Toronto businessman John Bitove is proposing a Canada-wide high-definition network to be up by next year, saying Canada is moving too slowly to offer HD content.

Within three years, about half of Canadians will own high-definition-ready television sets, but Canadian programming in high definition is lagging behind, he said Tuesday at a hearing, before the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, into his proposal for HDTV Network.

The federal regulator will also hear from Yes TV for a licence to operate a high-definition television station in the Toronto market that would be geared to a youth audience.

Bitove, who has backed XM satellite radio in Canada, is promising programming that would be 60 per cent Canadian, including HD films, documentaries, and original series and current affairs.

But although the network would span eight Canadian cities, Bitove says he does not want to produce regional content, including local news, because of the high cost.

That drew a sharp rebuke from CRTC chair Konrad von Finckenstein.

"It's very important for this commission to be clear and consistent in its rules about local programming requirements for broadcasters," von Finckenstein said. "This is a very big [exception] you are asking of me."

Conventional networks have opposed the HDTV proposal, saying it would create a new competitor that would divide scarce advertising dollars.

But Bitove said a new voice is needed in an industry that has seen so much consolidation.

There is room for another player in the national advertising market, he said.

He also accused broadcasters of dragging their heels on new technology and creating two classes of viewers: those who can afford the extra premiums for HDTV and those who can't.

"I've had people come up to me and say, 'What are you doing? Don't you know conventional TV is dying? Are you nuts?'" Bitove said at the hearing.

"We're not afraid to try and do things that others haven't done before. Others have had years to apply, and haven't. Just because it hasn't been done before doesn't mean it can't be done now."

The Canadian Association of Broadcasters, which represents private broadcasters, opposed both applications, saying broadcasters are in the midst of switching to high-definition digital to meet the August 2011 deadline.

With files from the Canadian Press