OTTAWA – About a year after receiving the original application for a new national over-the-air high definition television network, the CRTC called a hearing today, set for February 11, to talk about it, but this isn’t a license many are clamoring for.
The CRTC opened a call for competing applications in June and received none, save for a regional license application from a company calling itself YES TV.
Entrepreneur and XM Canada chairman John Bitove wants his new proposed company, HDTV Networks, to be a free, over-the-air broadcaster with transmitters in each of Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Halifax. And if the current broadcast distribution regs hold, such stations would be must-carries for all BDUs.
"Canadians deserve the latest innovative technology in television programming which they will be able to access from us for free," said Bitove, in a release issued today.
"One of the cornerstones of our application is our commitment to provide another home for Canada’s independent television production sector," he added. "In this age of increasing consolidation, we will offer a new opportunity to air dynamic ‘Made in Canada’ productions, as well as new sources of entertainment for Canadians and for export around the world."
YES TV, however, has more modest plans. Its application says it will be a Toronto-only high definition broadcaster “dedicated to youth empowerment with a strong focus on aboriginal and marginalized youth,” it reads.
One of the names in the application is Aaron Goldman, a producer who once had a hand in the now defunct High School Television Network.
“YES T.O.’s programming aims to inspire, engage and empower our audience, providing them with the information and tools they need to get the most out of life. Highly entertaining, empowering and informative, YES T.O. takes media convergence to the ultimate level by plugging in the most creative minds in the country – youth – and reaching and interacting with them via the media they use most: television, Internet and mobile devices,” says its brief.
Look for the existing broadcasters to line up against these applications, not unlike they successfully rallied against TV Niagara in 2005.
– Greg O’Brien
