A bleak picture is being painted this week for Canada's broadcast networks. The CBC is considering cuts to services, CTV is closing or selling some stations, and the owners of Global TV are on the brink of filing for bankruptcy protection.

All media companies are suffering in the recession. But the problems conventional broadcasters face are unique, and they are asking the federal regulator to consider some immediate changes.

Last year, CTV and Global went to the Canadian Radio-Television Telecommunications Committee (CRTC) to say that the conventional TV model is broken and the solution is to use the cable television revenue model.

Cable and satellite television providers don't pay for the conventional network signals they distribute. The two major private networks argued that they should have access to the same steady subscriber revenues that cable specialty channels earn.

"It's time has come. It's not fair for people to pay for service like TSN but expect a main network like CTV or CBC for free. It's time for fee for carriage," Ian Morrison of Friends of Canadian Broadcasting told Â鶹´«Ã½.

But the CRTC said no, part of their argument being that the broadcasters were not making a clear business case that they were losing money.

But the economic landscape has dramatically changed in the last year. Advertising revenues are down, and both CanWest Global and CTV have made some staff reductions to cut costs.

In early February, the CRTC said that private television broadcasters saw their profits drop 93 per cent in 2008.

Heritage Minister James Moore called the situation "alarming."

"We want to make sure as a government that Canadians are being served and getting their news and getting their information," Moore said Friday.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has hinted that the government is looking at its options from a policy standpoint.

But don't count a bailout for the media.

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said the government would not bail out any Canadian media companies, including the CBC.

Earlier this week, the CBC said it is looking at a $60-million budget shortfall and asked Ottawa for help.

The public broadcaster's president, Hubert Lacroix, said the CBC is not asking for more government money and is looking for the government's co-operation on a number of substantial policy changes to bring in more revenue.