I must admit, to full disclosure that… I like the Sun News Network. Yes, the presentation is a bit cookie cutter but they bring angles on news stories the other networks don’t cover and occasionally they even break unique stories of their own.
But the SNN has been making news itself lately with word that they have asked the CRTC for mandatory coverage on your cable dial. What is “mandatory Coverage”? Basically, it’s the requirement that that cable/satellite providers must provide certain channels on their lineup. Currently about 20 channels enjoy this perk. With it, comes a low easy to find spot on the dial, signal substation and a small fee from every cable subscriber. It’s this final one that seems to be getting many people upset. “don’t force me to pay for sun news” they say. Actually, I agree with them, no person sould be forced to pay for something they don’t agree with. Fortunately, that same argument can be made about the CBC. But, I’ll digress talking about bias news coverage as there is enough meat on that bone for an entire other article.
All Sun News is asking for is an “equal playing field”. Other Canadian news channels like CTV News Channel and CBC News Network are already required viewing in Canadian homes. It seems ironic that the network that advocates for free markets and less government, is now asking for Government help for it’s very survival. Currently Sun News is losing $10 million a year and without monitory coverage, they may have to shut down.
It’s intriguing to me that the answer to all our problems always seems to be ‘more government’. Another way to put sun news on an equal playing filed would be to remove mandatory coverage for everyone. Allow cable companies to decide themselves what channels to carry and where they appear on the dial. This would lower cable costs, allow us to pick and choose exactly which channels we want to subscribe to and may even put an end to one of the most frustrating parts of the cable viewing experience… seeing the exact same show on 10 stations at the same time. Unfortunately I don’t see that occurring anytime soon.
It’s also interesting to note that Sun News HAD mandatory carriage when they first started but gave up that part of their licence. It’s a long complicated story that I won’t attempt to bore you with here.
I don’t think Sun News (or any of the other channels vying for required viewing) will win their bid, there is simply not enough bandwidth on the dial to accommodate everyone. I hope they can find a way to survive. Diverse voices in the news landscape are important and people should hear all pints of view. And if you think that all news outlets don’t have a bias… your wrong. Oh wait… I said I wasn’t going to comment on that.