By The Canadian Press

Skinny Basic TV to be Scrutinized by CRTC

Sep 6, 2016 | 6:43 AM

OTTAWA –  C-R-T-C hearings open this week into the new, trimmed-down 25-dollar cable packages being offered to consumers.

The broadcast regulator and the four biggest television service providers could get an earful on the rollout of so-called skinny-basic T-V.

Hundreds of complaints were filed in the weeks after the C-R-T-C mandated the packages, which came into effect March 1st.

The Consumers’ Association of Canada received about one-thousand complaints in just six weeks and says it appeared many cable providers were trying to discourage consumers from switching to skinny-basic by making it as unattractive as possible.

Bruce Cran says, overall, he doesn’t think Canadians “got anything of value.”

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While the packages themselves were mandated to cost 25-dollars or less, the price often excluded routine discounts, such as those offered for bundling two or more services, but included extra fees for necessities such as the rental of a digital T-V box.

Cran says the C-R-T-C must take responsibility for failing to give clear guidelines to cable and satellite companies for what it considered an acceptable pricing model.

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