GATINEAU – Bell Media can go ahead and decommission 28 over-the-air TV transmitters after receiving CRTC approval today.
In its application, Bell noted the transmitters (at right), all in rural regions, rebroadcast the signals of various CTV or CTV2 stations “and none offer programming that differs from that which is offered by the originating stations,” reads the CRTC decision. “The applicant stated that these transmitters do not generate any incremental revenue and generally attract little to no added viewership.”
For example, the company’s Huntsville, Ontario transmitter rebroadcasts the feed from CTV Sudbury – which means it’s likely that in Ontario, cottagers with old rabbit-ear-powered analog TVs will likely complain about the shutdowns when they start in 2021. According to the company's application to the CRTC, more than 760,000 households are within the countours of the transmitters being shuttered, but it's likely most subscribe to a cable or satellite TV company to get their television.
The CRTC noted that none of the transmitters are actually functioning as local broadcasters where they are transmitting original local news or other content and, consistent with the approval it gave Corus to shut down some transmitters, “licences such as those held by Bell Media are authorizations to broadcast, not obligations to do so. This mean that, while the Commission has the discretion to refuse to revoke broadcasting licences, even on application from a licensee, it cannot generally direct a licensee to continue to operate its transmitters.”
It’s also part of the slow end of an era – that of free, off-air, television.
