Should you switch to skinny basic cable?

Skinny basic cable was optioned by the CRTC nearly a year ago and finally entered the broadcast TV realm to mixed reviews. Some of the country’s major TV providers revealed their bare-bones offerings last month, in time for the March 1 mandated by the broadcast regulator. Just a few weeks later, the CRTC disclosed that they’d been hounded by more than 500 questions and complaints about the slimmed down channel package. The grievances ranged from frustration at lack of choice, to extra fees paid on top of the supposed “bargain” price. If you’re thinking about trading in your expensive, souped-up cable package for the simpler subscription, keep in mind that most major providers charge extra fees for renting digital boxes (an expense that is often included in the cost of other premium offerings). Also, fair warning: The “pick and pay” and “theme pack” options add up quickly. Here’s how much the switch to skinny basic cable would cost for Rogers, Bell and Shaw customers. We had a look at the basic cost of skinny basic, plus what you’d pay if you added a sports and/or movies theme pack. Keep in mind that our cost calculations don’t include taxes, which may differ depending on which province you live in.

**Rogers* “Starter” package $24.99 for 35 channels**

The Skinny: Rogers calls its skinny basic cable package the “Starter” package. It costs $24.99 for 35 basic channels, but doesn’t include the cost to rent a digital box. That costs an additional $12.95 per month, which brings the total for a skinny package to $37.94 per month. The Add-ons: If you add a sports theme pack, which includes an extra seven channels, you pay an additional $18 per month, bringing the total cost to $55.94 per month for 42 channels. Adding a movie package (which includes 10 channels like FX, AMC and MovieTime) costs a little less. You’d pay a total of $47.94 per month for 45 channels. Adding both theme packs would shoot up to $65.94 per month for 52 channels. Another option is to skip the themes altogether and add individual channels to your starter pack for anywhere between $2.79 and $19.95— but keep in mind that many popular channels are only available in packages and theme packs. The Bottom Line: So, how does this compare to one of Rogers’ existing packages? The next one up from the Starter package is “Basic TV,” which runs $40.48, plus an additional $12.95 for the digital box, bringing the totalto $53.43 for 112 channels, including plenty of sports offering and some movie and entertainment options.

Bell “Starter” package $24.95 for 26 channels

The Skinny: Bell’s skinny basic package is also called the “Starter” and costs $24.95 per month for 26 channels. This plan is in addition to the required HD receiver, which will set you back another $7 month. Stick to just the plain old skinny offering and you’ll be spending $31.95 monthly. The Add-ons: Bell’s more robust sports theme pack offering includes a total of seven TSN and Sportsnet channels for $25 per month, meaning you’d pay $56.95 for 33 channels monthly. If you only want to add a bit of movie magic to your cable viewing experience, Bell’s Super Channel theme pack would cost $15 a month, meaning you’d pay a total of $46.95 monthly for 30 channels. Add both sports and movies and your monthly bill would skyrocket to a total of $71.95 a month for 37 channels. You can forgo the theme pack altogether and just stick to adding a channel here or there, a la carte for $4 or $7 each. Sports or movie channels are not offered a la carte. The Bottom Line: Bell’s next cheapest cable TV package option, called “Good” (helpfully descriptive) would set you back $49.95 for 98 channels, including a full host of sports channels but no movie channels of note. The cost of the HD PVR equipment rental is included in the price.

Shaw “Limited TV” $25 for 39 channels

The Skinny: If you’re with Shaw, your skinny basic cable package option is called “Limited TV” and offers a total of 39 channels for $25 per month. The rental of an HD box is required for an extra $5 a month, meaning the true cost of Shaw’s skinny basic offering is $30 for 39 channels. The Add-ons: Sports lovers can opt to spruce up their Limited TV viewing experience with an extra six channels for $8 a month, bringing your skinny basic bill to $38 monthly for 45 channels. If you’d rather up your movie intake (but don’t want Shomi), you can add an extra 10 channels for $6 a month, meaning you’d pay $36 monthly for 49 channels. Get both and pay a total of $44 per month for 55 channels. Individual channels cost just $3. As with other providers, it seems that popular sports and entertainment channels are only available as part of theme packs. The Bottom Line: The next priciest plan on Shaw’s roster is called “Personal TV” and costs $43 per month (HD equipment included), and comes with six sports channels and no movie channels of note. This price excludes any promotional intro offers they may have going on, for consistency’s sake.

