Coinciding with the kick-off of Canada’s Cable Convention & Cablexpo on April 3 comes the long-anticipated deadline for new digital and specialty services applications to be filed to the crtc.

While the day might pass like any given Monday, it actually marks the first coming of the next generation of television programming, the real time departure from analog to digital, one-way viewing to interactivity, digital distribution to digital production.

‘[The new crtc applications] is where we’re going to see some different programming, originated in digital with digital enhancements like enhanced Web information that goes together with the programming – some form of interaction with the program,’ says Michele Beck, vp of regulatory engineering at the Canadian Cable Television Association.

The next step would then be to turn to a high-definition standard that requires specialized digital cameras and production equipment, and a digital transmission. ‘And if you really want to get the full flavor of that, you’d have to view it on a digital tv,’ says Beck.

At this point, very few Canadians own digital tvs which can cost up to $15,000.

However, 260,000 set top boxes have been deployed to Canadian cable subscribers, giving them the capacity to view digitally transmitted signals on an analog system, and with the inclusion of the dth market, close to 700,000 households are capable of receiving digital programming.

According to the ccta, the potential universe of digital receivers in Canada is about 5.5 million.

While each cable company offers different services in its various systems, it’s difficult to calculate just how many of the roughly 60 pay and specialty services are offered in digital.

For example, Rogers Communiations offers pay-per-view in digital, as well as some third language services and some of the specialty channels that were licensed in 1996 – Chum Television’s Startv and Canadian Learning Television. Robtv is carried in digital by most other cablecos but Rogers, as well as Shaw Communications, agreed to put it on analog.

Shaw offers various specialty and pay services, like tmn – The Movie Network (Astral) and Superchannel (wic), in digital, while it offers a digital time shift for Teletoon (Astral) and Family Channel (Astral/wic), as well as ctv Sportsnet in Alberta and Metro Toronto.

Videotron, on the other hand, simulcasts all its traditional offerings in digital, as well as providing an exclusive digital offering of some of its English and third- language services. It is also expanding its digital pay-per-view offering.

However, most of the services that are currently being offered are standard definition tv, typically originated in analog and simply compressed and digitized for distribution, then decompressed, through the set top box, upon arrival at the subscriber’s home.

And because such services have only been up and running for about six months, it’s also difficult to gauge ad and subscriber-generated revenues – although by the end of the year, these services will be required to report all revenues to the crtc, which publishes them annually.

As it stands, Astral has a significant stake in the most pay and specialty services – 12 – with 100% ownership in Moviepix, tmn, Super Ecran, Canal d and Canal Famille. But with the wic split underway, Corus Entertainment, which controls all of Shaw’s former media assets including a 100% ownership of ytv and Treehousetv and stakes in Country Music Television, Teletoon, Teletino and The Comedy Network, will add at least six more pay and specialty services to its roster including, wic’s 100% interest in Superchannel (West), Home Theatre ppv (West), MovieMax! (West) and Allarmcom dth ppv.

While mum’s the word on the newest round of applications, more files from Alliance Atlantis Communications, CanWest Global, Corus, ctv and Astral are expected to top the heap.

‘Depending on the degree of interactivity, a different business model might be used, but at this stage it all depends on the services’ requirements and what infrastructure they need. What capacity they need for the interactive component still has to be negotiated between the programming service and the distributor,’ says Beck.

Following the April 3 deadline for the new services, which include pay-per-view and video-on-demand, the crtc will set a date for the public hearings.

The commission expects to release its decisions by the end of 2000 and the new digital services should be available in 2001.