Merged QMI/Sun Media TV News thread

[Brad Sallows]

I would prefer an intelligent conservative media alternative.  Is anyone taking orders?

 

[Rick Goebel]

Hamish Seggie said:

"There are several stations on my package I have to take, by decree of the CRTC. APTN is one, and I'm pretty sure CTV, CBC, Global and CITY are mandatory as well."

I don't know which of these are "mandatory carriage". but to get cable in Calgary I have to buy a basic cable package that includes CBC - CBRT Calgary (channel 6), CBC - CBXFT Alberta (Fr) (channel 9), and CBC Newsworld (channel 15).  In addition to the over a billion dollar a year federal stipend, CBC gets paid for my cable subscription for each of these three services.

While I don't think that Sun News Network (channel 177) and part of a Tier 4 package should have been granted mandatory carriage, I also don't think that I should be forced to pay for the three CBC services I pay for.

Perhaps with a more level playing field, Sun News Network could have hung on.

 

[FJAG]

. . .
I don't know which of these are "mandatory carriage".
. . .

Wikipedia lists mandatory must carry / must distribute channels here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9%281%29%28h%29_order

:cheers:

 

[kratz]

Does anyone remember the conjoined media assault 2008-2010 when Bell and Rogers fought to maintain their market share?
Seeing Bell ads spoofing red Rogers colours, and seeing Rogers with ads spoofing blue Bell.  There was deliberate marketing confusion then...and this "fight" maintained the majority of consumers focused on the two big players, when Sun Media was starting into the market.

 

[a_majoor]

Ezra Levant takes his show on the road. His opponents must be having kittens realizing that there are enough people out there who want this kind of news/opinion to successfully crowdfund such an effort. The CRTC may have killed SUN News by strangling it financially, but this is the age of Libertarianism as a Social Movement, and gatekeepers like them can not only be successfully defied, but easily bypassed as well:

https://ricochet.com/dont-like-news-crowdsource/

Don’t Like the News? Crowdsource Your Own.
Cameron Gray
March 9, 2015 at 3:35 pm ( 15 hours ago )

Something remarkable is happening in Canada right now. Something that will change the future of news media.

On Feb. 13, Sun News Network went dark, as did the jobs of about 200 employees, including very talented people like Ezra Levant, Brian Lilley, and Faith Goldy. Sun News was often called Canada’s Fox News, featuring reporting and analysis from a conservative point-of-view, and serving as a balance to very liberal Canadian news outlets.

The shutdown was not unexpected. Sun’s eventual downfall started in August 2013, just two years after the network debuted. Unlike it had for the CBC and CTV, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) denied it a spot on basic cable TV packages nationwide. This severely limited the amount of viewers Sun could attract. From the Globe and Mail’s Steve Ladurantaye:


The unprofitable (and controversial) channel won’t get any financial help from Canada’s broadcast regulator, throwing its future into doubt just two years after it went to air with a promise of “hard news and straight talk.”

The controversial all-news channel hoped to be forced onto basic digital television subscriptions across the country, but the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission rejected its application despite the channel’s insistence that its heavy reliance on Canadian content made it a logical fit for wide distribution.

The channel is losing about $17 million a year, and its executives vowed to pull the plug if it didn’t receive the designation.

The next nail in Sun’s coffin occurred in October 2014. From Huffington Post Canada’s Sunny Freeman:


The struggling Sun News Network suffered another blow this week after Canada’s broadcast regulator ruled against it in a payment dispute with Rogers, the country’s largest cable company.

The CRTC sided with Rogers in hearings to determine how much the cable company should pay Sun News, which says it is fighting for all news services to be treated fairly,regardless of their editorial stance.

The decision denies the financially troubled news network a deal that would have helped to shore up future revenue for the channel, which has run up losses in the $16-million to $18-million range annually.

After years of uphill battles and unsuccessful negotiations to sell the network, Sun set.

But out of the ashes of Sun News Network, a phoenix is rising.

It all started with a tweet:


Sun News was beautiful, but it’s gone. See what @ezralevant is doing next: http://t.co/QFeSNfnJg7 #cdnpoli #tcot #roft

— The Rebel (@TheRebelTV) February 14, 2015

And a YouTube video by Ezra Levant called: “Help us crowdfund TheRebel.media”



And with that, The Rebel was born.

A true rebel. A rebel not started by a major media conglomerate or Fortune 500 business. A rebel built by other rebels — Canadians tired of their liberal media.

In what can only be described as remarkable, The Rebel is crowdfunding an entire news network, and asking people to help fund everything from cameras, microphones, and lights, to hosts, producers, and editors.

They are crowdfunding cameras:



Crowdfunding reporters:



Even crowdfunding Red Bull and pizza for the staff:



Quite quickly, the essentials of a news network are being assembled.

Again, Ezra Levant, with a crowdfunding update:



All of this should scare the heck out of the mainstream media, in any country. Here in America, we are seeing the dinosaur media with record low viewership, while alternative online news sources are thriving. No longer do people have to rely on the traditional gatekeepers of media. And as The Rebel in Canada is showing, people will help pay for quality, accurate journalism. This is a fantastic thing that should, and will, be replicated, a lot.

 

[jollyjacktar]

Ezra Levant takes his show on the road. His opponents must be having kittens realizing that there are enough people out there who want this kind of news/opinion to successfully crowdfund such an effort. The CRTC may have killed SUN News by strangling it financially, but this is the age of Libertarianism as a Social Movement, and gatekeepers like them can not only be successfully defied, but easily bypassed as well:

https://ricochet.com/dont-like-news-crowdsource/

I subscribed to "The Rebel" when it came out.