Evil Cable Monopolies

June 27, 2006 · Posted in Conservatism.ca

Overall, Shaw Cable gives pretty good service. I am a personal fan of Jim Shaw, in fact.

However, every once in awhile (with any monopoly), you get the asinine decision that infuriates you, and you are completely helpless to do anything about it.

Here is a copy of my latest complaint to the CRTC:

Their explanation is that this was one of the least popular channels. However, there are 4 sports channels on basic cable, a market that I would argue is ‘overserved’ by basic cable subscribers, and with the move of CNBC, there are now 0 business news channels on non-digital cable.

This is an outrage. There are 3 premium business channels available: CNBC, RobTV (Canadian), and Bloomberg Television. Would it be so radical to request that Shaw include just one of these channels in their basic lineup? I understand that more people watch sports than business news, but that is no reason why those who watch business news should be completely unserved while those who watch sports should have such a wide selection.

Truth is, I’m addicted to business news. It’s what I watch. It’s the point of my television. Now, I may have to turn off my television and stagger outside and wonder what that large yellow orb is in the sky.

Most people who I know that watch business news watch it almost exclusively. Take away one sports channel and people can flip the channel. Take away the business news and the TV becomes an oversized paperweight.

Needless to say, if there was any competition in this market, I’d be phoning the competition right now. And, if competition does arrive, it will be from TELUS, which is quite possibly the worst company in the world, or certainly the last one I would ever want to deal with.

Unfortunately, Shaw can simply make haphazard decisions like this without considering all the facts, and we are stuck with two choices: a boat anchor in my office, or buying a $300 device for my office to get what I used to get yesterday.

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Comments

HomeWatcher1

Yea I'm pissed too.. I've called them several time to complain. this is what they sent me.

Thank you for contacting Shaw Eservice.

We appreciate your position. We continually review our channel

offerings with careful consideration to the viewing interests of our

customers. We review and make channel changes from time to time to

prepare for expansion and growth to allow for new options for our

customers. The move of CNBC allows us more technical ability and

flexibility to grow our offerings and services and in order to meet the

demand for these services, we want to be prepared for the future

expansion of specialty offerings. You can now find CNBC on Shaw digital

channel 143.

Similar programming can be found at these locations:

o Stock tickers - S&P;/TSX/NYSE and NASDAQ run continuously on ROB TV

(Report on Business TV)

o ROB TV - analog or digital, depending on the market - a Canadian

service

o CNN Headline News - analog in most markets - a US service

o CNN - analog

o Bloomberg - digital

o Fox News - digital

o MSNBC - digital

Shaw also provides information for all your financial needs on the

internet at start.shaw.ca.

Much of the CNBC TV content can also be found online at

http://moneycentral.msn.com/cnbc/tv/default.asp or

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3033509/ .

We hope this information has been useful to you. Please feel free to

contact us by phone 604-629-8888 24hrs/7 days a week or by email

response. If you need further assistance you may also visit our website

at http://www.Shaw.ca/ .

Thank you for choosing Shaw!

Chona F.

Eservice Team

It's crap. What I've told them is I'm going to NOW cut back my Teirs 1 - 3 cable package to just the basic service.. this is a decrease in $20.00 a month into their pockets. I don't care about the Encore channel.. it's sh@t!!

Call them and complain.. they won't do a thing unless you start taking money out of their pockets... they'll just figure you'll either buy the $300 box or rent it for $10 a month. You do the math. Pull $20.00 going back to basic or they cover the extra $10.00 digital box fee. They won't do it! I tried!!!
doug

Come on spend a few bucks and get a low-level digital package if it means that much to you.

At least they offered a 'good' reason for their actions. Quantity not quality is job one in the TV business.

Well I have Star-Choice anyway so I guess I shouldn't babble on.
PGP

Yer screwed pal!