The Globe and Mail reports in its Saturday edition the CRTC is unbundling television subscriptions, even as critics warn that may not be what's best for a healthy TV industry. The Globe's James Bradshaw writes Jean-Pierre Blais, the federal regulator's chairman, said March 12, "While content remains king ... the viewer is emperor." Since late January, under the direction of Mr. Blais, the CRTC has unveiled a series of decisions stemming from the Let's Talk TV review, the latest promising subscribers a slimmed down basic cable or satellite option and the ability to choose only the channels they want to add to it. Some observers believe the CRTC is subtly shifting the way it regulates to be less protectionist, putting customer satisfaction ahead of the interests of broadcasters and distributors. The move to begin unbundling channels was widely expected, but the breadth of the decision still surprised some experts. "We might now have the most flexible a la carte regime of any comparable country in the world," said Kaan Yigit at Solutions Research. "Certainly in the U.S., the idea of a la carte like this is definitely something they are worried about as if it's a nasty virus that may jump south of the border."