THOMSON TO SELL SATELITE DISHES
By Adnews Staff
Thomson Consumer Electronics of Mississauga, Ont. says it will introduce RCA direct-to-home satellite dishes in Canada despite possible legal action by Canadian broadcasters. The company will announce a date the pizza-sized dishes will be on the market, as well as its advertising plan at a future date. Advertising for Thomson is done by Bowen & Binstock of Toronto. Currently, Canadians can only buy the hardware, dish and set-top box through the so-called gray market. Although this appears to be legal, the DirecTV programming received by these dishes is not licensed by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. In addition, many Canadian broadcasters already own the rights for distributing various programs such as movies and sporting events in Canada. Canadian broadcasters believe DirecTV and any other U.S. programmer beaming signals into Canada is acting illegally, selling in territories owned by others. The Canadian direct-to-home satellite industry has yet to get off the ground. It has been bogged down by technical dificulties, missed deadlines and regulatory red tape.