Canada Ends Cable Bundling; Is America Next?

Canada's communications regulator will require cable companies to let customers choose the channels they want, one of the first countries in the world to mandate so-called a la carte pay-TV.

The decision will dismantle the system of bundling networks in packages that has underpinned the cable businesses of companies like Rogers Communications Inc. and BCE Inc.

By March 2016, companies will have to offer a smaller basic cable service with educational and local TV for no more than C$25 ($20). By December of that year, they'll have to let consumers choose the channels they want, a system known as "a la carte."

Canadians have long complained about paying for channels they never watch and millions have signed up for Internet streaming services like Netflix Inc. In the U.S., the industry is also shifting toward "skinny bundles," not forced by regulation, but driven by companies like Dish Network Corp. offering alternatives to the traditional cable package. Apple Inc. plans to debut an online service this year with about 25 channels, people familiar with the effort said this week, adding pressure on programmers that have relied on packages of hundreds of channels.

Canada's cable operators have been bracing for the possibility of an a la carte world for months following regulatory hearings in September on the future of the industry.

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