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CBC/Radio-Canada appeared
before the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC)
to propose a new regulatory framework that it says would fix the
long-standing problem regarding the provision of local television station
signals to satellite TV subscribers across Canada.
As a result of the CRTC's current rules - which require satellite
television providers to carry only one station per time zone - hundreds of
thousands of Canadians are being deprived of access to their local
signals, CBC described.
The problem is particularly acute in the province of Quebec, it says,
where Shaw Direct carries only one of Radio-Canada's six local stations,
and Bell TV only three. That means that a large proportion of satellite
television subscribers in the province are forced to watch local news and
programming from Montreal, instead of what's being created in their own
backyards.
"Local stations provide a fundamental public service to their
communities," said Sylvain Lafrance, Executive Vice President of French
Services for CBC/Radio-Canada. "They help citizens connect with their
local government, businesses, schools, sports teams and community
organizations. They help define, build and sustain the local culture and
local democracy. The current lack of access in Quebec is a major concern.
Correcting the situation is an immediate priority."
"Bell TV and Shaw Direct provide service to about a quarter of households
in Canada," said Steven Guiton, Vice President and Chief Regulatory
Officer of CBC/Radio-Canada. "They are strong, mature companies that are
making a significant contribution to Canada's broadcasting system. But
they're not living up to their responsibilities with respect to local TV.
Parliament has made the distribution of local television stations a
priority. The DTH providers have not."
The limits on satellite capacity that existed in the 1990s have been left
behind. New satellites have been launched and advances in compression and
modulation technology are greatly enhancing transmission efficiency. Both
Shaw Direct and Bell TV have far more raw capacity available to them than
at any time in the past, the hearings were told. There's no technical
justification for continuing to limit the carriage of local stations
moving forward.
CBC/Radio-Canada proposed to the Commission a regulatory framework that
aligns the public policy goal of greater carriage of local channels with
the satellite television providers' own business goals of expanding their
overall service offering to Canadians. A mix of incentive measures and
diversity-of-voices rules, the proposal would allow satellite television
providers to expand their offering on a timely basis, through their own
business planning
Source: Mediacaster, 11/17/2010 |