Bell Media proposes shutdown of 40 CTV and CTV Two retransmitters

It’s not quite as bad as the massacre of hundreds of analog over-the-air transmitters by public broadcasters in 2012, but Bell Media has proposed a major cull of its transmitters, removing a third of them from their licenses as part of its licence renewal application filed with the CRTC.

The cull affects mainly low-power retransmitters in small towns, some as little as 1 Watt of transmitting power, though some are as high as 260,000 Watts. All of the affected transmitters are analog (and so none broadcast in HD).

Bell Media explains its request thusly:

These analog transmitters generate no incremental revenue, attract little to no viewership given the growth of [cable and satellite TV] subscriptions and are costly to maintain, repair or replace. In addition, none of the highlighted transmitters offer any programming that differs from the main channels. The Commission has determined that broadcasters may elect to shut down transmitters but will lose certain regulatory privileges (distribution on the basic service, the ability to request simultaneous substitution) as noted in Broadcasting Regulatory Policy CRTC 2015-24, Over-the-air transmission of television signals and local programming. We are fully aware of the loss of these regulatory privileges as a result of any transmitter shutdown.

In short, Bell has determined that these transmitters cost far more to operate than they’re worth in viewership, even when you consider secondary benefits like simultaneous substitution.

As part of promises to the CRTC, including during the Astral acquisition, Bell promised to keep its TV stations on the air through 2016 or 2017. With its licence up for renewal on Aug. 31, 2017, that promise expires. Nevertheless, no local originating stations are pegged for shutdown here, and there’s no direct effect on local programming.

The list of transmitters Bell wants to delete from its licences is below. The CRTC counts 42, while I count 41 (not including the three already approved as part of separate CRTC decisions). In some cases, the transmitters are already off the air for a variety of reasons (“destroyed in a fire” comes up a few times, though the reasons can sometimes be quite strange).

UPDATE: Bell has revised its list, and now has 40 transmitters listed, not including those already approved.

A couple to note:

  • CJOH-TV-8 Cornwall, a retransmitter of CTV Ottawa, has a 260,000W signal that can be easily captured in the western part of Montreal and off-island suburbs. It’s the last analog television signal that reaches into the Montreal area, and it’s the reason why CTV Ottawa is carried on Montreal cable systems. Bell estimates this transmitter reaches 73,823 people.
  • CKNX-TV Wingham was a CBC affiliate that launched in 1955, then became an A Channel station owned by CHUM, then was sold to CTV. In 2009, at the height of the battle over fee for carriage, CTV said it would have to shut down the station, prompting a ridiculous negotiation for a sale to Shaw via newspaper ads. Despite a $1 purchase price, Shaw reneged on its offer after due diligence. CTV converted the station into a retransmitter of CFPL-TV London, Ont., and it became part of the CTV Two network. (Since then, CTV was bought by Bell and Shaw bought Global TV, which effectively ended the fee for carriage debate.) Of all the transmitters proposed for shutdown, this one reaches the most people (235,984).

Note: This list has been updated with six additional transmitters (in italics) listed at the end of this post, which Bell added in the proceeding to reconsider the licence renewals in 2017/18.

CTV stations (46/109 transmitters)

CJCB-TV Sydney, N.S. (1/6 transmitters):

  • CJCB-TV-5 Bay St. Laurence (1W)

CJCH-DT Halifax, N.S. (3/9 transmitters):

  • CJCH-TV-2 Truro (8W)
  • CJCH-TV-3 Valley Colchester County (8W)
  • CJCH-TV-8 Marinette (10W)

CKCW-DT Moncton, N.B. (5/9 transmitters):

  • CKAM-TV Upsalquitch (already approved) (230,000W)
  • CKAM-TV-1 Newcastle (9W)
  • CKAM-TV-2 Chatham (9W)
  • CKCW-TV-2 St. Edward/St. Louis, P.E.I. (1,100W)
  • CKCD-TV Campbelton (1,800W)

CHBX-TV Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. (1/2 transmitters):

  • CHBX-TV-1 Wawa (66,400W)

CJOH-DT Ottawa (1/4 transmitters):

  • CJOH-TV-6 Deseronto (100,000W) (UPDATE: Bell says this transmitter was listed in error)
  • CJOH-TV-8 Cornwall (260,000W)

