GATINEAU – Bell Canada offered a potential solution to the cost problems facing the build-out of high definition by local Canadian broadcasters.
All conventional broadcasters have complained that replacing their broadcast facilities and transmission equipment with digital is cost-prohibitive and have openly mused about using BDUs as a proxy to deliver those signals.
Some BDUs have, in turn, openly wondered why broadcasters would wish to give up spectrum – even in less populous areas – in favour of BDU distribution.
Today, however, in its presentation to the CRTC at the hearing to review the policies affecting broadcast distribution undertakings and specialty services, Bell executives spoke of something they’re calling FreeSat. It’s a term CRTC chairman Konrad von Finckenstein said he was not familiar with (neither were we) and asked for an explanation.
In a nutshell Bell would provide a small lineup of local high definition channels, for free, to consumers, as long as they paid for a basic ExpressVu system able to receive those channels. There would be no monthly fee. The broadcasters, in return wouldn’t have to build their HD OTA networks beyond major centres and would instead distribute via satellite.
However, while the system proposed by Bell would deliver HD OTA to smaller centres at a very low cost, it wouldn’t deliver the local broadcast signal of smaller regions to their towns and cities. There would likely be one OTA HD signal from each time zone in Canada delivered to consumers in this ultra-skinny package, whose only cost would be an ExpressVu dish and set top box.
As for what stations, exactly? “With regard to the signals they get access to, that remains a discussion with each of the broadcasters,” said Bell Video president Gary Smith to commissioners. “We think it’s a powerful concept… most of the broadcasters have indicated interest.”
Some cable executives we talked to have no interest in such a system, because it provides such an obvious, easy bypass of their systems. The upsell potential for Bell under such a program would be significant.
And, broadcasters don’t seem to like it either. When asked about the FreeSat concept, CTVglobemedia’s executive vice-president of corporate affairs Paul Sparkes, asked: “Free for who?
“The consumer has to pay for the equipment and the broadcaster has to pay the provider and the local broadcaster gets screwed. That’s not really a great Canadian solution.”
But, wouldn’t it be substantially cheaper than overhauling all the transmitters – a cost solution everyone is looking for prior to the August 31, 2011 deadline to transition from OTA analog to OTA HD.
“They haven’t really shared much with us,” said Sparkes of the cost. “It seems like another free ride.”
– Greg O’Brien
