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A proposal to take American channels out of basic cable is “nuts,” a Rogers Communications Inc. executive told the country’s top broadcast regulators Thursday.

At a Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission hearing in Gatineau, Que. examining the future of television, Rogers representatives came out in favour of allowing customers to choose their own packages of channels on top of basic cable, but against the pure “a la carte” models and mandated stripped-down basic packages the regulator is proposing. Phil Lind, executive regulatory vice-president and vice-chairman of Rogers, said he was particularly concerned about a proposal to take American networks out of basic cable packages.

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“You’re offering something that doesn’t have all the channels that are available,” Mr. Lind said. “It’s crazy, as marketing. It’s nuts.”

Rogers executives said they were afraid that if the CRTC required cable companies to allow customers to choose and pay for only the channels they want, American networks like AMC and A&E would pull out of Canadian cable completely. Rogers pointed out they now have the option to sell their programs to an online video provider like Netflix Inc. or create their own online services instead.