CICI-TV Sudbury, Ont. (1/2 transmitters):

  • CICI-TV-1 Elliot Lake (19,000W)

CITO-TV Timmins, Ont. (3/5 transmitters):

  • CITO-TV-2 Kearns (325,000W)
  • CITO-TV-3 Hearst (7,110W)
  • CITO-TV-4 Chapleau (1,550W)

CKY-DT Winnipeg (4/9 transmitters):

  • CKYB-TV-1 McCreary (already approved) (10W)
  • CKYF-TV Flin Flon (2,060W)
  • CKYP-TV The Pas (2,130W)
  • CKYS-TV Snow Lake (8W)

CICC-TV Yorkton, Sask. (4/5 transmitters):

  • CICC-TV-2 Norquay (69,000W)
  • CICC-TV-3 Hudson Bay (680W)
  • CIEW-TV Warmley (170,000W)
  • CIWH-TV Wynyard (140,000W)

CIPA-TV Prince Albert, Sask. (4/5 transmitters):

  • CIPA-TV-1 Spiritwood (46,900W)
  • CIPA-TV-2 Big River (205W)
  • CKQB-TV Melfort (15,500W)
  • CKQB-TV-1 Nipawin (11,600W)

CKCK-DT Regina (5/7 transmitters):

  • CKCK-TV-1 Colgate (84,800W)
  • CKCK-TV-2 Willow Bunch (52,700W)
  • CKCK-TV-7 Fort Qu’Appelle (241W)
  • CKMC-TV Swift Current (100,000W)
  • CKMC-TV-1 Golden Prairie (229,000W)

CFQC-DT Saskatoon (1/3 tansmitters):

  • CFQC-TV-1 Stranraer (100,000W)

CFCN-DT Calgary (4/9 transmitters):

  • CFCN-TV-1 Drumheller (80,000W)
  • CFCN-TV-6 Drumheller (9W)
  • CFCN-TV-16 Oyen (710W)
  • CFWL-TV-1 Invemere, B.C. (10W)

CFCN-DT-5 Lethbridge, Alta. (6/10 transmitters):

  • CFCN-TV-3 Brooks (8W)
  • CFCN-TV-4 Burmis (382W)
  • CFCN-TV-11 Sparwood, B.C. (8W)
  • CFCN-TV-12 Moyie, B.C. (5W)
  • CFCN-TV-17 Waterton Park (1W)
  • CFCN-TV-18 Coleman (9W)

CFRN-DT Edmonton (2/11 transmitters):

  • CFRN-TV-2 Peace River (4,300W)
  • CFRN-TV-8 Grouard Mission (10,000W)

CFRN-TV-6 Red Deer (1/2 transmitters):

  • CFRN-TV-10 Rocky Mountain House (1,600W)

No retransmitter deletions are proposed for the following stations:

  • CKLD-DT Saint John (3 transmitters total)
  • CFCF-DT Montreal (1 transmitter total)
  • CFTO-DT Toronto (3 transmitters total)
  • CKCO-DT Kitchener, Ont. (2 transmitters total)
  • CKNY-TV North Bay, Ont. (1 transmitter total)
  • CFQC-DT Saskatoon (3 transmitters total)
  • CIVT-DT Vancouver (1 transmitter total)

CTV Two stations (2/12 transmitters)

CFPL-DT London, Ont. (1/2 transmitters):

  • CKNX-TV Wingham (260,000W)

CKVR-DT Barrie, Ont. (1/4 transmitters):

  • CKVR-TV-1 Parry Sound (7W)

No retransmitter deletions are proposed for the following stations:

  • CHRO-DT-43 Ottawa (1 transmitter total)
  • CHRO-TV Pembroke, Ont. (1 transmitter total)
  • CHWI-DT Wheatley, Ont. (2 transmitters total)
  • CIVI-DT Victoria (2 transmitters total)

Other stations (1/5 transmitters)

Bell Media acquired two TV stations in northern B.C. from Astral Media. They have since adopted CTV Two programming, but are licensed separately from Bell Media’s other stations.

