Shaw, von Finckenstein showdown in Gatineau averted

After months of name-calling through the press, the anticipated schoolyard showdown between Shaw Communications Inc. CEO Jim Shaw and CRTC chair Konrad von Finckenstein never materialized at the BDU and specialty hearings Thursday as Shaw was a no-show. Von Finckenstein, however, was there, and ready for a fight. "I am somewhat disappointed in not seeing Mr. Shaw here," said von Finckenstein following Shaw's opening remarks. "Given his vociferous views on this hearing, his correspondence, et cetera, I thought he would have done us the courtesy of showing up personally. Sending you, which in his terminology I would characterize as a ‘B Team', I don't think adds to the process....I would have appreciated the opportunity to deal with him on some of these issues one on one, or at least personally in this context." The most recent correspondence from Shaw is April 16 letter to the Prime Minister, in which in reference to the commission he wrote, "Instead of seeing the goals of your government being actively implemented by your departments and agencies, we see a headstrong regulatory authority, pursuing its own agenda." Shaw previously irked the commission when he refused to show up at the Canadian Television Fund hearings in February because von Finckenstein wasn't chairing the proceeding. Thursday's Shaw team was headed by president Peter Bissonnette and senior VP of corporate and regulatory affairs Ken Stein. And in absence of Jim Shaw's hearing-room theatrics the intervention was a lot of been there/done that, but that's what happens when you're the last BDU to present and it's the 11th day of a 12-day process. The Shaw wish list - no fee for carriage, eliminate genre protection, no guaranteed access, and allow advertising on local avails and VOD - was not surprisingly similar to that of Rogers Communications Inc., Bell ExpressVu, et al. However, Shaw has been much more vocal than Rogers on increasing the availability of US services in Canada. While Rogers wants genre exclusivity maintained with respect to foreign services, Shaw wants all barriers to entry removed. "We feel that Canadian programming, to the extent that it is suffering difficulties, would be better if it had to be more competitive with the U.S. programming and differentiate itself and make itself more relevant to Canadians," said Stein. "If you had a home and garden that was telling you how to grow vegetables in southern Georgia, it wouldn't be of much relevance to somebody in Alberta who is trying to shovel snow out of their driveway." Shaw does not agree with Rogers' five broad genre categories proposal; Shaw wants no genre rules whatsoever. In fact, the only regulations Shaw wants maintained is a preponderance of Canadian programming services delivered to customers, and a minimum basic cable package. Leaving everything else to market forces, argues the BDU, is the best way to respond to consumer choice. "The problem is, we are administering the Broadcasting Act which doesn't say ‘do what the customer wants, customer satisfaction is your number one priority,'" said von Finckenstein. "So saying that is what my customer wants is not the only answer. I mean, we have to look at everything through the prism of the objective that Parliament prescribed and how do we marry those?" CTVglobemedia backs up the commission Before dismissing the Shaw panel, the chair joked that "it seems to be in vogue these days to write to the Prime Minister and copy the CRTC proceedings," in reference to a letter issued by CTVglobemedia Thursday, one that painted the commission in a more positive light. "I encourage you and your government to let the process continue and allow the CRTC to complete its review," executive VP Paul Sparkes wrote. "The review currently underway at the CRTC is about maintaining diversity and choice as a reality for Canadian consumers. Canada's cable and satellite TV distributors are premature in their conclusions on the outcome of the CRTC review."

Shaw, von Finckenstein showdown in Gatineau averted

Broadcast | April 25, 2008

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