One problem with trying to charge establishments that show televised sports more money for those broadcasts is that it leads to a weird philosophical debate: What exactly is a sports bar?
Tom Braid / Postmedia Network Postmedia Network
It’s worth pointing out here that the media companies are trying to charge more for something that they believe has been undervalued for certain customers. It’s not larceny, though the Competition Bureau might have thoughts on the timing of the changes made by would-be rivals.
What the changes will mostly do, I think, is force proprietors to decide how much they care about live sports. It’s the kind of thing most patrons would figure out about any establishment after a visit: does this place care about having the game on, or is it essentially the wallpaper?
The new fees will probably go some way to separating the latter from the former.