Corus wants to shutter 44 TV rebroadcasting transmitters

Corus Entertainment Inc. is asking the CRTC for permission to shut down 44 television rebroadcasting transmitters in small rural markets, arguing they are too expensive to run. “The rebroadcasting transmitters generate no incremental revenue, and attract little to no added viewership for Corus,” its Part 1 CRTC application said. “They are also costly to maintain, and we expect expenses to increase as a result of the Government of Canada’s re-allotment plan for the 600 MHz band.” Corus said the rebroadcasting transmitters it wants to shutter are all located in small markets which are for the most part already served by transmitters from adjacent larger markets. Its application said about 1.5 million Canadians live within the range of the transmitters it wants to shutter, but it argues fewer than 20,000 viewers would be affected. “In light of the challenges faced by Corus’s conventional broadcasting business, and the minimal disruption to viewers in the affected communities, this plan is sensible from a business perspective and upholds Corus’s commitment to its audiences,” it said. The application said Corus is “fully aware” it could face potential consequences for shutting the transmitters down, such as losing the ability to request simultaneous substitution in those areas or basic service distribution. Some of the transmitters it wants to shut down fall under a regulatory obligation from 2010 that they be upgraded from analog to digital. Its application includes a request to abandon its upgrade spending plan for the last 20 transmitters that need to be upgraded, and redirect $2.36 million from transmitter upgrades into Canadian content production, industry associations and broadcasting schools. In 2010, the CRTC approved Shaw Communications Inc. to purchase broadcast properties from Canwest Global Communications Corp. and as part of that, required a tangible benefits package that included a $23 million investment to convert 67 analog television transmitters outside of markets where conversion to digital is mandatory -- something it says was delayed by government regulatory changes to the 600 MHz band. According to its 2017 benefits report, it spent some $20.1 million over eight years to convert 47 transmitters over to digital, leaving 20 remaining. Corus is proposing to distribute the remaining money allocated for transmitter upgrades, the $2.36 million, to the Canadian Media Fund (CMF), industry organizations and a number of postsecondary journalism and broadcast programs – something that it acknowledges comes after “difficult decisions” it made after it acquired Shaw Media in 2016 that led to a decrease in “commitments to some industry organizations.”

Corus wants to shutter 44 TV rebroadcasting transmitters

Brief | November 13, 2018

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Corus wants to shutter 44 TV rebroadcasting transmitters

Brief | November 13, 2018

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