since 2011, shaw direct offered a free satellite dish, receiver, installation and a handful of channels to canadians who lost their over-the-air (ota) access to television as a result of canada's digital television transition. the offer was part of shaw's little known local television satellite solution (ltss) program approved by the crtc as part of shaw's purchase of canwest global. the period to apply to the program ended august 31, 2014, three months earlier than the original extended application deadline of november 30, 2014. on april 12, 2019, the crtc opened a public call for comments regarding shaw direct's licence renewal request that included its plan to end the ltss as of august 31, 2019. according to shaw direct, more than 31,500 canadian households subscribe to the no-fee ltss.