After Canada's digital TV transition last August, Shaw launched a program to help those who lost access to over the air TV signals. Shaw's Local Television Satellite Solution (LTSS) provides a free dish, receiver and access to the nearest available TV stations carried by Shaw Direct. Shaw's LTSS program is expected to see thousands of applications from over the air TV viewers when they lose access to CBC at the end of July when analog transmitters are shut down due to budget cuts.
For French speaking viewers watching Radio Canada near the Saskatchewan communities of Willow Bunch, Gravelbourg, and Ponteix when the rebroadcast transmitters carrying the signal from CBKFT-DT the Regina based Radio Canada station are shut off on July 31st, it will also end access to Television in French in these communities. CBKFT-DT is not carried on satellite, not on Bell, and not on Shaw Direct. Shaw at this time is unable or unwilling add CBKFT-DT to their line up on satellite provide replacement access to
CBKFT-DT to French speaking Saskatchewanians. Cable service may not be able to provide access to CBKFT-DT in smaller communities after July 31st ether. Cable TV headends in small towns depend on over the air signals for local channels that are not carried in Satellite.
Undoubtedly cutting off over the air service will hit minority language speakers worse than anybody else.
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