Bell proposes new "freesat" service

**Iceberg** · 04-30-2009 09:31 PM

addition to my post and this ties in with Claude's

if they do a 0$ service then they could open up the stations in the province of CBC, CTV, SRC, APTN & the Educational

BC would get from Vancouver (CBC, CTV, APTN, SRC, Knowledge)

Alberta would be from Calgary (ExpressVu doesnt have any Edmonton stations on it) and Access for the educational

Saskatchewan would be from Regina/Saskatoon...only problem is two fold...no CBC Regina and they dont change the clocks. I guess give them CBC Winnpeg, CTV, Global, SRC & SCN

Manitoba would be from Winnipeg but they dont have a educational channel

Ontario would be Toronto with TVO....Ottawa could be the Ottawa CBC...Thunder Bay could get fiesty and demand their 2 stations get on there instead of TO so they could do CKPR (CBC), CHFD (CTV), SRC, TVO, APTN

Quebec is odd as they have both English & French...so what do you do there? CBC, APTN, SRC, TVA, TeleQuebec (Educational)??

Maritimes would be the 4 + ?? (no educational there...ASN maybe)

it all depends on address

**Larobpra** · 04-30-2009 10:06 PM

Let's throw in the Omni channels, CityTV and SunTV too!

**stone phillips420** · 04-30-2009 10:08 PM

all nice and good ice.
but you forgot about Saskatchewan.
harding would not be happy.

**Iceberg** · 04-30-2009 10:37 PM

most people try to forget about SK

added

**Pepper** · 04-30-2009 11:20 PM

Originally Posted by Claude Greiner

Im pretty sure they are going to encrypt the channels and require you to open up an account with a $0 monthly bill and purchase the equipment to view the free channels.

The point of free service is to get the equipment in the homes so the customer can later subscribe since the equipment is already in place!

Yeah, I know it's been suggested here a few times that Dish should do the exact same thing, make locals free for anyone who wants to buy and install the equipment. Not just locals, at least one more free channel where they run ads that explain the benefits of upgrading to a paid service.

**Tron** · 05-01-2009 05:55 AM

If Dish did this you can bet it would be encrypted, and would require their equipment to receive. Charlie wants to totally destroy any manufacturer or seller of receivers other than his own

...

**avg1joe** · 05-01-2009 06:51 AM

I'd been thinking the same thing as well. Seems like dish should have a handful of channels free to air with many, many dish network commercials encouraging people to upgrade to their pay service.

**Davage** · 05-01-2009 07:09 AM

Originally Posted by Pepper

Yeah, I know it's been suggested here a few times that Dish should do the exact same thing, make locals free for anyone who wants to buy and install the equipment. Not just locals, at least one more free channel where they run ads that explain the benefits of upgrading to a paid service.

I think that the difference between Charlie Ergen providing free broadcast stations vs Bell providing free broadcast stations is that Bell currently are not paying the Canadian stations a single penny for their service. There are currently no "Fees for Carriage" in Canada for Bell, Starchoice or any of the cable companies - they are re-transmitting the over-the-air channels to their subscribers and not reimbursing the stations a penny. Right now the broadcasters are petitioning the CRTC (FCC of Canada) to allow them to charge the satellite and cable companies for their signals.

Bell offering 'freesat' is an attempt to avoid having to pay those carriage fees, which would tap into their bottom line.. It should be interesting to see how the fees for carriage and freesat play out.. Otherwise, what would stop Bell from starting this service tomorrow? It isn't a crime to give away free service, is it?

**Islandguy43** · 05-01-2009 08:12 AM

Originally Posted by Davage

I think that the difference between Charlie Ergen providing free broadcast stations vs Bell providing free broadcast stations is that Bell currently are not paying the Canadian stations a single penny for their service. There are currently no "Fees for Carriage" in Canada for Bell, Starchoice or any of the cable companies - they are re-transmitting the over-the-air channels to their subscribers and not reimbursing the stations a penny. Right now the broadcasters are petitioning the CRTC (FCC of Canada) to allow them to charge the satellite and cable companies for their signals.

Bell offering 'freesat' is an attempt to avoid having to pay those carriage fees, which would tap into their bottom line.. It should be interesting to see how the fees for carriage and freesat play out.. Otherwise, what would stop Bell from starting this service tomorrow? It isn't a crime to give away free service, is it?

Hey, I would drive over the to the Falls Ontario Side tonight to pick up a system, if they did. Once you have watch Hockey Night in Canada, you don't ever want to watch the NBC or Versus crap.

Last night, was a prime example. That is why I still keep basic broadcast TWC so I watch HNIC for the Chicago/Canucks, rather be forced to watch VS and their constant talk over of the action on the ice.

Wait until, Saturday, with NBC doing the game 1 between Washington/Pittsburgh. If the game goes into a second overtime, they will have to move the broadcast to VS, because of NBC's committtment to the Kentucky Derby.

Perhaps, Dish with their cozy relationship with Bell, will pick the same package and add it as a package here in the States.

**Frenchophile** · 05-01-2009 09:02 AM

One thing to note, though, a lot of people in Canada have illegally hacked Bell systems in a way that they pay for the basic package but get all the channels.

If Bell were to follow through with a "five free channels" plan, would people hack the Free service to get all the channels? I'm sure they will try.

NOTE: I do NOT steal, nor do I endorse stealing or hacking, which is illegal. Just stating what people are known to do.