Across CANADA - CTV stations to be discontinued?

[GeoStar]

hahahahah

It's all marketing!!!

( a way to get more customers on cable or satelite than ota)

money and subcriptions to the gong tower satellite system ( ctv's owner )

hey gong , ppl don't need 30000 channels too many comercials and too many repeats of the same shows too watch , and you know specialty channels don't deliver for the money or internet rates would not have risen ....

just like the sour-oce can only buy crappy ota gear for resale to individuals , I wonder why ? :?

who owns the sourorce ? hahahahah the gong ?

[Reader]

In response to bcgirl's questions about what is going on with CTV and the point of the November CRTC hearing, here is a bit of the recent history, as I know it, and what it means for digital OTA TV:

I have been following the CRTC hearings since 2006, when broadcasters first indicated their plans for the digital transition during the "TV Policy" hearing.

All of the broadcasters except CBC were vague in that 2006 hearing, saying they wanted to do as little as possible for the transition. CBC said it planned to reduce its current crop of 700+ analogue transmitters and repeaters to 44 digital transmitters for originating stations only.

At that time (actually in its 2007 decision on that hearing), the CRTC set the August 2011 deadline for the digital transition and ruled that it would not require broadcasters to update their existing transmitters - and repeaters - to digital but would only provide simsub and priority carriage after the switchover to those stations with digital transmitters. Apparently, the CRTC thought - despite the obvious reluctance of the broadcasters - that the digital transition would actually involve an investment in OTA.

During last spring's hearing that ended in the short-term licence renewals, the CRTC asked the private broadcasters for their "detailed plans" for the transition. Only Rogers - with among the smallest crop of transmitters - provided a truly detailed plan; Rogers will update all of its OMNI and Citytv transmitters by 2011.

Again, the CRTC heard the complaints from broadcasters about their financial situation and most of the hearing was taken up with discussions about the Local Program Improvement Fund (which is not to be spent on transmitters, as far as I know, but on news programming), fee for carriage and Canadian content. The part of the hearing on the digital transition was a footnote, at best.

Meanwhile, the deadline for the transition was about 2 years away and it was clear that none of the broadcasters had really begun to look at it very seriously.

After the spring hearing, the CRTC decided to *require* digital transmitters in communities that fall under the following categories:

1) More than 300,000 in population
2) More than one originating station
3) Provincial or territorial capital.

The CRTC listed 29 communities it thought fell under these criteria.

Earlier, CTV had applied for permission to do "direct feeds" of its digital signal to cable and satellite providers in nine communities on a temporary basis, arguing it didn't want to put up transmitters because the Industry Canada frequency allotment hadn't been finalized. The CRTC said ok so now it has simsub and priority carriage, on an interim basis, for its digital feed in Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa (two stations), Pembroke, Barrie, Winnipeg, Regina, Edmonton and Victoria. All but Pembroke are on that 29-city list mentioned above ... so presumably the arrangement in those other places will indeed by temporary.

At last spring's hearing, CTV notified the CRTC that it was turning off a series of analolgue repeaters in smaller areas and, as far as I know, those repeaters have been/are being shut down.

CTV told CRTC it wasn't renewing the Windsor, Wingham and Brandon stations at that time, but later changed its mind on Windsor and Wingham (after the LPIF money was increased) and sold the Brandon station to Bluepoint.

The CBC confirmed its transition plans publicly at last week's "Annual General Meeting" (webcast): Right now, CBC and Radio-Canada have a total of 8 digital transmitters (combo of English and French). They plan to do a total of 32 digital transmitters (down from the 44 they talked about back in 2006) and only if they find the money will they finish the job. This will, indeed, involve shutting down hundreds of analogue repeaters across Canada. From their own estimates, 300,000 existing OTA viewers will be cut off.

Now for the November hearing - first off, it is likely to be completely dominated by the "fee-for-carriage" debate. However, the CRTC wanted comments on what I believe are two key aspects of the digital transition:

1) Is the list of 29 cities mandated for the transition appropriate? (Ie. should the list be larger or smaller?)
2) Should broadcasters who don't put up digital transmitters still get the simsub and priority carriage benefits?

If you care about availability of free digital TV outside of the big centres - CTV or otherwise - the obvious answers to the questions is NO (the list is way too short) and NO!

By the way, the November hearing is likely to be delayed or changed in some way because of the government's order to allow more time for "consumers" to comment on the "fee-for-carriage" issue. (Unfortunately, no apparent concern to make sure "consumers" know about what's likely to happen to free TV and to give them time to comment on THAT.)

After all I've seen and heard in the last few years, I cannot be very optimistic that the broadcasters will do more than they tell the CRTC they will do on the digital front. Having talked to some of them, I can tell you their hearts are really not in it.

The best solution would probably be something I've seen mentioned on other threads: a new organization to launch something like Freeview in Canada.

[ralph_sinclair]

Great summary Reader.

Maybe it should be stickied somewhere?

I have two questions:

Is the public still able to submit interventions for the next round of CRTC hearings?
Is there a list somewhere of the 32 transmitters CBC plans to convert to DTV?

