August 30, 2021 

The Squamish-Lillooet Regional District has been advised that the Pemberton TV Society’s incorporation has not been renewed in 2021, and the Society will be dissolved. As a result the broadcast contracts have not been renewed and the Society has informed the SLRD the signal will cease after August 31, 2021. 

Discussions on the service have been referred to future meetings of the PVUS Committee.

• View Upcoming Meetings and Agendas

Update April 8, 2021

An information report was presented to the Pemberton Valley Utilities & Services Committee on April 8, 2021 to provide updated information on the service.  A recording of the meeting will be available shortly after on the SLRD website.

• View April 8, 2021 Meeting Details and Agenda
• View Report

Update January 14, 2021: Presentation to PVUS

The Pemberton TV & Radio Rebroadcasting Third-Party Feasibility Study will be presented to the Pemberton Valley Utilities & Services Committee on January 14, 2021. The meeting will be livestreamed, and a recording of the meeting will be available shortly after on the SLRD website.

• View January 14, 2021 Meeting Details and Agenda
• View Pemberton Television and Radio Rebroadcasting Service Third Party Feasibility Study Report

Update October 13, 2020: Survey Closed

The Pemberton TV & Radio Rebroadcasting Review survey has now closed. Results from paper copies of the survey have been entered and will be considered with the other responses. 

The information in this survey will be incorporated into a third-party review of the service for consideration by the Pemberton Valley Utilities & Services Committee/SLRD Board at a future meeting (date of meeting to be determined).

The date of the meeting and relevant reports will be added to this page in future updates.  

Introduction

The Squamish-Lillooet Regional District is requesting feedback on the Pemberton TV & Radio Rebroadcasting Service, which provides a television and radio repeater system.

The service provides over-the-air television (including CBC, CTV, TSN, and the Knowledge Network, when operational) and radio (CBC Radio 2) to residents in the service area, which can be accessed using an antenna or rabbit ears (i.e. without paying for a satellite or Internet subscription).

Service Area

As stated in the SLRD’s Pemberton Television Rebroadcasting System Local Service Conversion and Establishment Bylaw No. 637, 1997, the properties that pay for the service are the following:

• all properties within the Village of Pemberton; and
• those properties within a defined portion of Electoral Area C

If you received a letter in the mail, you are within the service area.

View Bylaw No. 637, 1997

Service Operation and Funding

The service is operated by the Pemberton TV Society with a financial contribution provided by the SLRD raised by tax requisitioning the properties in the service area. The amount requisitioned in 2020 is $17,784, or $13.65 per year per property based on an assessed property value of $500,000. This means that a property with an assessed property value of $1 million would pay approximately $27.30 per year.

Current Status and Considerations

The SLRD is aware of issues with the Service:

• there have been service outages;
• equipment upgrades are required; and
• due to changes in technology, many residents now access TV and radio through Internet or satellite service providers.

The Pemberton area is vulnerable to emergencies including flooding, wildfires, landslides, extreme weather events, earthquakes, volcanic activity and even the current pandemic. The rebroadcasting service can continue to provide radio service, during a power outage, and TV service if there is an interruption in the fiber optic line that provides Pemberton's internet and digital TV and radio services.

Purpose of the Survey

The SLRD is asking for feedback from residents to determine how many people use the service and to what extent they use the service. The information in this survey will be incorporated into a third-party review of the service for consideration by the Pemberton Valley Utilities & Services Committee/SLRD Board at a future meeting.

The information may be used to consider three options for the future of the service:

• continue the service, as is (i.e. provision of TV and radio);

• continue the service in a partial format (i.e. provision of TV or provision of radio); or

• discontinue the service (i.e. no further provision of TV and radio).

Survey Details

There are two options for completing the survey:

1. Complete the survey online. You will need to enter the password provided in the letter. 
2. If you are unable to complete the survey online, you can ask to have a paper copy of the survey mailed to you. Please phone or email Phillipa Campbell, as soon as possible, so you have as much time as possible to complete and mail the survey to the SLRD office before 4:00 pm Tuesday October 13, 2020:

   Phillipa Campbell, Project and Research Coordinator
   Phone: 604-894-6371 x234
   Email

Please complete only one survey per household. Survey responses are anonymous. The survey should take five to 10 minutes to complete.

The deadline for completing the survey is 4:00 pm Tuesday October 13, 2020. Any responses received after this deadline will not be considered.

Thank you for your participation.