CRTC opens proceeding on satellite TV policy

The CRTC announced Tuesday that it will hold a hearing on Nov. 16 to review its direct-to-home (DTH) satellite television policy. Right now, Bell Canada and Shaw Communications Inc. offer DTH services in Canada through Bell TV and Shaw Direct, respectively. A company called FreeHD Canada has received CRTC approval to start its own DTH satellite service, but has not yet launched its business. The hearing will focus on issues of "simultaneous substitution" and the carriage of conventional television stations with DTH services. DTH providers are required to air the Canadian broadcast signal of an American program if they are both airing at the same time. These simultaneous substitution rules do not apply, however, if the American signal is of a higher broadcast quality than the equivalent Canadian signal. If an American network airs a program in high definition while a Canadian network airs the same program in standard definition, the American signal will prevail. “Simultaneous substitution and, simultaneous substitution of HD programming in particular, is often the subject of complaints to the Commission by DTH subscribers and by broadcasters,” the CRTC said in Tuesday’s notice of consultation. One complaint said Bell customers received simultaneous substitution programming from affiliate stations outside of their communities. The CRTC plans to address these issues at the hearing. On conventional broadcasting, the commission announced that it will increase the number of over-the-air television channels DTH providers must air by Sept. 1, 2011. On that date, the providers will be required to carry one television station per province for each of the major over-the-air broadcasters in Canada. Broadcasters say DTH carriage of their over-the-air channels is imperative while satellite providers say that technical limitations prevent them from providing local, over-the-air channels to all of their customers, and that the process is simpler for cable. The deadline for submissions is Sept. 8, 2010.

CRTC opens proceeding on satellite TV policy

Brief | July 20, 2010

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CRTC opens proceeding on satellite TV policy

Brief | July 20, 2010

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