CBC entertaining buyers for transmission system; decision could be made by the fall

Canadian Broadcasting Corp president Robert Rabinovitch revealed to a Parliamentary committee that six suitors are interesting in bidding for the public broadcaster's massive transmission infrastructure. Appearing May 16 before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, he said money raised from selling the transmission system won't save the 14 supper-hour news casts that will be cut. But it could provide stability to other programming. What the CBC's transmission system includes:95 CBC stations with their 1,164 rebroadcast transmitters 27 affiliated stations with their 63 rebroadcast transmitters 2 community owned stations and 226 community-owned rebroadcast transmitters In 1998-99, CBC's operating costs for distribution and transmission amounted to $60.1 million (includes satellite transponders leased from Telesat Canada)Revenue from the sale of the transmission system and partnerships with tower buyers could also smooth the CBC's eventual - and costly - transition to digital broadcasting. The CBC president estimates the cost of the switch-over at $800 million, money that has not been set aside by the federal government. "There are private people who ... have indicated they may be willing to partner with us, and part of the deal is that they will pay the cost of going digital," Rabinovitch told the House committee. He said the CBC has struck an internal committee to ensure that a privatized transmission system will be able to handle the demands placed on it by the CBC. "Technology will follow the decision, not the other way around," he said. "There is nothing we are doing in terms of transmission that will impact on our ability to do whatever is eventually decided." Rabinovitch said it isn't just the cash crunch that's prompting the CBC to consider buyers for its infrastructure. The BBC has already sold its transmission system, and many U.S. broadcasters are doing the same. "You don't have to own the tower to deliver the signal. And it may be, given the location of our towers, and given their utility in the new non-wired world, there may be other ways of getting a cash flow from those towers," he said, adding, "we are first and foremost a programmer". Some MPs and interest groups worry the CBC could, in the long run, regret privatizing its transmission system. The Friends of Canadian Broadcasting (see Newsmakers column) notes that about 30 per cent of households continue to rely on over-the-air transmissions. It suggests that some Canadians may lose access to the CBC's television signal if the network is sold off - something Rabinovitch has assured will not happen. Rather, he said that a private company would be in a better position to use the towers to provide new services. The towers "need not be used just for transmitting television," he said. "We, as it is right now, have a business group that sells space on our towers and generates a couple of million dollars a year. We believe we might be able to do it more efficiently. We will not jeopardize, by any decision we make, our ability to use those towers for transmission purposes." Not all of the CBC boosters on the Heritage committee were opposed to the idea of selling infrastructure. NDP leader Alexa McDonough, an outspoken opponent of cuts to regional news, said in an interview with Canadian Communications Reports that Rabinovitch's hunt for the best deal on the infrastructure shows "there are some bold moves and initiatives that are welcome. I also think that leasing or selling infrastructure that is not being utilized is one way of enhancing and strengthening the CBC," she added. Rabinovitch told the Heritage committee that the future of the CBC's transmission system could be decided by the fall.

CBC entertaining buyers for transmission system; decision could be made by the fall

Broadcast | May 25, 2000

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