Top Canadian broadcaster rejects HDTV

TELEVISION companies are being forced to adopt HDTV without a sound business plan says Canada's top broadcaster.

According to the Globe and Mail, CBC president Robert Rabinovich said that his outfit was being asked to foot a massive bill to upgrade to HDTV and yet there was no sound business reason to do so.

HDTV costs are about 25 per cent higher than normal telly and advertisers just don't see the point of paying to support it. "Basically they're saying, if you want to shoot in HD, that's your business, we're not going to pay you more," he said.

This comes at a time when advertisers are leaving television in droves as punters look to the Internet for their entertainment.

In addition, broadcasters are being forced by government to drop a lot of their over-the-air signals. CBC wants satellite and cable users to start paying for its signals to make sure it can stay in the market. µ