The ten year debate over the introduction of pay television in Canada is addressed using the concept of external signals to examine the interactions between the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) and the players in the regulatory environment. / A critique of the notions of "public interest" and of regulatory "capture" precedes the analysis. An historical overview establishes the key issues shaping the nature of the CRTC as a signal-sending and signal-receiving institution. / The evidence demonstrates that the CRTC was not a passive receptor of external signals, but actively shaped and directed or deflected incoming signals according to its own public priorities. The conclusion holds that the traditional capture model does adequately describe the CRTC's behaviour as it attempted to manage the complex political and technological forces surrounding the pay television issue.

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