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DIGITAL TV, PRIDE VISION AND THE CRTC

The Canadian Radio and Television Commission (CRTC) was established in 1968 to regulate Canadian broadcasting. There were only a limited number of airwaves available and it was believed that the CRTC would, by way of regulations, provide some diversity for Canadian broadcasting. In this regard, the CRTC was to ensure Canadian content in our broadcasting. Its basic philosophy was that Canadians should be protected from foreign sources of information and entertainment. Over the years, the CRTC has, in fact, become the arbiter of public taste and has wielded bureaucratic judgment instead of honouring observable audience preferences, like ratings. In short, the CRTC now assumes that Canadians cannot be trusted to select the correct television programs and it behaves like a paternalistic, irascible parent with a duty to make these decisions for us.

The Advent of Digital Programming

New technologies now provide us with digital TV, which not only provides a superior quality sound and picture, but has also created a limitless number of available channels.

The CRTC, however, is determined to regulate digital TV as well, even though it can no longer justify its control based on the scarcity of available channels.

In this regard, on November 24, 2000, the CRTC issued a licence for a digital TV channel to PrideVision, which is to provide programming for the gay/lesbian/homosexual transgendered community. According to the CRTC's announcement, it is supposed to add "diversity to the Canadian broadcasting system by providing a unique service to create understanding and reduce stereotyping of this significant portion of Canadian society." The CRTC also proudly states that it is the first television service in the world dedicated to the gay and lesbian community. So unique is this, it has made the news worldwide. For example, on September 7, 2001, in Caracas, Venezuela, the newspaper, "El Nacional" reported in wonderment that Canada had established the first gay channel in the world with 24-hour programming "to promote understanding of the homosexual society and their problems." It is certainly one way to get international attention!

The CRTC has ordered that PrideVision channel and 20 other digital channels must be carried by Canada's cable companies and satellite carriers. These channels are called Category 1. There are also 262 digital channels called Category 2 digital channels available on a wide variety of topics, such as books, movies, country (rural), fashion, public affairs, music, women's sports, mystery, etc. However, only the 21 Category 1 channels (16 English and 5 French), including PrideVision, were designated by the CRTC for mandatory inclusion on the cable and satellite outlets.

Significantly, when the CRTC licensed the new Category 1 digital channels, it insisted on "bundles" of channels to be provided, even though technology allows them to be sold individually. The rationale for the bundling is that it would boost the commercial prospects of less popular channels. The channels to be included in each bundle are to be determined by the cable and satellite carriers and could contain existing non-digital channels, some of the 262 other licensed Category 2 but all 21 Category 1 channels, including PrideVision must be included in the bundles.
The cable companies have made the digital channels available free, for a 3-month trial period. Shaw Communications, however, sensitive to its viewing public, excluded PrideVision from its free preview and instead, required that viewers to go through a two-step process to view the channel by paying a small fee plus taxes to view that channel. Shaw Cable also appealed to the CRTC on September 25, asking that it be exempt from having to offer PrideVision alongside the other digital channels in some markets - especially since the channel will be offering "erotica" and nudity in its programming. The CRTC immediately jumped on Shaw Communications, ruling that it was discriminating against PrideVision and ordered it to include the channel in its free viewing.

One unfortunate consequence of the CRTC's decision is that the PrideVision channel is now shown free in the 2.2 million households equipped with a digital set-top box during the 3-month trial. Please note that most TV sets in Canada are not yet equipped with the V chip mandated by the CRTC to screen adult content programming like PrideVision!

Viewing Digital TV

In order to view digital TV, viewers must have a set-up digital box (costing about $10.95 per month) or a satellite dish. At present, only about 2.2 million of Canada's 11 million television households are digital capable. Digital providers are confident, however, that its share of the market will increase, comparing it to the introduction of the touch-tone telephone. Although its use developed slowly, few people are now without one. It is interesting that one month after the digital channels were available (October 7), Nielsen Media Research determined that the highest number of viewers of any of the digital channels (the Animal channel) in prime time was only 4,600 viewers. Tied for second place were the classic TV rerun channel and Showcase Action channel (showing movies for men). Other top performers were SexTV, MenTV and the Discovery Civilization channel.

A new age dawns in broadcasting, but a rusty, dated, know-it-all, federal agency persists in clinging to power and ignoring a wide range of excellent viewing options. While continuing to apply pressure to include such questionable programming, the CRTC has completely ignored the highly acclaimed and sought after religious broadcast, Eternal World Television Network (EWTN).

In order to encourage cable and satellite companies to carry EWTN, it is suggested that the cable companies be contacted directly, especially by current customers. Requests submitted with bill payments are most highly regarded by the companies, so let them know you want them to carry EWTN.

Hopefully, too, such actions will demonstrate that Canadians are able to make responsible viewing choices without the overbearing "assistance" of the CRTC.

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