OTTAWA-GATINEAU – With some 400 or so days to go until Canadian over-the-air broadcasters must transition to digital, the CRTC has weighed in on a few of the many issues.
For starters, the Commission agreed to modify its regulation to allow television distributors to offer “a free alternative” to affected viewers in smaller markets where local stations decide not to convert to digital. These companies will be able to offer a package of local and regional stations at no charge to viewers, however, in order to receive the free local package, the CRTC acknowledged that some of those consumers may have to purchase a satellite receiver and dish. It estimated that at most, 31,500 households could be affected.
The Commission called consumer awareness and education “a key component” of the digital transition, and instructed the broadcasting industry “to actively participate in the creation and implementation of a national consumer education program” which should start no later than March 2011.
At the request of the industry, the CRTC also approved “one or more” trial markets ahead of the August 31, 2011 deadline in order to “provide an opportunity to assess the adequacy of all measures for the transition, including consumer education measures”.
Lastly, it estimated that up to 857,000 households in larger markets do not currently subscribe to either cable or satellite, and could therefore be impacted by the transition.
Click here for more on Friday’s announcement.
