OTTAWA-GATINEAU – Broadcaster Crossroads Television (CITS) will stay on basic cable on Videotron’s Quebec-Ontario border systems, the CRTC told the company today.
Videotron wanted to distribute the Christian broadcast channel as a digital basic service to its Gatineau, Buckingham, Thurso and Montebello, Quebec – and Rockland, Ontario, systems.
CTS said it would submit to digital basic distribution, so long as Videotron wanted to do it province-wide.
The Quebecor Media-owned cable company, however, added that moving it to digital would free up network space to other specialties and new services.
“Videotron noted that CITS-TV-1, an English-language television programming undertaking devoted to religious programming, targets a niche that does not include all or most Quebeckers. Videotron added that digital distribution of CITS-TV-1 would free up space that could be used by twelve specialty digital services. According to Videotron, the Canadian broadcasting system and the public interest would be better served by offering several specialty programming services rather than a single service with a specialized orientation and a limited target audience.”
The CCTA supports Videotron’s intentions, even though the big Quebec MSO isn’t a member of the association.
"As long as niche specialty channels are given a right to scarce analog capacity simply because they broadcast their service, the digital transition to HDTV will remain on the road to nowhere and consumers will be the losers,” said the CCTA’s president Michael Hennessy.
