CRTC, CBC and CTV.

Three months ago I switched from Shaw to Telus, I was supposed to save at least $30 a month by doing so, I didn't, but I knew that was going to happen because of the stupid CRTC rules. I did it so that one company provides my phone, internet and TV, if I could save money too, so much the better.

When we switched, we got 3 months free to sample all the stations Telus offers, then we were supposed to pick the packages and individual stations we wanted. I, of course, forgot to phone them, so last week, I turned on the TV, and only the essential stations were available. Here's what I can't figure out, the CBC news station was available, but CTV news had disappeared, if I wanted it back, I was going to have to pay for it, but not CBC news. Now, is that because of the CRTC rules? If so, why does one Canadian news station get special treatment over another, not that I like either one much.

I phoned up with a list of stations we wanted, supposedly you can get individual stations for $2 a month, I had 5 extra stations that we wanted, surprise, surprise, only one of them could be purchased individually, all the others required me to purchase the package, for example, I wanted TSN, nope, had to purchase the Sports package for $6.

This is all because of the CRTC rules, and those rules are costing us all big time, think about it: Basic service is $22 per month, add the 5 channels I wanted at $2 per month, that's $32 a month, but because some stations have to be packaged, I'm going to be paying $49 per month, so the CRTC rules are costing me $17 extra per month. Now, how many of you are in the same position? Do the math, and it's a sweet deal for TV providers isn't it?

If I was CTV, I'd be ticked off that CBC news is considered a basic station, but CTV news is not, a monopoly by taxpayer paid CBC, it stinks to high heaven. Luckily I finally have Fox news, that alone is worth the $6 for all the news stations, including CTV news.