Don't leave Canadians in the dark about major changes to TV signals

GATINEAU, QC, Sept. 10 /CNW/ - A group of media watchers and researchers sent a letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper today calling for a public education campaign on the transition to digital television.  On August 31, 2011-just under a year from now-broadcasters will start shutting down their analog TV transmitters, which may come as a rude shock to as many as 3 million Canadians who rely on them for TV service.

After the transition:

• Canadians in approximately 47 cities (those with populations over 300,000 and some smaller centres) where broadcasters are installing new transmitters will need a digital TV or a digital-to-analog converter to continue watching TV for free over the air.
• Over-the-air viewers outside the centres slated for digital upgrades will need to find other options to continue watching television after analog transmitters are shut down. The number of transmitters operating in Canada is slated to drop from nearly 1,000 to about 150.

"The transition to digital TV poses a threat to rural and low-income Canadians" says Catherine Edwards of the Canadian Association for Community Television Users and Stations (CACTUS).  "Digital broadcasting has huge potential, but communities have to know the changes are coming and the clock is ticking."

"The transition requires a sophisticated public awareness campaign," says Michael Janigan, Executive Director and General Counsel of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre. "One day soon, Canadians are going to turn on their TV sets to watch the news or their favourite show, and all they'll see is static. People need to understand what is happening to TV broadcasting where they live and they'll need clear information, repeated over and over again."

"The government has to take leadership," says Karen Wirsig of the Canadian Media Guild. "President Obama delayed the transition in the US last year because so many Americans were unaware it was coming, even after industry and government spent billions on a major campaign there."

"Going digital should represent an opportunity for smaller communities, not a step backwards," adds Edwards.  "What no one's telling Canadians is that for a fraction of the price of cable or satellite, communities can maintain their own transmitters and multiplex new services:  a local community channel, free wireless Internet, local emergency, weather, or news updates. Communities with as few as 300 households are doing it.  But it needs planning.  Municipalities have to get this information in time."

To read the open letter, go to http://cactus.independentmedia.ca/files/cactus/DTV%20transition%20-%20education%20campaign%20letter.pdf.

To find out which communities have free TV now and which are slated for free digital TV after the transition, visit http://www.cmg.ca/freetvmainEN.shtml.

To find out what your community can do to maintain your access to free over-the-air TV after the digital transition if it is not on the upgrade list, visit http://cactus.independentmedia.ca/node/438 

For further information:

Catherine Edwards, CACTUS, Tel: [phone], email: [email protected]

Karen Wirsig, Canadian Media Guild, Tel: [phone], ext. 243 or 416-578-1651 (cell), email: [email protected]