Last year the CRTC announced new rules for cable and satellite companies to offer a $25 “skinny” TV package to consumers, along with pick and pay options for channels. The deadline to implement these are set for March 1, 2016, and now Shaw has revealed their package ahead of that date.
As you can see below the Shaw Limited TV package costs $25 per month and includes 40 channels (HD equipment not included). Here we see Canadian channels such as CBC, City, CTV, Global, while American channels include the likes of ABC, CBS, ABC and NBC.
The CRTC issued a memo today to remind companies of the upcoming March 1 deadline for implementing $25 basic packages, plus pick-and-pay options or small pre-assembled packages.
Regulations were amended to require cable and satellite companies to offer Canadian and non-Canadian programming services within the following dates:
CRTC Chairman Jean-Pierre Blais told The Canadian Press the lack of updates from major companies such as Bell, TELUS and Rogers so close to the deadline “was a shot across the bow.” However, Blais believes bad faith is not the reason for the delay, but rather a wait-and-see approach to what competitors will offer.
Bell customer service reps have noted a February 21 date to release their basic TV package, while Rogers told The Canadian Press their offering will be announced before the March deadline.
Speaking at the Canadian Club today in Toronto, Blais gave a speech which said companies should try to offer better service for customers given these new regulations, calling it “their moment to shine”:
Cable and satellite companies should not view this change as an opportunity to replace business practices designed to maximize profits from captive customers with newer forms of anti-consumer behaviour. Instead, I urge them to make the products they sell even better for Canadians, and put viewers—their customers—back in control of their televisions.
Shaw recently launched FreeRange TV for iOS and Android, which lets customers watch live TV on the go. This app, coupled with the basic $25 package and Netflix, could bring you the best of both worlds to consume media away from your TV.
Let us know if you’re looking forward to switching to upcoming basic $25 ‘skinny’ cable packages.
Thanks Konstantin
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Really, I get more than 1/2 of those channels using a HD antenna.
I was wondering how many of them would be free regardless! Thanks for answering that!
Entirely depends on where you live. If you live in a place like Toronto, your statement is correct. If you live 2 hours away in London, you pick up 3 consistent channels and sometimes 2 more.
I live on the 26th floor in the west end of Toronto, facing Mississauga, and can’t seem to get *anything* over the air for some reason. Is there a good antenna I don’t know about, or am I screwed because I’m facing away from downtown Toronto?
Glad these skinny packages are being offered, but I don’t think anything is going by to pull me back to paying for cable. I wouldn’t mind a couple local channels over the air, though.
even facing away from downtown, you should still be able to pick up all the signals bouncing off the CN Tower
A basic (multidirectional) antenna should pick up CTV Toronto, CITY, Global Toronto, CHCH Hamilton, TVO Toronto and OMNI Toronto. If the weather is good you should also have access to many of the Buffalo stations (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX). There are others too but many you probably wouldn’t watch. I’d try a different antenna and make sure your TV has an HD tuner (If it’s less than 5 years old it should). Even though you face the ‘wrong’ direction, you’ve got height working for you and an open lake with nothing to stop those US signals from travelling over it. I live in London and I get the local CTV station, TVO, CHCH and sometimes Global which has a repeater someplace in Southwestern Ontario. It’s crap really. Instead I pay Rogers $20 a month and get channels 2-28. That covers the main Canadian networks, ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox plus Sportsnet (no TSN unfortunately).
It’s good to know that Toronto is where the majority of Canadians live.
That was in response to a particular user. I don’t live in Toronto and I get 3 OTA channels.
Check out TVFOOL.COM and it will help you with an antenna, and show you what channels you can expect to get, and what direction they are. I have been cable TV free for over 10 years.
only 3 years for me, and TVFOOL definitely was a huge help in getting things going.
it says 40 channels, but 10 channels are listed twice, CBC is listed 3 times, CTV is listed 4 times ….
SD vs. HD and West Coast vs. East Coast channels
there shouldn’t even be any SD channels since Shaw only rents out HD and HDPVR boxes
Nope! The SD channels are still there.
If I can add a sports package for less than $10 to that, it will be golden
For TSN (all their channels) or Sportsnet (all their channels) it’s $8/month for both it’s $14/month
WOW That is actually VERY resonable imo.
Hoping Bell does the same as no Shaw over here. We only need TV for News & Sports. The base package right now starts at $40 but sports are only included in the $60 one.
No, its not reasonable, its a ripoff. Add tax to that and you’ll be paying well over $40 again.
Yeah but right now I am paying $60 + Tax? lol
I am saving $20 + tax, I am happy.
You are happy, because you are canadian….*sigh*
And what exactly does that mean? LOL
You make no sense, and will only be happy when you get it for free right?
It means we have no choice, no real competition, they are all in cahoots…
You need to start a blog with your opinions and not waste space here.
I am happy because I get to save $20 a month with these new packages that was mandated.
