CRTC Warns Broadcasters of Nearing Deadline to Switch to Digital TV

The deadline is only 14 months away, and the chair of the CRTC warned broadcasters at the Banff World Television Festival on Monday that they need to be proactive in making the switch from analog to digital television.

“The whole world ... has converted and we are behind,” Konrad von Finckenstein told a packed room. “It’s time we catch up.”

30 countries have already made the switch, and von Finckenstein emphasized there would be no extension on the date. The chair, however, did acknowledge that the move is an expensive endeavor, but required if we wanted to avoid "crisis."

A trial run is being planned in Winnipeg and Quebec City before the actual switch is implemented on August 31, 2011.

An estimated 900,000 households who will be making the switch to digital television will be required to purchase a $75 converter for compatibility purposes. Von Finckenstein urged the government to implement a $67-million program to subsidize the cost. Furthermore, an additional $13-million subsidy could help households in rural towns continue accessing free local television after the switch by covering costs of satellite dishes and receivers.

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