A majority of Canadians believe local television stations should receive a portion of what consumers pay monthly to their cable companies, according to a new poll.

Seventy-two per cent of those who took part in a Nanos Research study agreed, when asked whether "the government should force the cable companies and broadcasters to negotiate payment for local TV signals."

Fifty-seven per cent agreed when asked whether they believe local TV stations will close, "if cable companies don't pay for the local TV signals."

The numbers are "quite striking," Nik Nanos, president of Nanos Research, told CTV News Channel on Thursday. He said the "Save Local TV" campaign launched by local television stations in September appears to be working.

The broadcasters include CTV, 'A' Channel, Global, CBC, CHEK NEWS, V and NTV. They argue that cable and satellite companies continue to charge viewers for broadcasters' services, while they pay nothing to local television stations.

Cable and satellite companies argue that it would amount to a "tax" on consumers, if they're forced to pay for local TV signals. They also say it's to the broadcasters' advantage to have their programming on cable, in that it increases their audience and ad revenues.

Nanos says the latest poll shows the cable companies' campaign is "probably good from a knee-jerk reaction point of view." But he adds there's a shift in attitude when Canadians realize that none of what they pay in their monthly cable bills goes to TV stations. He also says the results show an "an increasing appetite to bring the cable companies and the broadcasters to the table to work something out."

Nanos said consumers' fears over losing their local TV stations were higher in the Prairies - noting that the closure of CKX-TV, which was Brandon, Manitoba's only remaining local station, was likely a factor.

He added, however, that Canadians don't want to see government wading in on the issue by introducing regulations. "But they do want to see the key players to be directed towards negotiations and talks in order to develop a solution that's fair to everyone."

The random telephone survey of 1,005 Canadians was conducted from October 10 through October 18, 2009. The margin of accuracy for a sample of 1,005 is +/- 3.1%, 19 times out of 20.