CRTC LICENSES 23 NEW TV SERVICES
By Adnews Staff
It was all systems go for some and back to the drawing board for others yesterday as the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission doled out licenses for 23 new specialty television services. While some of the new services will be launching as soon as possible using existing analog cable technology, most of these new excuses to stay home on the couch will not be available until the industry upgrades its grid to make use of digital equipment. This upgrade is expected to break the barrier of limited channel capacity which has plagued would-be service providers in the past. The English-language services to be launched immediately, or at least by September 1997, include The Comedy Network, CTV N1's headline news, the History and Entertainment Network, and the all-cartoon channel TELETOON. The French-language services that have been cleared for early launch are headline news channel Le Canal Nouvelles, health and lifestyle channel Le Canal Vie, music video channel Musimax, and the French-language version of TELETOON. The remaining services will launch as soon as the new digital gear is ready for prime time, but no later than September 1999. They include: Canadian Learning Television, which will broadcast for-credit educational programs; HGTV Canada, which will focus on home and garden tips; MuchMoreMusic, to offer adult-oriented music videos; Outdoor Life, to feature shows about the great outdoors; Prime TV, which will cater to the age-50-and-up crowd; Pulse 24, a news channel which will mostly focus on Southern Ontario; Report on Business Television, to cover business news; Space: The Imagination Station, which will show science and science fiction programs; Sportscope Plus, a sports headline channel; Star-TV, which will cover the world of entertainment; Talk-TV, to show 24-hours-per-day talk shows; a Regional Sports service, to cover local sporting events across the country; TreeHouse TV, which will offer programs for preschoolers; Odyssey, which will target the Greek-language communities of Ontario; and SATV, which will deliver programs in 15 South Asian languages. In addition to these, a pay-per-view sports channel has also been licensed.