SHAW DRAWS IRE OF LOOK COMMUNICATIONS
By Adnews Staff
Look Communications of Toronto has a bone to pick with Calgary-based Shaw Communications. Look is accusing Shaw of stifling competition because Shaw is blocking out Look's TV infomercial airing on the Toronto Star TV channel. The ad began airing earlier this month, promoting Look's multipoint TV distribution service in the Toronto area. "This is the best evidence yet that the cable companies are simply frightened of having to cope with competition," Look president Scott Colbran says in a release. Look says it will counter the move by gaining public opposition to the cable giant and formally intervening against Shaw in any upcoming CRTC hearing. In addition, Look says the Toronto Star has indicated that it will be filing a complaint with the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission condemning the practice. Shaw operations senior vice Peter Bissonnette told Adnews last week that Look's ad is a contractual issue between the Toronto Star and Shaw. "Toronto Star's programming is in there through a contract that states the Toronto Star can't put advertising on the channel that would be injurious to Shaw or its customers." When the Toronto Star was approached by Shaw about the issue, the Toronto Star agreed and asked Shaw to delete the ads, he said. In response to Look stating Shaw was anti-competitive, Bissonnette said, "we're not afraid of customer choice and neither should they be."