OTTAWA-GATINEAU – Pension fund regulators have confirmed the proposed acquisition of Bell Canada by a consortium of private equity interests, including Teachers’ Private Capital, does not contravene Ontario pension law, the CRTC revealed earlier this week as it reconvened a public hearing Tuesday on the application.
CRTC chair Konrad von Finckenstein expressed surprise that the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) stated in a March 10 document filed with the regulator that the ownership structure Teachers’ was employing to acquire BCE complied with Ontario’s Pension Benefits Act.
“I must say I am astounded. The interpretation that FSCO puts on…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC on Thursday put out a call for commercial radio applications for London, Ontario (Broadcasting Public Notice 2008-21) and Guelph, Ontario (Broadcasting Public Notice 2008-22).
Interested applicants must submit a formal application to the commission no later than May 12, 2008. As well, they must submit all the necessary technical documentation to Industry Canada by the same date.
The calls for applications were issued after the CRTC received an application for a radio licence for Guelph and another for London.
Applicants have to provide evidence that there is a demand and a market for the station…
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LET US BEGIN BY making our position utterly clear. We do not believe that Bill C-327 is either necessary or even moderately useful in dealing with the issue of violence on television.
We have filed a written presentation with the Committee Clerk that will hopefully provide a useful tour d’horizon of the issue. I will try to limit this oral presentation to the clarification of matters raised by witnesses and Hon. Members of this Committee.
First, the nature and extent of the problem, namely, the exposure of our children to violence in the media. Is problematic violent content increasing…
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MONTREAL – Quebec film and television production company Remstar Corporation has won the bidding war for the financially troubled TQS television network.
TQS’s Board of Directors and the networks’ shareholders announced Monday their approval of Remstar’s offer, shortly after it was accepted by Quebec Superior Court Judge Pierre Journet.
The terms and the amount of the offer were not revealed, but Remstar’s co-president and CEO Maxime Rémillard said in a statement that “our business plan will take TQS beyond traditional television broadcasting. That’s how we believe we can best respond to the challenges facing the Quebec television industry.”
“We’re…
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MONTREAL – The Quebec Superior Court has approved BCE’s planned sale to a consortium led by the Teacher’s Private Capital, it was announced Friday. Some shareholders were fighting the deal, but the court “dismissed all claims asserted by or on behalf of certain holders of Bell Canada debentures.”
“We are very pleased with the Superior Court’s decisions. On every point of contention, the court ruled in favour of BCE,” said BCE and Bell Canada chief legal officer Martine Turcotte. “The court’s decisions affirm our long-standing position that the claims of these debenture holders are without merit and that BCE…
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DARTMOUTH, NS – Newfoundland Capital Corporation Ltd. reported fourth-quarter net income of $5.77 million, up from the $3.29 profit recorded in the same quarter a year earlier, according to financial results released Monday. The increase was attributed to a future tax recovery related to corporate income tax rate reduction.
Revenues for the quarter ended December 31, 2007 were $27.74 million, down 1% from $28.06 million the prior year, due to a slight decrease in broadcasting revenue in the fourth quarter.
Operating expenses were $22.7 million in the fourth quarter, down $1.5 million from 2006. The decrease was due to…
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TORONTO – Corus Entertainment Inc. announced Friday that the Company has reached an agreement to purchase the analog specialty television service CLT (Canadian Learning Television) from CTVglobemedia for about $73 million. The transaction is subject to approval by the CRTC.
“The acquisition of CLT represents another great growth opportunity for Corus Entertainment,” said Corus Entertainment President and CEO John Cassaday in a statement. “We are convinced that with the access to over 5 million households that CLT currently enjoys, we have the know-how and experience to build on the success the network has achieved thus far.”
Among its other…
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WE’VE SHIED AWAY FROM covering the minor fracas over Bill C-10, a bit of federal legislation that would see tax credits revoked from movies and TV shows that cross the line from edgy to criminal.
Film producers, writers and actors have been screaming about censorship all this week, fearing that Canadian movies will lose tax credits just because some politicians might not like their content. Honestly, I don’t see the reason for all the fuss and they are pouring their energies into opposing the wrong bill.
While in a free society we’ve all got to stand guard against censorship,…
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ST CATHARINES – Robert C. (Bob) Short, the founding president of the Canadian Cable Television Association, died last weekend. He was 82.
After years in the electrical equipment supply industry, rising to president of Edwards Company, Short was hired as the first full-time president of the CCTA in 1970. Later, he also served as vice-president of Canada Wire and Cable, the first president of Cancom and deputy chairman of CUC Broadcasting (which many will recall as Trillium Cable).
Short fought some of cable’s first battles during his five-year stint heading the association, such as helping win the rights to…
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OTTAWA – CRTC Chair Konrad von Finckenstein has rejected the primary thrust of a private member’s bill to reduce violence on television, saying there is no need for the CRTC to have new powers to regulate the broadcasting of violent acts.
Appearing before the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage Tuesday, von Finckenstein said the existing system, which relies on industry self-regulation backed up by the CRTC as the final arbiter, “does provide an effective means to achieve the desired purpose”.
“We therefore cannot support the provisions of Bill C-327 that call for prescriptive regulation in lieu of industry self-regulation…
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