[tvlurker]

At last spring's hearing, CTV notified the CRTC that it was turning off a series of analolgue repeaters in smaller areas and, as far as I know, those repeaters have been/are being shut down.

Good summary, but I don't think CTV has shut down any repeaters to date. Certainly it is my understading that the CJOH transmitters in Corwall, Deseronto, and PEmbroke are still operating. Note that these licenses were all renewed by the CRTC, and AFAIK, CTV has not returned them for cancellation.

[roger1818]

Originally Posted by Reader

At last spring's hearing, CTV notified the CRTC that it was turning off a series of analolgue repeaters in smaller areas and, as far as I know, those repeaters have been/are being shut down.

Even thought CTVgm applied to shut them down, the CRTC renewed the licenses for all of them so to the best of my knowledge, none of these repeaters have been shut down and I believe they will be operational for at least another year. My theory is that a back room deal was worked out to keep them running until August 31, 2011.

[Reader]

Is the public still able to submit interventions for the next round of CRTC hearings?
Is there a list somewhere of the 32 transmitters CBC plans to convert to DTV?

1) The CRTC closed comments for the upcoming hearing in mid-September. However: the government has since ordered the CRTC to go back and solicit comments from "consumers" on the fee-for-carriage aspect of the hearing. The CRTC has not yet issued that notice (might come this week), but I don't think there's anything stopping you from using the opportunity to also comment on OTA. After all, if only the 29 cities on the CRTC list get digital OTA, about 11 million Canadians would have to pay for cable or satellite to watch any TV at all. That would mean they would be stuck with what the cable companies are calling a "TV tax" in the form of fee-for-carriage.

2) The CBC has never published a list of the transmitters it plans to upgrade to digital. Last week, CBC President Hubert Lacroix said at the Annual Meeting that the CBC plans to put up a total of 32. In their comment on 2009-411, CBC says they aim to put up a digital transmitter for every originating station. By my count, CBC and Radio-Canada have 27 owned and operated TV stations, so I'm not sure where the other 5 would be.

[downbeat]

Originally Posted by reader

By my count, CBC and Radio-Canada have 27 owned and operated TV stations, so I'm not sure where the other 5 would be.

I can think of a few provincial capital cities with no originating CBC TV station:
- Victoria, B.C. (English & French)
- Quebec City, Que. (English)
- Halifax (French)
- St. John's, Nfld. (French)
Then there are places where digital upgrades are required but there are only CBC repeaters. Lethbridge, Alta., and Kelowna, B.C., come to mind.
And then there are places like Calgary, where there is no originating Radio-Canada station but is large enough to require a digital upgrade.

[mjjl]

CBC says they aim to put up a digital transmitter for every originating station. By my count, CBC and Radio-Canada have 27 owned and operated TV stations, so I'm not sure where the other 5 would be.

The CBC has previously indicated that they plan to add a digital transmitter in Victoria, and accordingly the IC database now includes an entry for such an allocation.

The CBC can and should maintain all its low-power transmitters in analog, which I believe will be permitted in Canada. This will especially be important in the far North, where cable may not be available and satellite is cost-prohibitive. Some existing transmitters in areas like Sudbury could be downgraded to LP to allow them to continue on.

Some of CBC's transmitters are really not needed though.

[downbeat]

Originally Posted by mjjl

The CBC has previously indicated that they plan to add a digital transmitter in Victoria, and accordingly the IC database now includes an entry for such an allocation.

We should keep in mind that IC allocations will exist whether a station plans to use it or not.

[Reader]

By the way, the November hearing is likely to be delayed or changed in some way because of the government's order to allow more time for "consumers" to comment on the "fee-for-carriage" issue. (Unfortunately, no apparent concern to make sure "consumers" know about what's likely to happen to free TV and to give them time to comment on THAT.)

Today, the CRTC announced a new deadline for comments from the public on fee-for-carriage and actually did include a question about how limited DTV upgrades will affect consumers.

The CRTC notice is here.

[schoenbe]

Do CTV et al. realize the effect on their viewership of waiting for the very last moment for converting to digital? A very significant portion of their content comes from US networks, and as such can be viewed on the original networks ABC, NBC, CBS etc. The US networks have already converted to digital and are widely available in several of Canada's major urban areas. A large portion of viewers (myself included) will just migrate their viewing habits to the US networks and may not come back to the Candian ones, even after conversion to DTV.

[Jase88]

@schoenbe: CTV has a digital affiliate in most major Canadian cities, which is then carried by BDU's (as well as OTA). Therefore, the majority of Canadians (via a BDU) have access to CTV high definition programming.

Of course for those without a BDU subscription and using an antenna to capture US signals (a minority of Canadians), then your example would apply.

[foxfan]

Well there are no CTV-HD stations in Montreal or Ottawa. They carry CTV Toronto on cable but since there is no real local station they have no simsub rights. I'm happy but the fact is they are losing viewers.

[downbeat]

I envy those of you who live within spitting distance of the U.S. border.
You have the choice of ditching your BDU to receive free OTA digital HD U.S. network programming, whereas people in places like Calgary and Edmonton don't.

[JamesK]

Many people within "spitting" distance of the border live in apartments, condos etc., where they cannot put up an external TV antenna and so cannot receive U.S. channels OTA.