Duopoly Issue
For many years, the de facto twin regional monopolies of The Movie Network and Movie Central has been criticised. At the time, no other similar premium services broadcasted within Canada. Critics argued that this limits competition and consumer choice, while proponents say there is very little in content or functionality that is not already offered by the existing services.
In July 2005, the CRTC, the Canadian federal broadcast regulator, announced that public hearings would begin on October 24, 2005 on four broadcast group applications for new national pay TV licences. Each applicant said they would commit towards the creation of more Canadian program content.
On May 18, 2006, it was announced that the Allarco Entertainment application was accepted, while the other three were rejected. This approved application effectively ended The Movie Network/Movie Central duopoly in Canada. On November 2, 2007, the new service was launched as Super Channel.
Read more about this topic: The Movie Network
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