Some small cablecos opt to drop talktv due to satellite transponder change

CTV Inc.’s decision to switch the satellite transponder from which its talktv specialty channel is distributed means that the channel may no longer be offered by some small cable systems. The move will likely result in lower distribution for the specialty channel, which is still in the early stages of development. At least two cablecos have already dropped the specialty channel from their lineups. Hamilton ON-based Mountain Cablevision Ltd., which serves about 37,500 cable subscribers, has replaced talktv with CourtTV Canada because of the transponder move. Compton Communications, which serves about 4,800 customers in Uxbridge and Port Perry ON, is another cableco that has dropped talktv from its lineup. Small cablecos can still get talktv but it is now more costly to do so, according to Carol McLean, senior director of specialty television distribution at CTV. "It’s not a question of (small cablecos) can’t access it. They can still access it, but it just requires more equipment to do so," she tells Canadian Communications Reports. "And they always have the opportunity to get the signal off ExpressVu. But that again requires a different kind of equipment. So it’s not that it’s inaccessible, it’s just that the smaller cable operators have to invest more money in order to get it." She adds, "Certainly, it wasn’t an issue for any of the large cable operators, but I don’t know how many of the small cable operators might not carry it any longer." Mountain Cablevision has decided to access some channels not available through Canadian Satellite Communications Inc. (Cancom) by using Bell ExpressVu LP, but has opted for CourtTV Canada over talktv. Pat Kiely, Mountain Cablevision’s director of business operations, has previously told CCR that the cableco will have to buy a Tandberg receiver, priced at US$1,378, for each ExpressVu signal it wants, even before investing in grooming equipment (CCR, July 18/02). However, smaller cablecos using Cancom’s Headend in the Sky – Quick Take (HITS-QT) system to go digital cannot access any Bell ExpressVu signals including talktv. "It was a corporate decision to (move talktv)," McLean notes. "We made a corporate decision to move the service to a transponder that we own. It was more of an efficient use of our satellite space. (We haven’t moved it to) a further transponder. It’s just a different transponder on the same satellite. And what we did was move it into the transponder that we own – that NetStar (Communications Inc., which has since been renamed CTV Specialty Television Enterprises Inc.) actually owns." Small cable operators have previously complained that moving programming services to different transponders can make it difficult for them to continue to offer their customers the same channels. Some small cablecos using HITS-QT have also complained that Cancom’s decision not to offer French-Canadian channels in digital is making it impossible for them to comply with the CRTC’s policy on the distribution of Canadian French-language specialty services in English markets. Cancom moved all the French-language services over to transponders on the Anik E2 satellite, making them unavailable to HITS-QT customers (CCR, Jan. 18/02). The CRTC indicated in its small cable systems digital migration policy – Public Notice 2001-130 – that it would contact Cancom and ExpressVu to discuss the issue of optimizing transponder lineups. It also stated it would inquire about transponder lineups at Cancom’s next licence renewal hearings.

Some small cablecos opt to drop talktv due to satellite transponder change

News | 09/12/2002 4:00 am EDT

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