Will Canadian TV lead U.S. broadcasters to gold in the form of online video micropayments?

Canadian broadcasters-who, like their cousins to the south, are still hurting from soft ad revenues-may need to begin charging for some of their online video content, media analysts say. But it's not just catch-up episodes of TV shows that could generate revenue, TV stations are in a strong position to collect micropayments for things like coverage of local sports as well.

The Canadian market is in flux at the moment because regulators are considering whether broadcasters should be allowed to collect retransmission fees from cable operators for their signals. Cablecos have said they'll pay the fees on to their customers, something analysts feel could be a tipping point for viewers who would likely simply go to the Internet for their TV fix.

A study released earlier this week showed Canadians increasingly turning to online video from Pay TV as subscription prices continue to rise.

For more:
- see this Canadian Press article

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