SunTV OTA (Shutdown November 1, 2011)

[tvlurker]

If you look at the Industry Canada database, it appears that SunTV received permission to continue broadcasting in Toronto on an out of core channel with the same low power they are using today:

ON  Toronto  TO 66 CKXT-DT  433833 -792314 458.0 482.8 3000 3000 782.00
..   
ON  Toronto  OP 66 CKXT-DT  433833 -792314 458.0 482.8 3000 3000 782.00

TO means "Temporary Operation", so it looks like IC granted Sun the permission to broadcast out-of-core until SunTV returns its OTA license to the CRTC on October 31.

Hamilton and London are authorized for increased power on their exisitng channels. It remains to be seen if they actually up the power there.

Ottawa will have to shut down, as it would be too expensive to make the necessary channel and antenna changes for only two months of operation. I'll be watching to see what Rogers Cable does with the the SunTV position on 66 on both the analog and digital systems in Ottawa, since SunTV will no longer warrant Priority Carriage in the Ottawa market.

On the Quebec side, Videotron has already signed a deal for SunNews, but will they stop providing for free to the Gatineau system?

[writerpatrick]

Yet stations above 51 are suppose to be vacated in September so Sun can't continue in analogue on 66. They were suppose to go to 40-1 in digital so it's possible they could continue on 40 as analogue. But the decision to shut down OTA was Sun's. I think they may be trying to become a pay specialty channel. If so then they might have a chance to get back on Bell as a specialty channel.

[tvlurker]

Please see what I wrote above. Low power operation on certain channels above 51 is still tolerated on a case by case basis, without the benefit of protection from interference.
Since it is highly unlikely that anyone else would be using the channel 66 frequency before October 31, I imagine Industry Canada was able to agree to its use.

Note that the CBC is also continuing operation on some analog transmitters above channel 51, on an unprotected LP (low power) basis. I don't recall what the LP limit is for ATSC operation on channel 66, but I imagine that 3 kW would be OK.

[alebowgm]

They asked to be removed from Bell because they wanted fee-for-carriage. Bell said no. CKXT is just simulcasting Sun News Network which is a specialty channel. So they aren't trying to become anything. What they are trying to do is leverage the simulcast into viewers calling their BDUs and saying, where did Sun News go? As said previously, Ottawa is the test for the BDUs. Rogers can pull Sun News off the analog tier and also drop it completely in Ottawa if it wants. Will there be backlash in the nations capital? Possibly, and it may lead to a Sun News carriage agreement, but I can't forsee it being anywhere but the digital spectrum. What may be a compromise is Rogers says you can keep the channel you are on, but we are dumping you from analog so only digital subs can get it in the 2-99 range. Why? Because it will free up bandwith for them to jam a few more channels in.

[alebowgm]

Agreed with tvlurker. He is on the money here.

[DrSat]

I guess the real question is how is Rogers in Ottawa getting the Sun News feed? If it's off the CKXT OTA signal then it will go down immediately once Sun News turns off their OTA transmitter in Ottawa.

[tvlurker]

I'm pretty sure that Rogers in Ottawa gets most of its feeds either via fiber from Toronto or by direct feed from the local studios.

For example, years ago, TVO was in stereo on cable but not OTA (or maybe it was vice versa? i don't remember)

Also, OTA going down does not affect most Rogers channels, except for CFGS (V).

[alebowgm]

Depends on the feed. I think if memory serves that Rogers gets in WNLO and WNYO feeds OTA. A few other US feeds are also pulled OTA.

[gmd]

Originally Posted by DrSat

Apparently the Ottawa transmitter will cease broadcasting on September 1st as it would be too costly to transition it to the permanent digital channel but the Toronto, Hamilton and London transmitters are supposed to continue until mid-October.

Regards,

Dr. Sat

Which station are we talking about here? CKXT has only been in digital in Ottawa. At the beginning there was a -1 and -2 (one HD, one SD - which the CRTC didn't like).

How much can changing the channel cost?

-gmd

[tvlurker]

gmd, CKXT has been digital on channel 20, boradcasting from Camp Fortune from the TVO antenna halfway up the tower.

Post-transition, channel 20 belongs to OMNI2 at Herberts Corners, which needs to move off out-of-core channel 66.

SunTV's post-transition allotment is for channel 33. For some reason known only to Quebecor, they applied for channel 33 with an antenna height on the tower that happens to correspond to where the channel 4 antenna is currently.

Instead of a perhaps a small cost to switch frequencies on the same antenna, or move to the TeleQuebec antenna (which currently broadcasts channels 30, 34, and 40 ) slightly higher up the tower, they would have to incur the cost and delay of removing the large VHF antenna and replacing it with a UHF antenna.

The first two options may or may have not been too costly for only two months of operation, but the third one most certainly would have been.

And given that in Toronto SunTV has chosen to stay on 66 on a TO basis for two months, instead of moving to channel 40, I doubt even the first two options would have been worth it. Don't forget that SunTV already has a specialy carriage agreement with its sibling Videotron in Gatineau, so only the Rogers coverage is at stake in Ottawa.

[MCIBUS]

If it goes it goes. If Rogers is stupid enough of not making a deal by now with Sun TV, then Sun TV deserves to be taken off in Ottawa and then having the Ottawa Rogers subs in Ottawa YELL BASH ETC Rogers to the max in e-mails & to the CSRs.

[ScaryBob]

Neither Rogers or Bell need Sun News. Sun News needs them but is playing hardball like they are the cream of Canadian news channels. It just isn't so. Positioned as a right wing news channel, it's probably a more popular station out west, which is probably why Shaw made a deal. To me, it's just another second rate CAT2 channel taking up bandwidth that could be used by something better.

As to OTA channel assignments, Sun TV's frequency will likely be in demand for the GTA. Ottawa and London already have 4 unused DT frequency assignments each so I don't expect any rush of applications.

[tvlurker]

I suspect that 33 might be in demand in Ottawa should any stations on VHF want to switch. The only other open UHF allotment is 50, which would likely require a new antenna at Camp Fortune, but could probably be accommodated at Herberts Corners.
The VHF allotments in Ottawa are all problematic: 4 is useless, 11 is short-spaced to Kingston and 12 is short-spaced to Montreal.

Note that Toronto has an open allotment on 8, although obviously 40 is much better.

[tvlurker]

Originally Posted by alebowgm

Depends on the feed. I think if memory serves that Rogers gets in WNLO and WNYO feeds OTA. A few other US feeds are also pulled OTA.

I was talking about Rogers Cable in Ottawa, not Toronto.
In fact, I believe that many Ottawa retransmitters also get their feeds from Rogers as well. (Of the fifteen local TV transmitters in Ottawa-Gatineau, only 7 originate here, including 3 in French.)

[Kimbo]

After looking at TV Fool's website, I see that CKXT-DT has the following three (post change) frequencies already confirmed:

Hamilton 15.1
Ottawa 33.1
Toronto 40.1

My guess is that as long as SUN News can maintain the license to the CKXT-DT designate - then they can continue to broadcast as an OTA (tier 1) station.
[which should mean that all cable and satellite providers have to continue carrying their channel]

Just my thoughts.