CJDC-TV Dawson Creek, B.C. (1/3 transmitters):

No change is proposed for CFTK-TV Terrace, B.C. (2 transmitters total)

CTV and CTV Two also have (de facto) affiliates in Lloydminster, Thunder Bay, Kingston, Peterborough, Oshawa and St. John’s. These are not owned by Bell Media and are unaffected by this application.

In a letter, the CRTC asks Bell for more information about this request, notably how many of these transmitters are still running and how many people will be affected. A response is requested for Monday, June 27, but the major broadcasters have requested an extension to that deadline because of the amount of information being requested of them.

The CRTC is accepting comments from the public on Bell Media’s licence renewals, which includes the deletion of retransmitters, until 8pm ET on Aug. 2 Aug. 15. You can submit comments here (choose Application 2016-0012-2). Note that all information submitted, including contact information, becomes part of the public record. Public hearings will be held in Laval and Gatineau in November to discuss the application.

UPDATE: This post is prompting some discussion on Reddit (here and here), and some of those comments seem to be based on some misconceptions:

  • Many point out that CTV/CTV2 is owned by Bell Media, which also owns a TV distributor, as if they’re doing this merely to boost TV subscription rates. The likelihood of a large number of people in these tiny towns switching to a pay TV service owned by Bell is pretty low. And if this was the purpose, wouldn’t they have shut down more transmitters? (Besides, CTV doesn’t get subscription fees from people who subscribe via cable companies.)
  • Some say in general CTV would have been better off if it wasn’t owned by a telecom company, or that this wouldn’t have happened if CTV was independent of one. That, of course, ignores several facts: (1) CBC and TVO also shut down hundreds of analog retransmitters years ago, (2) Global TV’s parent company actually did go bankrupt before the network was purchased by Shaw, and it might not have survived had that not happened, and (3) Conventional television as an industry is losing money or barely breaking even, and a lot of that is because the cable companies that own those networks are subsidizing them.
  • A couple say the channels or bandwidth should be given or sold to another company so they can put transmitters or TV stations there instead. But (1) Broadcast television allocations are not sold like that; (2) There’s zero demand for new television stations or transmitters; and (3) there is plenty of space on the television broadcast band for more transmitters, especially in these small markets.

UPDATE: In the CRTC’s reconsideration of the English-language groups’ licence renewals, Bell added yet more transmitters to the list:

Retransmitter of CITO-TV Timmins, Ont.:

  • CITO-TV-2 Kearns

Retransmitters of CKY-DT Winnipeg:

  • CKYF-TV Flin Flon
  • CKYP-TV The Pas

Retransmitter of CFQC-DT Saskatoon:

  • CFQC-TV-1 Stranraer

Retransmitter of CKCK-DT Regina:

  • CKMC-TV Swift Current

Retransmitter of CJCH-DT Halifax:

  • CJCH-TV-3 Valley Colchester County

34 thoughts on “Bell Media proposes shutdown of 40 CTV and CTV Two retransmitters

    1. Fagstein Post author

      Does this mean we will no longer be able to watch CJOH-8 in Montreal?

      If you watch CJOH on Channel 8 via antenna, you won’t be able to receive it anymore.

      Reply
      1. Nicolas

        and there’s good chances that the channel will be remove from Videotron line-up in Montréal.

        Skinny basic rules forbid Videotron from puttting it in the basic package.
        Right now , CJOH (just like City-Toronto) is nowhere to be found on Videotron website.

        Reply
        1. Fagstein Post author

          Skinny basic rules forbid Videotron from puttting it in the basic package.

          To be more specific, skinny basic rules set a limit on how many out-of-market over-the-air stations can be part of the basic package. But Videotron can throw it in to whatever non-basic packages it wants, similar to Stingray channels and RDI. Whether they will continue to do so outside of the Ottawa region is a good question. Does it really serve a purpose?

          Reply
          1. Anonymous

            the “rules” for what can be carried on skinny basic aren’t really worth the paper they’re written on. look at rogers cable in toronto. they carry russian channel “rt” as part of the skinny basic package but they don’t say it like that. instead it’s called an “extended free preview”. it’s been free since march 1st 2016. easy to do because there are no rules on how long a free preview can last, or for that matter if a new free preview for the same channel can start the same day the old free preview ended.

            Reply
        1. Fagstein Post author

          Will Videotron and the other television service providers drop the station from their service?

