Pelmorex flexes emergency alert muscle in the Maritimes

Earlier this week Pelmorex Media Inc. showcased its public alerting abilities in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island by displaying customized alert messages on its The Weather Network and MétéoMédia channels in each province.The demonstration was in recognition of Emergency Preparedness Week and, the broadcaster says, is not an indication of any movement toward an all-channel alert system in Canada."We're certainly committed to getting public alerting information on our own channels...the demonstration kind of goes to that issue," says Paul Temple, senior VP of regulatory and strategic affairs at Oakville ON-based Pelmorex. "I guess it's really a matter of seeing how much real interest there is from others and whether there's a viable business plan. That's still a little too early to sort out I think."It's been more than two months since the CRTC proposed amending the Broadcasting Distribution Regulations to facilitate broadcast-based emergency alert services (Public Notice 2007-20) and emergency responders, broadcasters and BDUs are just now looking at the best ways to implement warning systems; the commission's decision essentially left the nature of the services open to the BDUs' discretion.Canadian Communications Reports reported last week that the Ontario government is working with Emergency Management Ontario and the Ontario Association of Broadcasters to implement a service called Alert Ontario, the nature of which will be formally announced in July (CCR, April 30/2007). In the case of Pelmorex, the broadcaster lobbied the commission to mandate its proprietary All Channel Alert service for use by all BDUs in Canada. When its request was denied, Pelmorex was sent back to the drawing board to determine what it wanted to do with its service (CCR, March 16/2007). It's still possible the broadcaster could negotiate distribution agreements with various BDUs across the country, but Temple says Pelmorex has still not yet determined its course of action. In the meantime, Pelmorex will continue to issue localized emergency alerts over its two weather channels, something it's been doing for two decades. In the Maritime demonstration, each province issued full-screen alerts using a blue background (a red background is reserved for Environment Canada warnings). For example, New Brunswick residents saw the following message: "This week is Emergency Preparedness Week across Canada. This is a demonstration of the New Brunswick provincial warning system in cooperation with The Weather Network...In the event of an emergency this channel may be used to issue an alert to the public." Until all-channel emergency alert services get rolled out, The Weather Network and MétéoMédia will remain among the best options for extreme weather warnings. "This is a way for those provinces to reach the public," says Temple. "I don't think we're suggesting it's a cure-all; we still have the problem of if you're not watching the Weather Network, you're not going to see the warnings. But at least people are aware that if there is a sense that there's they can turn to the channel and find out if there is a warning."

Pelmorex flexes emergency alert muscle in the Maritimes

Broadcast | May 11, 2007

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