The CRTC plans to apologize for picking on Bell Media (owner of CTV) so much lately. First, as the word leaked out that Bell president Kevin Crull might have banned Jean-Pierre Blais from CTV for a day — the day Blais announced cable companies had to start offering basic packages for $25 or less — the CRTC said “An informed citizenry cannot be sacrificed for a company’s commercial interests.” Just yesterday, the CRTC said it was “concerned and disappointed that certain television service providers are not ready” to take on the job of passing along emergency alerts, adding that “The private broadcasting industry has had more than enough time to prepare.”
Today, it’s sorry it spoke so harshly.
Sources say Blais didn’t want to be on CTV that day anyway — an official statement coming out later is expected to say he “had stuff to do.” The Commission is also expected to express regret over implying the cable company might be “manipulating the news”, which could unintentionally play into conspiracy theories that the media is covering up events like alien landings and discoveries that the earth is actually hollow.
As for its “disappointment” over Bell and several other cable companies not getting on board with the emergency alert system, Blais is expected to say there’s no way to make sure everyone gets pertinent information anyway, and sometimes it’s “sauve qui peut.”
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