Too expensive to justify, actually
Times are tough. How tough, asks the wit in the peanut gallery? Well, … Radio Vatican will begin airing advertisements to cover the costs of their broadcasts.
Wow. The Church has been caricatured as a bottomless pit of money. To think that there’s a shortfall in revenues which leaves them strapped for cash is almost beyond belief. Mind you, given that not one house in a thousand has a short wave receiver, and that less than one percent of that select group even tunes in to the “tiniest country in the world”, perhaps it is time to give up the effort. Turn off the plate current to the transmitter. Ground the antenna, once and for all. Send the team of crack journalists off to retrain.
Meanwhile, the CRTC has decided to rob Peter to pay Paul, by requiring cable and satellite carriers to contribute an extra 1 % to the broadcast stations. There’s that tiny percentage again. “vice-chairman of Rogers Communications Inc., responded to the announcement with a statement that the consumer would end up paying the extra cost, which he estimated at $50 to $100 a year per consumer.”
Yes, my cable connection is expensive, but a bit of finger math shows that the business must be very lucrative. I don’t think my feed costs me anywhere close to $10,000 per year (that’s 100 times $100). Guess those tricky business people receive cash from someplace else besides my monthly investment.
I don’t think the new gift to the broadcasters is going to save their bacon. I haven’t listened to “over the air” television in decades. Perhaps they should also turn off a few of the transmitters.
