Canadian government to push cable providers to unbundle channels

The Canadian government will soon require cable and satellite television providers to make it easier for customers to buy only the channels they want rather than pay for bundles, the country's industry minister said.

"We don't think it's right for Canadians to have to pay for bundled television channels that they don't watch. We want to unbundle television channels and allow Canadians to pick and pay the specific television channels that they want," Industry Minister James Moore said during an appearance on CTV's "Question Period." Some Canadian cable and satellite television providers have already begun to offer so-called "a la carte" pricing. Moore said Canada's Conservative government is looking at other consumer-friendly moves when the next parliamentary session resumes such as preventing airline overbooking and curbing wireless roaming rates charged by telecom companies.