Don't celebrate too soon. The decision actually opened the door for the CRTC to consider requiring that all Canadian News Channels (including Sun, along with CBC and CTV, etc.) be lumped together into a single package in the future and requiring that package on basic cable, and giving that package priority over American News Channels like CNN, which might then become subscription based, rather than part of a news package. So in the immediate term, SUN News lost. But it could turn into a longer term victory, depending on how long it takes for the CRTC to consider this and whether SUN News can survive - and Kory Tenecke has already backtracked on his position that if they lost, SUN would have to fold. He also sees the future potential from the ruling.

Imagine the emails the CRTC is getting in support of Sun News...

@ Rev Stephen - think you're right - heard that the CRTC honchos are Conservative appointees. I will watch for CRTC changes buried in a future omnibus bill. It will lose any authority it might have.

So. Is Sun TV actually a "news" network? is it really comparable journalistically to those other networks you mention? They claim to provide "balance" in Lib-dominated media.
Why so little public interest in them?

@ Chansen - You have obviously seen some of the outraged reaction to this story - YA COMMIE!

https://services.crtc.gc.ca/pub/instances-proceedings/Default-Defaut.asp...

You can weigh in with your views until Sept.9th. Loads of time!!

That's frighteningly convincing. Actually, it's too convincing. After reading it, I'm wondering if you've been putting us on.

You're a far right wing, extreme Christian fundamentalist misogynistic homophobe aren't you? Admit it. You've been toying with us, but I'm on to you now.

Realistically, SUN News is one of the best comedy channels on the air. Under the guise of offering "news" we can listen to ongoing ridiculous right wing rants from Ezra Levant and Charles Adler and Brian Lilley, etc., etc.

We can even watch them televise fake citizenship ceremonies while they pretend that they're real.

SUN News: "Hard Talk - Real News - Fine Acting."

Seriously, my general observation of those to the far right of the spectrum is that they consider anything that's not far right to be hopelessly biased. So the CBC - which I personally find quite balanced in its approach - is hopelessly biased, simply because it's balanced.

The rest of us are "activist, Leftie, socialists - even if you're a smidge right of centre.

lol - I've just seen so much of it. You know I'm not, but in hindsight I think I spelled too many words correctly for my post to be considered authentic. I did butcher the grammar rather convincingly, I think.

How about "SENSERSHEP" & "AJENNA" as corrections.

I'm a bit of a libertarian media-wise. Mandatory carriage sticks in my craw and is going to become increasingly unviable. After all, when I use online services (legal or otherwise), there is no CRTC controlling my choice of options. I can even get Netflix US with the simple application of a Firefox plugin that connects me via US proxy server so even regulating Canadian streaming won't do any good. If cable/satellite is going to survive past my generation, then they will need the same flexibility as the streamers.

Alternatively, we can go the Chinese route: put all our Internet traffic through a powerful firewall/proxy "border" and let the CRTC regulate what is allowed through that proxy.I'd be packing up to move to the US if that happened. If I wanted that kind of government control over the 'Net, I'd move in with my wife's family in Shanghai.

As for Sun, they have their constituency which happens to include my son. He's of a libertarian bent rather than being a social conservative. He wants less government involvement in all aspects of our lives. That includes unregulated access to private health care, an end to social safety nets, lower taxes, US-style gun laws, and so on. That also means keeping the government out of our bedrooms and allowing us to marry whoever we want (he's cool with same-sex marriage, just on different grounds than some of us). He's even cool with legalization of drugs to some extent since that eliminates another area of government intervention in our private lives. My point being that not all Sun watchers are right wing hard core, gay-bashing, Bible thumping so-cons anymore than all CBC viewers are left-wing hardcore, environmentalist, Canada Health Act-thumping Social Democrats (or whatever Sun's current stereotype of the CBC happens to be). It's a stereotype that has some merit, but is also a dangerous generalization.

Sun has a right to a place in our broadcasting system but that place is not on basic cable and certainly not in a "mandatory carriage" system, though ultimately my solution to the problem is to get rid of mandatory carriage in the first place.

Mendalla

go Mendalla :3

(the best form of nonbiased tv?  turn it off)

Mendalla - your son sounds astute, and you must have good conversations - love to be a fly on the wall ;)

I was curious about politics but nowhere near as politically astute as he is at 14. We do have some good conversations about politics, though contentious ones at times. I'm no longer the social democrat I was in university, but still lean left of centre on many issues and I'm certainly not the hardcore libertarian that he is. At the same time, we are both republicans (ie. want to turf the Windsors), both in favour of reducing public (and, to be honest, private) debt and less government, both in favour of a smaller, defence-focussed military, and so on. At times I think we agree on more than we disagree on, but the ones we disagree on, like health care and the environment, are big ones.

Mendalla

Mendalla - Sounds close to Green Party (as I understand it).

I do not care if Sun is on basic cable or not, the owners can pay for that if they want to.  My problem was being tax for a service that offered no value, at best, and at worst it aimed to destroy my family, my community and my country, because the policies and programs are often homophobic (my family) fights to privatise most services and eliminate services for those with HIV or who are at risk (my community), and there need to inflamme anti Quebec feelings in Canada, while inflamming anti English, anti Jewish, and anti immigrant, anti Indian, and anti Canada in Quebec, displays the owner (rumoured to be next PQ leader)  agenda and attck my country.

I think there is a place and a time for manditory carriage feeds, (like obliging cable and satlettile compagines to carry procedings of the NorthWest terrortories and Nunavet assembly in the north. (which the CRTC did apporve this week)

Much as obliging radio to play canadian artists helped establish an inductry that no longer needs protection, so too do mandiitory carriage fees at time serve the public good, and the economy. 

most private and CBC stations that recieve carriage fees today  could be cut off, but there will be compelling public  and economic reasons to maintain them in a few cases,