          Videotron operates in the Ottawa region, so it can’t completely drop the channel. But for areas outside of CJOH’s coverage area, they could drop the channel (and have to from basic packages). It might come down to simple demand — how many people want to keep CJOH in their packages?

          Reply
  1. What!

    All these analog re-transmitters are useless. They need to go. Bell shouldn’t even need to ask the CRTC about shutting them down.

    But when it comes to a originating station, then that would be a different story.

    Reply
  2. dilbert

    There is a bigger story at play here, which is longer term the elimination of local / regional broadcasting to be replaced with “big center only” networks. This is the first step towards Bell being able to ditch the local transmitter rules to benefit from SimSub.

    Can it really be that long before even places like Montreal lose their local presence, or perhaps diminished to be on par with the other “local” green screen players?

    Making Bell run unprofitable transmitters should never be part of the game. If they don’t want to run them, that’s their business prerogative. However, the CRTC should not allow them to profit (through SimSub) in areas where they have no broadcast presence. That’s really what a whole lot of this will turn out to be about. Bell will shut down the transmitters, and keep on providing a Simsub signal to viewers in those areas. All the benefits, none of the costs.

    This has the potential to be a major car crash.

    Reply
    1. Fagstein Post author

      However, the CRTC should not allow them to profit (through SimSub) in areas where they have no broadcast presence.

      Bell Media made it explicitly clear in its application that it accepts it can no longer do simultaneous substitution in areas where it is shutting down transmission towers.

      Reply
      1. dilbert

        I think they are much more counting on the concept that simsub tends to be “system wide” on things like Bell TV and local cable systems. So if only some consumers don’t have a signal (for whatever reason) the potential is that they will get sim-subbed anyway.

        Reply
        1. Fagstein Post author

          So if only some consumers don’t have a signal (for whatever reason) the potential is that they will get sim-subbed anyway.

          That would be against the CRTC’s rules.

          Reply
  3. What!

    Losing access to CJOH (8) analog from Cornwall is really a none issue.

    If you get it through cable, you probably know that other than the local Ottawa news, it’s basically the same programming as CFCF (12.1) in Montreal.

    If you get it OTA (over the air) you are probably getting a very unstable signal since it’s in analog. And if you use a outdoor antenna, you probably can get either CFCF (12.1) from Montreal, or CJOH (13.1) from Ottawa. Both are near by. And in digital. with a much better OTA signal.

    If you want to make a point to the CRTC about it, I would suggest you ask them to force Bell into increase the power output of both CJOH (13.1) Ottawa, and CFCF (12.1) Montreal to help OTA reception between these two stations transmitters. A 2kw increase of these two stations can cover a larger area on VHF.

    Here is the TVFool reception map for both stations.

    CJOH (13.1 – CTV) Ottawa
    http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=80&q=call%3dcjoh%26type%3dD

    CFCF (12.1 – CTV) Montreal
    http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=80&q=call%3dcfcf%26type%3dD

    Reply
    1. Anonymous

      for me in my location of lac-des-plages quebec it is the only reliable signal that i can get and it stable and cristal clear without any snow or ghosting and cjoh 13 is not a reliable signal as it comes in and out throughout the day

      Reply
  4. Robert Haslewood

    Hope we do not lose CJOH(8) from the line up of channels I receive from Videotron. Occasionally I watch their 6:00PM newscasts and CHEO telethons. Of course I miss the late Max Keeping and Leigh Chappel and those who were unjustly fired Carol Ann Meehan and Carolyn Waldo.

    Reply
    1. Fagstein Post author

      Hope we do not lose CJOH(8) from the line up of channels I receive from Videotron.

      I’m not aware of any plan by Videotron to drop the channel. But you should tell Videotron you want to keep it. They react to comments from their customers.

      Reply
      1. rick

        in vaudreuil west of montreal i am on an analog cable and have trouble seeing 14 CITY CJNT is there anyway to increase the signal ?? this has been happening in the past few months. will analog one day become obsolete ??

        Reply
  5. Anonymous

    Has CTV channel 12.1 stopped transmitting around Montreal? I use local OTA antenna and have not picked it up the signal for around a month.

    Reply
  6. Earlier Bob

    Well, with this, the CRTC has allowed the removal of all OTA Canadian channels in the Cornwall area. I only receive American stations.

