The CRTC issued two excruciatingly long documents Wednesday filled with proposed changes to the country's current TV regulations. As I sit in my doctor's office waiting for an appointment scheduled for two hours ago, I decided to plow through it. There were two items that seemed the most significant to me.

The first, if I read the jargon right, involves the possibility that all those pay movie channels you shell out lotsa money for could wind up showing - wait for it - commercials! Yep, HBO, The Movie Network and others that are currently spot free will be able to supplement their incomes by running ads, presumably between programs.

The decision follows an announcement by the commission that it would no longer differentiate between genres of categories for cable broadcasters in Canada. Still, the CRTC makes it clear no one is obligated to go the commercial route.

"...removing the advertising restriction on pay television services will not necessarily lead these services to avail themselves of the opportunity to broadcast advertising. Some may elect to remain “commercial free” as a marketing strategy, or adopt a phased approach towards a new business model."

Let's hope so. I can't see how an already over-gouged public would react to seeing spots before their eyes on stations they already pay a premium to receive. In other news, the commission reaffirmed that TV broadcasters can only pump out 12 minutes of commercials during an average hour. For whatever that's worth...

The other noteworthy item is for those of us with TV antennas, who get signals over the air. The CRTC says both Canada and the U.S. are planning to reallocate the 600 MHz part of the spectrum for mobile phone use. But that's where a lot of current locals have their digital signals. Which means they'll have to move and you'll have to reprogram and rescan your television set if you watch OTA.

From their release:

"The 600 MHz repack will result in a new digital television (DTV) allotment plan for both countries, which could impact the majority of Canadian OTA TV broadcasters. The new DTV allotment plan could require many OTA transmitters to change channel (i.e., their frequency of operation) or convert to digital to repack transmitters more tightly in lower frequencies, while making the upper portion available for mobile use."

No timeline yet on when that will happen, but I can only imagine how thrilled the Big Bad Broadcasters are at the expense this will cost them for signals they already believe no one watches.

Which brings me to my final note. Among the items on the agenda in the near future is an application by Bell to shut down 40 (!) of their current transmitters across the country, mostly in rural areas. I can't wait to see what the CRTC says about that request.

Those who want to torture themselves with the minutiae of all this will find them here and here. 

Last edited by RadioActive (November 2, 2016 2:16 pm)