CAMBRIDGE, ON – CRTC chair Konrad von Finckenstein has taken a shot at Canadian broadcasters’ slow progress in converting to digital, urging them to invest in digital infrastructure, including for over-the-air transmission, high-definition Canadian programming and public awareness campaigns.
“I am raising this issue with you today because I do not want to get any nasty surprises in 2011. With the few possible exceptions I mentioned [in remote northern Canada], nobody will be getting a licence to broadcast in analog after the cut-off date,” he said during a speech at the 2008 Broadcasting Invitational Summit on June 19. “My great concern is that the industry will not be ready. There will be requests for delays, and we will have a crisis on our hands. This must not be allowed to happen.”
He also referred to “no concerted effort at communication and or education by the industry or individual players. 2011 is not a long time away. In fact, given the activity to the south, to my mind the real date is not August 2011, but February 2009 – and that is just around the corner.”
He urged broadcasters to present concrete and comprehensive digital rollout plans to the CRTC at the time of their licence renewals next year.
“And they should aim at implementing the transition as soon as possible, not waiting till August 2011. We will want to know the timetables for the rollout. Which facilities will be converted and when? What do you plan to do in small communities?” said von Finckenstein.
He indicated the plans will be a major factor in deciding what kind of terms the CRTC will grant in the licence renewals.
Von Finckenstein also told the broadcasters that they would have to make investments in digital infrastructure, including for over-the-air transmission. He referred to these investments as “the cost of staying in business” and outright rejected broadcaster pitches to be able to deliver all signals through cable and satellite TV, rather than through costly OTA digital transmission.
“I would like to make the CRTC’s position very clear. Over-the-air transmission has always been the cornerstone of our broadcasting system. We expect that OTA will move to digital and will continue to play that key role. It is here to stay,” he stated.
The CRTC chair also said that broadcasters would have to invest in equipment and facilities for the production of high-definition programming, and the costs of production itself.
“That programming is essential to the survival and success of the Canadian broadcasting system. It is already becoming more difficult to export programs – especially to the United States – unless it is in HD format,” he noted.
He also pointed to the aggressive rollout of the American industry, which is working toward a complete analog shutdown date of February 17, 2010.
“To sum it up, we are very concerned about the whole issue of transition to digital. In our view, it is much more pressing than is generally accepted,” said von Finckenstein. “The U.S. switchover in 2009 [for OTA broadcasters] will have a major effect on us. Much of our industry will be hard-pressed to do what they have to do in the next 1,168 days. It is time to start moving on this.”
The Canadian date for making the transition to digital is August 31, 2011 – which the CRTC chair noted is just 1,168 days away.
