Radio / Television News

Industry Canada delay means CTV wants to direct-feed its HD in nine markets


TORONTO and GATINEAU – CTVglobemedia wants to be able to deliver the high definition signals of nine conventional TV stations to cable, satellite and telco TV distributors via a direct fibre feed, rather than over the air, the CRTC announced today.

The nine stations are: CJCH-TV Halifax; CFCF-TV Montreal; CJOH-TV Ottawa; CHRO-TV Pembroke; CHRO-TV-43 Ottawa; CKVR-TV Barrie; CKY-TV Winnipeg; CKCK-TV Regina; CFRN-TV Edmonton; CIVI-TV Victoria.

“The licensee also notes that Commission policy, to this point, has not required BDUs to provide simultaneous substitution with respect to HD television signals offered by direct feed only. CTVgm submits that the simultaneous substitution rules for HD television, whether offered by an over-the-air transmitter or through a direct feed, should be harmonized,” reads the public notice.

BDUs are also not required to simultaneously substitute an inferior analog TV signal over top of a foreign HD signal, so when it comes to common programming such as Grey’s Anatomy, for example, CTV is losing viewers in those markets to HD homes who will likely search out the better-quality American high definition signal.

In its licensing policy for transition from analog to digital, over-the-air television, the Commission said that a broadcaster may not provide a direct feed of its signal in HD until an application for a digital transitional licence has been approved, notes the CTV application.

However, “CTVgm notes that, until the final allotment plan and new Broadcasting Procedures and Rules are published by the Department of Industry, it will be unable to provide all of the technical information to receive a digital transitional licence for the services identified above,” reads the release.

In the meantime, however, viewers are able to access HD programming from U.S. broadcasters, and they’re missing the Canadian commercials. “In CTVgm’s view, the public’s ability to access HD programming from non-Canadian rather than Canadian services is not in the public’s best interest,” says the company.

While Canadian broadcasters have publicly said in the past that it’s too expensive to install new digital transmitters to cover all Canadians, CTV in this instance is only proposing to do a direct feed until either the approval of an application for a digital transitional licence for this services, or 12 months from the date of the decision adding this provision.

www.crtc.gc.ca