6 - Wednesday, April 12, 1989 - North Shore News INSIGHTS Fire sale pay-TV going after the video THE NEW “FULL CABLE’”’ SERVICE now being hustled to Shaw Cable subscribers for $2.95 extra a month shows what today’s technological revolution can do to the best laid plans of you-know-who. Seems like only yesterday (al- though actually six years ago) that Shaw, with great fanfare, in- troduced pay-TV to the North Shore a decade after its debut in the U.S. The pay channels each cost around $17 a month ard many 1983 TVs also needed a $7- a-month converter. But in under a year Canada’s newborn pay-TV industry was in turmoil, At least four pay net- works either folded, went belly-up or were seeking multi-million- dollar life support systems through mergers. Only 12 per cent of North Shore homes had signed up, as viewers waited to see how pay- TV’s two big name rivals — the VCR and the satellite dish — made out. The rest, as they say, is history. Pay-TV arrived in Canada too late for a replay of its 10-year bonanza below the border. It couldn’t compete with two-buck VCR movies from the flood of new video stores nor, to a lesser extent, with the heady choice of satellite channels available to those who could afford a $3,000 dish. Six years later still 15 per cent of North Shore cable homes take the regular pay-TV service. With Shaw’s new six-pack — sports, arts and entertainment, PBS Detroit, music for all tastes, country music and Cable News Network — pay-TV in effect is go- ing after the low-cost video mar- ket. The fire sale price partly reflects volume discounts from networks counting on high viewer- ship (Shaw aims to sell the package to 75-80 per cent of North Shore homes) but big savings also come from unscrambling the six chan- nels. That's why, from May onward, you'll be billed the extra $2.95 unless YOU tcl! Shaw that you DON’T want the deal — in which case they’ ll re-scramble the six channels on YOUR line only. This has understandably been criticized as an overly sharp sales trick, but for cost-cutting purposes Shaw claims there 1S a sound technolog- ical reason. Seems the cost of rescrambling a minority of homes is vastly offset by the savings from initially unscrambling them all. “Nobody,”’ says Shaw market- ing exec Tim Frewer, ‘‘will have to market free viewing doesn’t sell you on the bargain, just deduct $2.95 and tell them to scramble! net WORLD HONOR for Canada and its public school system has been earned by Bob P armain, principal of Sir Winston Churchill Second-" ary in Vancouver and a 25-year West Van resident. He was recent- ly elected chairman of the Standing Conference of Heads of Interna- tional Baccalaureate Schools at its a.g.m. in Singapore — the first North American and the first public school principal to hold that position. The chailenging pre- university 1.B. program is offered in over 400 schools in 55 countries — including West Van Secondary and 12 other B.C. public schools. tee WRAP-UP: In case any North Shore Prince Georgians haven’t yet heard, the P.G. & District Association's annual dinner takes place Monday, April 17, at the Metre Centre Hotel, Burnaby — call 434-6581 to reserve ... Apolo- gies to North Van’s million-in-one crib player in my April 5 column — the name of the lucky ‘‘29-er’’ is Reg Butcher (NOT Butler) ... From tomorrow, April 13, to May 10 Kal Opre exhibits his latest watercolors 9-4 daily at North Van Courthouse ... And better late than never, many happy returns to West Van pioneer Mildred ‘‘Mid’’ Hughes who turned 81 last Sunday — 76 years after arriving in West Van with her parents in time for the municipality’s FIRST birthday in 1913! weet WRIGHT OR WRONG: Be careful about speaking iI of your predecessors — you did not walk in their shoes. EWS photo Gotlamy COFFEE BREAK for management, volunteers and supporters at the spanking new West Van centre of the North Shore Volunteers for Residents in Care Facilities...(left to right) exec, director Wendy Hsana, Wynne Clucas, Harold Stringer, Gil Mitchell, president Alma Reynolds, North Van District Ald. Murray Dykeman, West Van Aldermen Pat Boname and Alex Brokenshire. pay the extra if they don’t wish. That we promise.” So read your May bill very PRINCIPAL BOB PEARMAIN carefully. If the current month of .-.North American ‘‘first’’. Culture catch-up OVERNMENT RECOGNITION of the arts is long overdue. Particularly in B.C., the arts have tradi- tionally been overlooked and underfunded. On a per capita basis, this province is ranked ninth out of 10 in Canada in the amount of money it spends on the arts. Alberta, for example, contributes more than four times as much as its western neighbor. A glimmer of hope, nowever, is starting to shine on the North Shore. Earlier this week, all three municipal councils declared April Arts Month to celebrate the local arts. By doing so, councils have made a com- mitment that they support the arts, and that they are willing to stand behind their artists. The three councils gave the nod last November to fund the Norih Shere Arts Commission (North Van- cuuver City in principle only), which was set up to ad- vise municipal governments on matters of the arts and to raise the sagging profile of art on the North Shore. The Arts Commission promises to press councils to develop adequate facilities for artists so they can gain a permanent foothold in the community. Developing the North Shore as a host of good talent will enrich the public for arts sake, and offer the community a greater tourism draw. The economic benefits alone should convince politicians of the merits of having a strong cultural community. It is now up to the individual councils to go after funding and to listen and act on the recommendations of the Arts Commission. Most of all, they must create a supportive environment in which to nurture their own community’s talent. 989-051 + 986-6222 985-2137 986-1337 986-1337 985-3227 Dispiay Adverlsing Classified Advertising Newsroom Distrioution oe cpevagniaenarerrirreren 7) Subscriptions SUNDAY» WEDNESDAY DAY Fax 1139 Lonsdale Avenue. North Vancouver, B.C. V7M 2H4 Peter Speck Managing Editor Barret! Fisher Associate Editor Noel Wright Advertising Directur Linda Stewar! 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