Cable promises more for less
Competition from satellite service looms over conventional TV service

by James Hrynyshyn
Northern News Services

NNSL (Oct 01/97) - Cable television in Yellowknife is going to get a whole lot cheaper next month.

NorthwesTel cable is slashing its prices by up to 42 per cent and adding a dozen new channels to its packages.

But the city's cable company is no longer the only source of cheap TV, as direct-to-home satellite service steps up its campaign to lure viewers away from cable.

In addition to the new channels, which the company promises will come on-line no later than Dec. 1 -- "before, if we can," says general manager Aivy Reinfelds -- NorthwesTel is juggling its lineup, getting rid of unwanted channels and putting more popular stations on its basic service.

"They're going to see a big change," says service manager Cathie Bolstad. "Compared with down south, we are very close to providing the kind of value that people see," adds Reinfelds.

For those paying the bills, the news is universally positive. Basic falls from $38 a month to $30.

The complete package will cost $75 and offer 57 channels, compared with $104 and 46 channels under the old pricing scheme.

Whether those prices match other companies' is still unclear.

Shaw cable, which offers cable to both Edmonton and Calgary, will charge $5.95 for the dozen new TV channels -- about half the NorthwesTel rate. The new channels will appear in two weeks.

WHTV, which supplies cable service in Whitehorse has not settled on prices for its new packages.

The new lineup and prices come after what Reinfelds says was three months of research and a survey of 500 NorthwesTel Cable customers who responded to 25-minute phone questionnaires.

It is also the second time NorthwesTel has dropped its rates since taking over Mackenzie Media in 1996. The last reduction amounted to only a dollar a month.

The slashed prices and new lineup may not be enough to stave off the threat of competition though.

Star Choice, a national direct-to-home satellite TV service, offers 50 TV channels and 40 audio channels for $33 a month. Additional channels are priced on a similar scale.

The catch is the need to buy a pizza-sized satellite dish receiver.

But the dishes can be found for as low as $600, an extra cost that can be recouped in less than two years, when compared with cable prices.

Sears Canada recently launched a sales promotion for the new dishes.