Si eNews TheReyiew Wednesday, January 17,1990 — A13

Shaw Cable repeats media mistakes
in application, says Saanichton man

‘Can’t have it
both ways’

by George Lee
The Review

Shaw Cablesystems Ltd. has

. @ used false information in its appli-

6 %

- cation to merge two Greater Vic-
toria systems, a Saanichton man
says.

Kelly Manning — who has
regularly challenged various Shaw
rate increases and service changes
over recent years — says an erron-
eous article and editorial in The
Review should not form part of
Shaw’s application to the Cana-
dian Radio-television Telecommu-
nications Commission.

In a Dec. 25 letter to the CRIG
Manning says: “The fact that
Shaw included these articles in the
application as evidence of provid-
ing complete and accurate infor-
mation contradicts Shaw’s claim
that it is not responsible for the
false information contained in
them.

“Shaw can’t have it both ways.”

Shaw system manager Jim
McHugh said the articles are
addenda to the application to show
Shaw has been “communicating
with our public.”

““All it is is just sort of a
backgrounder, to show that we
have a subscriber communication
program,” McHugh said.

The article and editorial, pub-
lished May 3 and May 24, 1989,
were during Shaw’s addition of six

/ optional channels, last year. The
story and editorial wrongly said
the CRTC would eventually make
the six channels mandatory in
basic service.

Actually, just two of the chan-
nels, Much Music and TSN, were
made mandatory.

Without Shaw’s move, all sub-
scribers would have received the
two channels for a 90-cent-per-

_ month addition to basic rates.

Instead, for an optional $2.95
addition to monthly charges, sub-
scribers were given Arts and
Entertainment, the Nashville Net-
work, the Cable-News Network
and WIVS Detroit,. plus the two
channels.

Manning’s letter to the CRIC
says The Review article was “full
of incorrect information.”

But McHugh said only the
information about the mandatory
‘basic.seryice was wrong.

Manning’s letter says Shaw |
- should have approached The - |

Review and asked that the error be
comected. — ~

“Tt seems that popedy at Shaw
had bothered to pick up the phone,
or simply walk 50 feet to. The
Review office ... to correct the
false impressions that the The

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Review had created,” the letter
says.

Responded McHugh, “To tell
you the truth, I didn’t pick up on it
right away.”

He said there was no intent to
deceive anyone, and that changes
were explained in other media, too.
“J think we really made our best
effort to get accurate information
out to subscribers.”

McHugh said the copies of the
articles are included with copies of
advertisements saying that service
quality is improving.

Shaw is in the process of a

$3.9-million upgrade of service in
the Saanich system.

Shaw is awaiting a CRIC deci-
sion on an application to increase

its basic, 22-channel service rate to
$13.12 per month from $11.58 per
month. Shaw wants to combine its
Saanich and Victoria/Langford/
Sooke systems under one licence.

Manning’s four-page letter to
the CRTC contains other com-
plaints — among them the elimin-
ation of a Broadcast News service
that supplemented the stock mar-
ket channel, and the definition of a

listings channel as part of the basic -

Service.

The listings on Channel 10 also
include advertisements. The chan-
nel’s “primary purpose appears to
be to generate advertising revenue
for Shaw,” Manning’s letter says.

McHugh said the loss of BN is
compensated by CBC Newsworld
and CNN, and allows a better

> Windsor

ins Better

stock channel design

And McHugh said listings are
on Channel 10 because it’s
slightly impaired.

A decision by the CRTC three or
four years ago allows advertising
on the listings channel, McHugh
said. “It?s another way can utilize
our service to generate revenue.
We certainly don’t have any apolo-
gies to make for that.”

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