OTTAWA-GATINEAU – With the Commission’s report on what ails the Canadian Television Fund due out tomorrow afternoon (the CRTC under the new chair sure is speedy these days!) Shaw Communications CEO Jim Shaw sent a letter to CRTC chairman Konrad von Finckenstein making it quite clear his feelings on the whole matter.
Shaw, and then Videotron, both suspended their payments to the fund this past winter thanks to a number of long-standing complaints. Mr. Shaw said then and since that because the money was coming from Canadians through their cable and satellite companies they should have better…
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BANFF – Although the combination of two major regulated TV assets was the talk of the 2007 Banff World Television Festival (Hello, Rogers/Citytv), the focus of the event’s final panel was on the potential impact of unregulated new media vs. the fortunes of old media.
In fact, the first question posed by moderator (and festival CEO) Robert Montgomery during his closing session on the BWTVF green Paper to the diverse collection of opinion leaders was: Will the TV industry collapse in the face of broadband Internet and other unregulated platforms?
The question may sound like a Chicken Little approach…
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BANFF – Heritage Minister Bev Oda told delegates Sunday afternoon that the government is renewing its contribution to the New Media Fund, earmarking $29 million over two years.
While the $500,000 a year increase over the previous level of funding was less than some were hoping for, Oda’s commitment was well-received.
She noted that last fall’s report from the CRTC on broadcast technology and new media said Canada was beginning to lag behind other countries when it came to new applications and platform development and one of her ministry’s main goals for the media industry is to ensure there…
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OTTAWA – Seven months after former CBC chairman Guy Fournier "flushed himself" out of the job, the Corp. has a new chairman of the board.
Heritage Minister Bev Oda announced the appointment of Timothy W. Casgrain on Friday afternoon. It’s fair to say he is a complete outsider.
"The credentials Mr. Casgrain brings to the CBC will provide strong leadership," said Minister Oda in her release. "I am confident that his experience and sound judgement will greatly benefit the CBC."
Casgrain (pictured) is currently chair of charter airline Skyservice Investments. Prior to that position, he served as executive vice-president…
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OTTAWA – It’s time for the CRTC to set a deadline for Canadian television broadcasters to shut off their analog signals, Industry Canada’s assistant deputy minister Michael Binder told a wireless gathering this morning.
The 700 MHz band, which broadcasters use to send their traditional over-the-air analog signals, is being given back to the U.S. government as of February 17, 2009 and Binder says now is the time to set a deadline in Canada. “We would like to see broadcasters vacate this band and we could use (it) for other applications,” he said during the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association…
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OTTAWA – With less than a month before the CRTC hearing into the purchase of CHUM Ltd. by CTV and rumours swirling as to who might emerge as the winning bidder for CHUM’s A-Channels (see below), the NDP says the CRTC has to set up some tough content conditions governing the combined company.
NDP Heritage Critic Charlie Angus said Friday "that if the CRTC is going to give the green light to this unprecedented merging of television media, clear and binding conditions must be laid down."
Angus is calling for enforceable targets for new prime time drama, for example. “Where…
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MONTREAL – Bell Canada said today that despite a story in the Globe and Mail this morning speculating a U.S. private equity firm may take the telco private, that the company is not currently in any such negotiations, nor does it intend to go that route.
“At the request of the TSX Market Regulation Services, BCE today issued a statement to confirm the fact that there are no ongoing discussions being held with any private equity investor with respect to any privatization of the Company or any similar transaction. BCE further stated the company has no current intention to…
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THE CLOCK CAN’T BE TURNED back on announced acquisitions (CTV/CHUM, CanWest Global-Goldman Sachs/Alliance Atlantis and Astral/Standard) but the CRTC has decided it must look into the overall affect of media consolidation on the tenets of the Broadcasting Act.
As predicted, this turned into a "locking the doors after the horses escaped" analogy in some quarters.
In an interview with Cartt.ca on Wednesday, CRTC chair Konrad von Finckenstein (who must be a little shell-shocked with all that’s gone on within two months of taking the job) said yes, a thorough review of the diversity of voices in…
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TORONTO – With a bit of pyrotechnics and a jail cell, Virgin Group president Richard Branson descended on Toronto Tuesday morning to let everyone know wireless number portability is here.
Perched high above Yonge-Dundas Square, Branson (or Sir Richard, as he is often referred) was held captive inside a jail cell suspended from a construction crane. In a pyrotechnic explosion the cell walls burst open and he escaped by using a rope made out of prison bed sheets. After making it safely to the ground, he released "mobile prisoners" from their shackles to symbolize the new-found freedom of all Canadians….
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OTTAWA – Just as the CEP union did earlier this week, NDP Heritage Critic Charlie Angus Wednesday called for new CRTC hearings into media concentration arising from the CTV/CHUM purchase.
"The Canadian public continues to be shortchanged by the CRTC regarding the serious threats posed by mega-media concentration," says Angus’ release today.
“Who’s kidding who here? Are we expected to think that the CRTC will hold up the single largest corporate merger in Canadian media history simply because they are accepting letters from the public?” asked Angus.
He also mentioned that before the merger goes ahead, the CRTC must…
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