    Reply
  7. Christian

    It is not nice since it was our only tv station that we got local news and we can’t afford satellite or the internet so it is a shame to loose ctv London it is sad that it is all about greed and the lower income families get hit the worst

    Reply
  8. Rob

    Wow this is not progress. It would be if they were switched to Digital even SD.The CRTC should really re-think it’s licencing fees so more off air channels can exist. Canadian channels should utilize the subchannels or multicast channels more with discounts on licensing from the CRTC.

    Reply
  9. The Antenna Guys

    I testified before the CRTC on behalf of Antenna Users in Canada in 2014 when Bell, Rogers, Cogeco and Shaw wanted to shut down their over the air transmitters because they were ‘”too expensive to operate”. It was clear at the time (and now) that they did not want to transmit over the air any longer and would do everything in their power to shut down their transmitters. I suggested at the time that if they could not afford to transmit – then perhaps they should divest themselves of these money-losing stations – or that maybe the CRTC made a mistake allowing BDU’s to purchase broadcasters in the first place.
    In the US – broadcasters have embraced HD TV over the air – offering many extra sub-channels of programming (sometimes running Infomercials to help pay the bills). I had commented (among others) to the CRTC that if the Canadian Broadcasters did not embrace over the air transmissions, our viewing would eventually be exclusively US channels – with NO Canadian content.
    It is obvious (to me at least) that the large TV Monopolies (let’s call a spade a spade) have absolutely NO interest in allowing the Networks that they own to broadcast programming that they own on sub-channels. Bell could get CTV to put TSN and MuchMusic on sub-channels, Rogers could get a whole new audience for Sportsnet as a sub-channel of CITY, Shaw could put BRAVO on the sub-channel of GLOBAL that they already have broadcasting an SD feed (never could figure out why they do that). Overnight we could have all kinds of new (non-American) content and the Monopolies could receive even more money from advertisers – broadcasting to over 1 million homes in Canada (and the US).
    But they figure if they drag their feet enough, OTA will fade away. They tell everyone that over the air reception is declining in Canada – but The Antenna Guys have over 1200 new clients in the last 6 years that say otherwise. They are straight out lying through their teeth – cable and satellite usage is what is declining.
    It is time we get more vocal about this. Contact the CRTC in Ottawa or your local MP and make some noise. There is no reason we should be forced to pay to watch TV.

    Geoff Tebbutt
    The Antenna Guys
    http://www.TheAntennaGuys.com

    Reply
    1. Fagstein Post author

      It is obvious (to me at least) that the large TV Monopolies (let’s call a spade a spade) have absolutely NO interest in allowing the Networks that they own to broadcast programming that they own on sub-channels.

      That is correct. The networks (you can’t call it a monopoly if there are three of them) have no interest in giving away for free something they make a lot of money by selling.

      It is time we get more vocal about this. Contact the CRTC in Ottawa or your local MP and make some noise. There is no reason we should be forced to pay to watch TV.

      You’re not forced to pay to watch TV. But nobody is forced to give away TV for free.

      Reply
  10. Pabineau Steven Peter-Paul

    I can’t believe they took CTV off the air for antenna users in the Bathurst NB area, there is no english channels that are available over the air, just french, and a lot of people I know are complaining but don’t know who or where to complain to, many are looking for over the air tv in this region and are looking for english content only to find out there is nothing for them, this decision to cut us off is not fair as not everyone is connected to the internet, satellite, or cable, there is nothing but the radio for them and a waste of their new tv with no signal.

    Reply
        1. Mike Casey

          Last few weekends, no cjoh-dt , new-ro or citytv in Ottawa. Moving my indoor antenna all over the apt without any signal. Searched the net found this site, guess bell is lowering the power of their transmitter or powering them down

          Reply
  11. Anonymous

    The usual robery, by the comparison is that have the monopoly and unfortunately as usual, officially aproved. Forget the viewers!!!!! We are here only to pay taxes and be robbed with provincial approval by big corporations.
    Where is and who does enforce that over the air transmissions are mandatory ?

    Reply
  12. Siegfried

    Can’t get CJOH in Ottawa anymore…what a shame. Television broadcasting will be worse off for it. Bell should ensure that at least the urban areas are covered.

    Reply

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