Just stay on yer MEDICATION cuz it keeps you harmless.(and MINDLESS)
That’s right Andy! It’s the same with elections. The ILLusion of choice. ALL candidates come from SATANIC SECRET SOCIETIES and most if not ALL are MK ULTRA Manchurian Candidates. Justin Trudeau is MK’d and so is Obumfuk and his TRANNY ‘wife’. The SAME with ALL of them. TV melts the working brain cells we have left.
It means most of us are GUTLESS SHEEP and deserve what gutless sheep get!
*sigh* are you expecting it to be free? I guess you forget that there is equipment cost,installation costs and more associated
TV used to be free!!! If you liked to watch a hockey or football game it was FREE. Today if you don’t have the specialty channels or cannot afford to pay as most seniors, you don’t have access to our own national sport! We are being ripped off because the CRTC when looking at any, ANY communications service is not thinking of the Canadian citizens’ interest but rather corporate interests (Bell, Shaw, Rogers, Telus etc) and their shareholders. Guess you weren’t around when advertising paid for what we watched on TV and we bought their products.
this notion that seniors cant afford things is another leftover from the “olden days”of when TV was free.Yes the seniors of the past who went through the depression, wars etc.were the poorest population but their children who are now seniors are cashing in on their parents bungalows that were purchased back in the day for prices like $5000.00 (what was then a lot of money) for in these parts millions of dollars…so please spare me on the oh whoa is me i’m a poor senior crapola
Keep in mind if you lower to Limited TV only with Shaw $25 a month you don’t get access to Free Range TV App, no access to Shaw on Demand, no music stations, and no included free hardware rentals. If you add on a channel bundle to make the TV plan $30 or more a month your access to On Demand, Free Range TV, Music channels are restored. If you take Limited TV and Internet the 1 free cable box rental option is restored.
Yes, exactly. The more you buy the cheaper things might get. I have Shaw HD Plus, internet 120, and basic phone service. My bundled package has gotten me some really good discounts on the total cost.
However, if I try to downgrade my TV service to that limited $25 option everything else I want becomes retail price $$. Now, my total cost is higher for less channels.
I guess the $25 limited option good if that is all you need and want.
I get all these channels and way more for $10 mth using kodi. Cut the cord long ago..
How and where do you get these channels for $10/month
Through the internet with a program called kodi, it’s xbmc. there are many services available. Google Kodi..
I know Kodi, but what add on are you using to get Live TV for $10/mon
i’m using iptv stalker & iptv66 over 800 channels for $11 month..There is also kingheat services for $15month with more more hd channels. cp24 citytv global included..but there are many more then just these 2..
I wanna try this but I’m nervous lol does iptv have global and CBCNN?
They’re sensoring my replies..No cbc but global and cnn yes..
Not censoring…but Disqus settings by default are set to moderate comments with links to prevent spam.
oh ok my bad lol
It’s all good 🙂
This is the problem with public companies. They have to march forward and not back to
the beat of its shareholders and yearly dividends. The only way is to open cable, cell phones, internet, banking, to the free market place. Get rid of the marketing boards at the same time. BEND ME OVER, IM CANADIAN!!!!
I’m looking forward to seeing what the prices look like. $25 isn’t bad. right now the cheapest package i can get in my area is $45. With being able to get most channels online now and streaming with either cravetv or netflix the cable companies are losing business. Most people these days don’t even get cable or satellite and the only reason they do get it is because of special bundle packages that include it for a period of time. Then they get rid of it. I think this might be a move in the right direction as some of us that gave up on the cable and satellite companies might come back. thats just my 2 cents.
I asked Bell on the web chat and now they are saying the “pick and pay option” will be out on February 28th. Guess they want one more week to gouge people.
We only watch 1 channel… EVER. To get the privilege of subscribing to that channel ( costing $15), we pay for the cheapest plan… If there was a $5 plan that included nothing, I’d take it.
that is not 40 channels it includes both the digital and HD versions of many channels – so about 23 actual channels
I haven’t watched ANYTHING in SD since about 2004. I don’t even want to hear about SD…so I totally agree with you…really misleading when they say ’40 channels’.
I watch over the air TV at the moment. I get 13 channels. i’d definitely consider “upgrading” to this package.
This so called “Skinny” TV package is garbage! You get multiple CTV, CBC, ABC, PBS, Global and CITY TV channels. Nothing else! What a farce!
Jou mean Skinny=SHITTY??? (=
The $25 plan actually becomes $43 plus box rental after two years (you are locked in a contact). That’s hardly a skinny package.
Ripped off!!! Why? Because this is Canada! Because we can!! And–to paraphrase Troo-doh–“Because it’s 2017.”!!! It’s what we do!!! We’re “World Class”!! Second only to Burundi (With apologies to Burundi.)
Only want TSN stand alone package. Does shaw offer this?? $10/15 per month