REGINA – As of Tuesday, TV service providers have to offer “skinny basic” TV packages.
This decision came down from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), which said cable companies and satellite providers must offer a basic channel selection for at most $25 per month.
People in Regina generally like the idea.
“With general cable right now there’s almost too much to choose from,” SaskTel customer Adrienne Gagnon said.
“I think it’s a good idea because then you don’t need to get a bunch of channels you don’t really want to watch,” Michael Bellegarde said.
Bellegarde added that he’s thinking of getting Access Communication’s “Digital Micro” TV package, which costs $19.95 and comes with 26 channels.
“This allows a new framework that changes how things can be packaged. We’re really excited that we’re launching with 50 standalone packages as a pick and pay,” Access Communications Marketing Manager Tami Mitchell said.
But those choices could prove costly.
On the surface, skinny basic offers a less expensive way to watch TV, but some question how much they’ll be paying for the channels they actually want.
“I haven’t had a chance to look at the options yet, but the reports I’ve read say it won’t save most people much of anything, if anything,” Christopher Roberts.
All of the pick and pay channels cost around three dollars, which applies to the 60 offered by Shaw Direct’s “Limited TV” and the 40 available through SaskTel’s “Lite Max TV”.
Each company is marketing their new services differently, and while you can stick with your current plan, it’s now up to the customers to make a choice.
“We haven’t seen a lot of demand for our offering yet. We did launch our Lite Max on Feburary 1,” SaskTel’s external relations manager Greg Jacobs explained.
“So we haven’t seen a lot of demand, which isn’t pulling away from those channels, but that may change in the future.”
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