The verdict?

Whether you should switch to skinny basic or not relies solely on what you’re looking for when you collapse on the couch. Skinny basic is just that—pretty basic. The CRTC touted that it would “maximize choice” and it does: It gives you the choice to downgrade and save if you want cable but spend most of your time soaking up the major Canadian networks. The fact is, if you want anything more than basic—movies, sports or otherwise—you’ll quickly find your cable bill climbing back up and over pre-skinny basic levels. *Full disclosure: Rogers is a parent company of MoneySense

Comments Cancel reply

William McWhirter says:

March 24, 2020 at 2:31 pm

It’s all legalized theft, it seems to me cell phone 1200 a year, tv and internet 1800 a year, it’s flat garbage rates no matter how you look at it, your bring played and robbed.

Reply
Dave Williams says:

May 23, 2020 at 8:35 am

You can’t blame them really. We keep paying for it so why would they change anything? Only after enough people cancel their subscriptions will the companies come up with more competitive rates.

Reply
William ashby says:

June 3, 2020 at 8:53 am

I cannot understand why the government does not stop monopoly’s we are held hostage for and paying for for advertising and they get paid also they need to bring the antenna and should be allowed to have. anywhere I am sick and tired of this bullshit

Reply
RF Brent says:

December 12, 2020 at 12:04 am

Anyway you look at it they rip you off for as much as they can get. Canada needs more people and less sheep.

Reply
John Nesbitt says:

January 15, 2021 at 2:10 pm

RF Brent, I supposed you’re one of those brave, non-sheep’s who doesn’t subscribe to any cable or internet service. Good on you…. unless….

Reply
richard beasley says:

June 21, 2021 at 11:41 pm

this is pure robbery , plain tv 30 a month nothing to watch , then internet is highway robbery over a 100 a month for what , time we got rid of the top 3 for other lower cost networks

Reply
Don McTavish says:

March 7, 2022 at 2:47 pm

What are the channels in the ” Starter Package ” Limited TV ?

Reply
Joy Jenzen says:

April 12, 2022 at 4:15 pm

Seniors need a break on their internet/tv pkgs , vast majority of seniors are supporting the big 3 , so why are they being ripped off ??? Sad that these big businesses and government both take advantage of limited income seniors , so shame on the big 3
Telus Rogers Shaw

Reply
Sarah Wright says:

April 26, 2022 at 1:30 pm

I am also fed up with the high rates of cable tv & internet & cell ph! The total monthly cost of all 3 could be a car payment! The content available on TV these days is a combination of 50+ yr old sit-com reruns, absolute garbage reality shows-nothing real about any of them & maybe 3 good series that play over the year. We pay full price for cable to be able to watch these very few actually good shows and if we are lycky we get 16 or 18 episodes of each during the year. That is alot of $$$ to pay for maybe 2 to 3 hourd of decent TV a week! The mere fact the CRTC allows the Big 3 to only have to produce 25% new content is a rip off for consumers!! This includes all of the garbage reality shows-we deserve better than this!

Reply
Pat Maguire says:

September 9, 2022 at 12:10 am

i cancelled cable some four years ago being sick and tired of endless ads, reruns of Cnd so called ‘drama’ series, History channel which showed M.A.S.H, (this is history???), and paying plenty for it. Try cancelling cable and see how much free time you have as well as saving yourself serious $’s. Good luck.

Reply
Charles Pratt says:

December 3, 2022 at 2:01 pm

Hell no to skinny TV! You only get a few channels you will actually watch. Spend the first months cable cost on an over the air antennae and get all your local channels for free. Get a cheap roku stick if you have internet and stream endless content for free.

Reply