Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you for being here today. I'm not a regular on this committee, but I am a huge supporter of CBC/Radio-Canada. I have a few questions with regard to your new specialty channels, through you, Mr. Chairman.
The five-year strategy, “2015: Everyone, Every way”, has called for the company to expand its regional presence and also offer specialty programming, including such as the French language SENS, which will launch 2010-11, and websites such as TOU.TV. CBC will look at speciality options for kids, sports, and A and E.
First of all, what factors are considered when launching a new digital TV channel? How is this balance determined between them in terms of cost, reach, demand, existing supply, and alternatives? And then if I might also put on the table, Mr. Chairman, through you, considering the trend that the developed world has been moving toward a greater distribution of specialized content through the Internet, is it the most efficient use of CBC/Radio-Canada funds to be launching a new TV digital channel? Could the specialized interest of Canadians be better served if the CBC used new digital TV channels to offer content attractive to advertisers and use the funds raised to finance specialized programming available through the web? And is it necessary to have specialized content available through digital cable satellite rather then on demand through the web?
After that, I want to come back to this issue of a spillover cost, which may affect the core operations of the CBC, through you, Mr. Chairman.