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Changes to services putting free television in doubt

Changes to services putting free television in doubt

Written by MARK NIELSEN
Citizen staff
Wednesday, 03 September 2008



It may not be long before free television could be a thing of the past and that's not sitting well with people like Robert Redmond.
The resident of Vivan Lake, 40 kilometres northwest of Prince George, relies on the traditional antenna on top of the set to get his television and since the end of August has no longer been able to get CBC, because CKPG has switched its affiliation to E! channel.
And worse is yet to come as there's a good chance he'll lose all the remaining channels he's still getting by the fall of 2011 when all stations are likely to switch to digital from analogue transmission rendering Redmond's rabbit ears useless.



"I will turn on my TV and have nothing but snow because there will be no TV signals in the air to gather," he said. "I am 15 miles from a cable line, I have a small pension, I can't afford a satellite system and I will have no TV after 2011."
Redmond is not the only one who will be affected. According to the Canadian Media Guild (CMG), a union representing workers in the media industry, 10 per cent of Canadian TV viewers do not subscribe to cable or satellite and rely on their local over-the-air stations for programming.
The changeover to digital appears inevitable -- in the U.S. analogue transmitters will be shut down in February and broadcasters in larger Canadian centres will be required to turn off their analogue transmitters by August 31, 2011.
People living in the bigger Canadian cities who want free television will have to purchase a digital-friendly television or converter box but those in the less populated areas, including Prince George, may not even have that option.
A timeline for smaller communities has not been set but according to the CMG, broadcasters have told the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) they are not eager to replace all of their analogue transmitters with digital ones because of cost.
As many as 977 transmitter sites across the country, many serving more than one community, could be mothballed as a result, the CMG estimates.
"The question is, will you even get free TV in a place like Prince George or will you have to subscribe to cable and satellite?" said CMG communications co-ordinator Karen Wirsig.
However, a CMG study indicates the cost of digital transmitters is not as high as broadcasters are implying. That's because a single digital transmitter can send out as many as six signals on a single frequency whereas an analogue transmitter sends out just one.
"Instead of having to replace all of the transmitters in the smaller markets, somebody could put up one and actually get more television services into the area for free," Wirsig said.
Moreover, because the cost of the transmitter could be shared between the participating broadcasters, the cost of erecting one could be as little as $22,000 per broadcaster, the CMG asserts compared to $132,000 per broadcaster to set up its own transmitter.
The total is assuming all six signals are for standard definition television. If a high definition signal is used, the capacity per transmitter drops to one HD and three SD signals, or two HD signals according to the CMG.
Free television would not only be retained but improved, Wirsig said.
"Imagine, where you are, you could get CBC, Radio-Canada, Knowledge Network, then why not a Canwest station like the local one (CKPG), CTV, and APTN or some local community station," Wirsig said. "That would suddenly be a nice free, over-the-air service."
To see how well it would work, the CMG is proposing a two-year test run in Kamloops, where viewers who rely on rabbit ears have launched an organization, Save Our CBC, after losing CBC when CKPG's sister station switched its affilition to E! in February 2007.
Broadcasters will be asked for their plans when they apply to the CRTC for licence renewals in 2009. In the lead up, the CMG is urging viewers to write letters to their MPs and local broadcasters and to the CRTC in support of maintaining free TV service.



More information on the CMG's campaign, visit cmg.ca on the internet, and click on the "Free TV is at Risk" icon.