As a small business owner in NB, trying to make a competitive edge though local TV advertising is now pointless. It is not surprising the cable operator or satellite TV providers are avoiding simsub responsibilities. Whether cost, technical or what ever the poor excuse is, it is B.S.! I am sure that Rogers Cable will figure out a way to simsub their OMNI.HD (Rogers Broadcasting) signals onto any American HD broadcaster and then into markets well beyond “OMNI-Toronto”.

It is not just the absence of simsubs alone that has me frustrated but more so the allowance of “time-shifting”. Ten years ago TV viewers could only have watched the US (simsub) or the Canadian version. Now cable and satellite have added 6 or 8 Canadian versions from all time zones.

When I asked my local CTV sales rep if she had stats on whether New Brunswickers watched “Oprah” on CTV Atlantic, CFTO or CTV-BC she of course could not tell me.

I do not mean to pick on CTV as the other networks are all in the same boat. However, I believe that it was Bell-ExpressVU that started the “time-shifting” trend with CTV due to Bells’ controlling interest in CTV at that time.

Obviously local advertising to the networks is too costly and not worth protecting.

I’d hate to give away a marketing scheme but with the absence of time shifting would not more subscribers rent digital video recorders?

First of all, the channel is mandatory only on "digital TV" in Quebec. As such, revenues are considerably lower while operating costs are essentially the same as they would be for a national service. No economies of scale here. It is therefore unfair to say that the owner stands to profit greatly.

Secondly, the initial petition to the CRTC proposed approximately 45% expenditures in the production of Canadian programming. The 20% mentioned referred only to the portion allocated to the production of "Safety & Prevention" messages produced with police, fire departments and other public safety organizations. Our response to the CRTC clarifies this matter.

Finally, since it first came on the air in October 2004, ADR TV had to pay its only cable distributor for distribution of its service in Quebec. The amount is approximately $16,000 per month. ADR TV is probably the only television channel in Canada that pays for its distribution. With no source of revenue, the CRTC decision to recognize the "public interest" nature of the service and granting minimal subscriber revenues allows ADR TV to continue to provide the valuable service to the community. After all, isn't the life of a child worth what is essentially a nickel a month?