Can’t wait to binge on the latest season of Ontario Legislative Assembly? Desperate to get your fix of V, replete with francophone dramas and reality shows?

Never so much as raised an antenna to these channels? Bell TV might be thinking otherwise.

The Montreal-based telecom quietly unveiled its low-cost “Starter” TV package Sunday, primed to start piping out legislative action and local and French-language programming in keeping with the letter of new CRTC requirements.

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission has demanded that cable and satellite service providers offer a slimmed-down package for $25 or less by March 1, with a range of pick-and-pay channels to top it up.

But experts say Bell’s stripped-down deal — devoid of U.S. channels — seems to veer further from the spirit of the new regulations than other carriers and changes little for most consumers, despite the CRTC’s aim “to give Canadians more choice.”

That choice is “things that we’ve never heard of,” said Dwayne Winseck, a professor at Carleton University’s School of Journalism and Communication.

Winseck noted the absence of American broadcast stalwarts like ABC, NBC and CBS, included in basic Canadian TV packages for decades.

“They’re working to give it a stillbirth,” he said of the roll-out, calling it “retrograde,” “begrudging” and “behind 1970s standards.”

Last year, the CRTC laid out requirements — effective Tuesday — for a “skinny basic” package that features predominantly local and regional programming as an alternative to “big, unwieldy and expensive” bundles, CRTC chair Jean-Pierre Blais said last March.

The basic grouping must include those on CRTC’s mandatory distribution list, like CBC, CTV and Global, as well as public interest stations such as CPAC and minority French- or English-language channels.

It may also include affiliates of U.S. networks, though their inclusion is not mandated. Pick-and-pay for stand-alone channels must be available later this year.

The cable TV deals put forward by Bell, Rogers and other carriers may not set off a stampede toward the “starter” packages. But they might hook a small group of customers who might not have subscribed at all, “or might have cut the cord but now will hang on a little longer,” says technology analyst Carmi Levy.

“The CRTC asked for ‘skinny basic,’ and skinny is exactly what consumers are going to get,” Levy said. “If you’re hoping for a screaming deal on a premium specialty channel like HBO, you will be sadly disappointed.”

Bell’s entry-level package, posted online without fanfare two days before deadline, costs $24.95 per month. It counts the Weather Network, TVO and 10 francophone channels among its 26 offerings, according to the Bell website.

Extra à la carte channels for $4 or $7 range from TSN to Discovery and CNN. Like other Bell cable packages, the Starter kit requires a Bell Internet subscription, starting at $64.95 per month, plus $15 monthly for PVR rental.

Bundling discounts or other “sweetener” deals do not appear on offer, making it less attractive to customers like Larry Pinard.

The 62-year-old Etobicoke resident currently shells out $194 per month for Bell’s low-end TV package bundled with high-speed Internet and long distance.

Pinard said it was “outrageous” to tack on $7 each for channels like CNN on top of the Starter package. “If you start adding that up, it’s just crazy.”

“Our new TV Starter offering is for customers who want to either create their own package by selecting channels and packs individually or just have a basic TV service,” Bell spokesperson Jacqueline Michelis told the Star in an email Sunday.

“Bell TV packages all comply with CRTC rules.”

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Toronto-based Rogers Communications said last week it will offer customers the entry-level service for $24.99 per month (plus digital box rental or purchase). The basic plan also includes U.S. channels such as Fox, NBC and PBS, unlike Bell.

Small Internet-based TV service VMedia of Toronto has already unveiled a package priced well under the CRTC cap that includes the mandatory Canadian channels plus five American networks.

Calgary-based Shaw Communications on its website now offers a Limited TV plan for $25 per month with 40 channels, including major U.S. networks like ABC and Fox.

Sales staff at Bell and Rogers were recently instructed to downplay the Spartan packages, with virtually no advertising, CBC News has reported.

CRTC chairman Jean-Pierre Blais has said the spirit of the CRTC decision ought to be respected, citing an “obligation to promote” the basic service.

If the CRTC deems some companies to be disregarding the intent of the decision, the regulator will take action against them, he added.

Levy noted that carriers must walk a fine line between meeting the CRTC’s requirements and maintaining a viable business model in a period of intense, Internet-driven change.

“I don’t think anyone expected miracles here. I don’t think it’s fair to fault anyone,” he said.

“There is no free lunch in entertainment.”

With files from Michael Lewis and The Canadian Press.

Note - February 29, 2016: This article was edited from a previous version that referred to Bell TV as Bell Media.

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