only interests they look out for is the interests of their shareholders...