The gradual migration of HD programming across Canada is a threat to the nation's "cultural sovereignty." Or so say two University of Calgary professors who have just authored the book, "Canadian Television Today."
Bart Beaty and Rebecca Sullivan concede that while HD programming is basically rolling out as part of an expanded TV service for Canadian consumers, the selection of programming using digital (over analog) technologies is almost exclusively American in origin.
"If you were to ask most Canadians what's wrong with Canadian TV, they wouldn't say 'image quality,'" Beaty told CBC News last week. The only incentive for Canadian broadcasters to make the transition to HD is competition--"or more like cooperation or even collusion"--with television in the United States, they said.
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) is holding hearings this week to delve into myriad issues facing Canadian broadcasters, including options for delivering digital television. On Monday, broadcasters told the commission they are finding no business model for HD programming and are simply being forced to foot the bill for the transition.
CBC President Robert Rabinovich said advertisers in Canada and the U.S. are not willing to pay more for commercials on HD channels or during HD programs. This has left Canadian broadcasters struggling to figure out how the industry will pay for the shift, according to The Globe and Mail.
Unlike in America, Canada has not yet set an official cutoff date for its analog broadcasts.
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