OTTAWA – Canada’s broadcasters aren’t about to give up spectrum and go through another digital upgrade again without being paid for moving – and believe some of the funds coming from the next big wireless auction must be re-directed towards a new local television production fund.
First comments were due into Industry Canada Wednesday on its consultation into repurposing the 600 MHz band – the slice of spectrum upon which much of the country’s TV signals ride.
While most agree that harmonizing our bandwidth plan framework with the United States is a good idea, independent broadcasters and vertically integrated media and wireless companies alike say it would be wrong to expect broadcasters to move to other frequencies (making the millions in investment required) without full compensation.
In 2016, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission is holding an incentive auction where broadcasters can voluntarily give up their 600 MHz spectrum in exchange for some of the hundreds of millions expected to be taken in during the auction. Canadian conventional TV broadcasters have already gone through a digital transition (in 2011) when they were forced off the 700 MHz band and have yet to recover costs from that. The federal government earned $5.27 billion from the auction of 700 MHz spectrum.
“Since television broadcasters have yet to fully recover their significant costs of transitioning to the current digital television (DTV) allotment plan in 2011, the Department should fully compensate all affected operating regular power OTA television broadcasters for the cost of transitioning to a new channel under the new allotment plan and for any television station value that is lost as a result of the new allotment plan,” reads the submission from Rogers Communications, which echoed those of Shaw and Bell.
“A local programming fund should be established to maintain the viability of OTA television services. The 600 MHz auction proceeds could be used to provide this compensation and funding.” – Rogers Communications
“A local programming fund should be established to maintain the viability of OTA television services. The 600 MHz auction proceeds could be used to provide this compensation and funding,” added the Rogers document.
“(B)roadcasters should be fully reimbursed for all costs incurred in changing from an existing digital channel to another digital channel, including: engineering consultants; tower work; building and site preparation and reconfiguration; equipment reconfiguration and/or replacement; equipment installation; project staff resources; replacement of studio equipment; consumer awareness campaign,” reads the Shaw submission.
“The auctioning off of this spectrum will create a unique opportunity for the Government to provide financial support for local television stations that are being displaced as a result of the harvesting of the 600 MHz spectrum for mobile use at a time when the financial struggles of local television stations across the country are well documented,” adds the joint Bell Mobility/Bell Media submission.
“We therefore ask the Government to consider setting aside a portion of the auction proceeds to create an independently administered fund to support local television stations across the country
It’s worth noting, said some of the companies, that the CRTC just ruled in January that OTA television, while shrinking in viewership and overall importance, remains a key pillar of the TV system and the Regulator has required the companies to keep their towers humming, if they want to retain their policy advantages.
“The CRTC itself has stated in its most recent policy statement on conventional television that over 40% of viewing in the English-language market and over 50% in the French-language market is to conventional television stations during the prime time hours of 7 to 11 pm. Conventional stations garner 40% of the news programming viewing market share. As a result, the CRTC has mandated that OTA stations must maintain an over-the-air presence in order to retain certain regulatory privileges, such as distribution as part of the basic service and program rights protections in the form of simultaneous substitution,” reads the submission from the Canadian Association of Broadcasters.
Not everyone agrees, though, that anything should be done right away – and if so, long lead times are required prior to the repurposing of the 600 MHz band. The CBC is adamant that nothing need be done anytime soon.
“CBC/Radio-Canada opposes any steps aimed at the repurposing of the 600 MHz band at this time.”
“CBC/Radio-Canada opposes any steps aimed at the repurposing of the 600 MHz band at this time – whether or not those steps are coordinated with the FCC,” says its submission, especially since the CRTC and Industry Canada seem to be working at cross-purposes right now. “The Corporation is deeply concerned by the lack of coordination between Industry Canada and the CRTC regarding the regulatory environment and future prospects for OTA television services in Canada.”
Given the CRTC’s recent OTA TV decisions and chairman Jean-Pierre Blais’ assertions of the importance of conventional television (he was surrounded by off-air receivers when he spoke in London in January about how great an off-air, uncompressed HDTV signal looks), “it would be extraordinary for Industry Canada to now expect broadcasters to spend further millions to transition their 600 MHz band television stations to new frequencies – with multiple consequent disruptions to the OTA environment,” reads the CBC submission. “Broadcasters have just finished making major investments in transmission facilities and other wireless equipment. Why should they now be forced to spend even more, especially when the long term future of OTA broadcasting is uncertain?”
The CBC is also a bit of an outlier in saying there is no spectrum crunch and that wireless operators are overstating their need for this low-frequency spectrum (which penetrates buildings easily and will be great for rural deployments thanks to the distance signals can travel on 600 MHz). “There is no compelling evidence that the repurposing of the 600 MHz band is necessary at this time,” adds its submission, which has independent research to back its claim.
“On the contrary, there is a strong argument that the alleged need for more spectrum for mobile wireless services has been exaggerated in recent years, especially in light of the proliferation of Wi-Fi in virtually all urban centres.”
Independent broadcasters also doubt the need to give up their 600 MHz bandwidth, especially in the areas they operate. Spectrum demand, notes the Small Independent Television Stations coalition (SMITS) is concentrated in urban regions, not in the areas its members run TV stations. And besides, just because wireless is thought to be the future, doesn’t mean TV has to be trampled on. The two must co-exist, fairly and economically.
“While IC rightly (and thankfully) proposes to ensure that all Canadian full power stations in the 600 MHz will be found new allotments, it also makes it clear that ‘most [of the other] TV undertakings, operating in both UHF and VHF bands, would also be assigned new TV channels’,” reads the SMITS submission.
“In other words, under IC’s proposal, practically every local television station in Canada would be required to relocate their channel position, whether or not they are above or below the frequency band that will be assigned to mobile broadband and whether or not that spectrum is actually needed for mobile broadband in the market concerned at the time.
“This would add tremendous time pressure, viewer inconvenience and cost for channel relocations in markets that may not even have sufficient demand for mobile broadband to warrant it in the foreseeable future. It may take many years before there is sufficient demand in less populated areas for mobile operators to construct new networks utilizing the proposed 600 MHz band. There is no justification for television stations to unnecessarily vacate this band until such time as mobile networks will be constructed.”
SMITS has asked for a minimum 39-month notification period of any transition to a new channel allotment plan.
Reply comments to these submissions, which can be found here, are due March 26th.
