The Specialty and Premium Television Association says its members are willing to take risks and launch new digital specialty services to a limited subscriber base, and will work to entice customers to satellite services, digital cable and wireless cable.

‘We’re prepared to take risks, but that audience base has to grow quickly,’ says sptv president Jane Logan.

In its intervention, filed May 14, on the crtc’s review of the criteria for licensing new pay and specialty services during the transition to digital, the sptv is advocating the commission take a pro-Canadian position and maintain the existing regulatory framework.

Among industry groups that filed interventions to the crtc review are the Canadian Association of Broadcasters, which cooperated with the sptv and the Canadian Cable Television Association to gather research on the move to digital. Both the sptv and cab retained individual consultants at PricewaterhouseCoopers to conduct an economic analysis of the changing industry as new digital services are launched.