Consumers could wind up with many more choices about what they watch on TV and how they pay for it, given sweeping new proposals from the country’s broadcast regulator announced Thursday.

According to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission’s “Let’s Talk TV” draft paper, Canadian TV could change drastically, from the cost of basic TV programming being capped at $20 to $30 monthly, to American Super Bowl ads being aired north of the border.

“The way of watching TV is morphing. It’s evolving with time and we don’t want to be stuck in a regulatory framework; we want to adapt to how Canadians are consuming TV in the new reality,” said CRTC spokeswoman Patricia Valladao. “We want that to change with them. Everything is on the table for discussion.”

The document, produced after consultations with industry and more than 10,000 public online comments, is meant to focus a public hearing taking place in Quebec from Sept. 8 to Sept. 19 that will explore the future regulation of the Canadian television system. The paper states it is “intended only to provide parties with a possible model and to stimulate discussion and debate.”

The CRTC aims to make regulatory changes by December 2015.

According to the paper, the commission could require broadcasters to offer a basic service made up primarily of local Canadian channels, to which users could add individual channels in a pick-and-pay structure.

What do you think?

“I think that’s positive. Where I say they could have gone a bit further is with their proposal to include all local Canadian channels, including channels not taxpayer supported, such as the big telecom channels City TV and CTV,” said David Christopher, spokesman for Internet freedom advocacy group OpenMedia.ca.

“Perhaps they could have gone a bit further with flexibility there and simply said the basic package needs to include CBC, APTN and a few other taxpayer-supported channels and then perhaps let people pick and chose whether they really want to get City TV or CTV.”

One consumer group says the CRTC hasn’t gone far enough and should allow Canadians a “pure choice.”

“What store do you walk into, or anywhere else, where you’re told you’ve got to buy certain things before you can buy what you want?” said Bruce Cran, president of the Consumers’ Association of Canada.

Consumers should be allowed to buy TV channels one at a time, without having to pay for a basic service, no matter how pared down, he said.

“It makes absolutely no sense as far as the consumers’ point of view.”

Still, Cran said he understands the CRTC has a mandate under the Broadcasting Act to ensure a certain amount of Canadian content, and that programming is delivered that reflects “Canadians to Canadians.”

Under the CRTC proposal, viewers could also chose from build-your-own channel packages, or continue to buy the pre-assembled packages currently on the market. And they would no longer have to seek out American Super Bowl commercials online, since simultaneous substitutions would no longer be allowed.

“Every time there is a Super Bowl game, people come to us and we have to clarify. There is a fact sheet on the website to explain it’s not us. We don’t force them to do that. They have to do that because of the benefits of having local advertising in big games,” said Valladao.

For the first time, broadcasters could be allowed to count what they spend on original programming produced for the Internet toward what they are required to spend on Canadian programming. According to the draft, this would encourage broadcasters to make more Canadian content online. And it proposes allowing television stations and networks to count revenues from online or other delivery platforms toward their overall revenue base.

At the same time, the commission is considering allowing local TV stations to shut down their transmitters — a move that might not go over well with consumers who prefer to get TV programming over the air.

Canadians, especially members of multicultural communities, would have access to more ethnic and third-language programming, with the elimination of the requirement that consumers must first subscribe to Fairchild TV, Telelatino, Talentvision, Asian Television Network or Odyssey if they want to subscribe to any other Canadian or non-Canadian channel in the same language.

Christopher is disappointed that the changes won’t come into force until December 2015.

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“Given that this consultation has already been running all year, it seems like a long lead-in time before Canadians can actually benefit from some of these changes,” he said.

“You have to get the broadcasters to comply. To make the changes that are necessary, you have to give them time,” said Valladao.

The CRTC is accepting online comments and suggestions until the last day of the hearings.

With files from The Canadian Press

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