TELUS Communications, Saskatchewan Telecommunications and MTS Allstream in a joint submission last month tell the CRTC to go ahead and license more pay television services. The submission was filed in a process undertaken by the commission to determine if it should greenlight any of the four applicants seeking a pay TV licence. Quebecor Media Inc.’s Boom TV, Spotlight TV headed by George Burger and Larry Tanenbaum, Allarco Entertainment’s unnamed channel, and Channel Zero’s Canadian Film Channel are all looking to break the pay TV monopolies held by Astral Media in eastern Canada, and by Shaw Communications Inc.-owned Corus Entertainment in the west. The western-based telcos, which have had trouble coming to terms with Shaw on pay-per-view (PPV), are welcoming with open arms new competition (CCR, Sept. 4/03). But the telcos caution they don’t want to be forced to have to carry any new pay TV service.

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