OTTAWA – With two major crises reaching public climaxes just before Canadian film, TV and new media producers gathered here for their annual Prime Time conference last week, the event could easily have become two long days’ journey into denouement.
Instead, although frequent quips proved tensions still simmer following the ACTRA strike and the uncertain future for the Canadian Television Fund, PT’s agenda (which included a speech from new CRTC chairman Konrad von Finckenstein) focused on improving industry performance amid some encouraging 2005-’06 news.
Volume up The Canadian Film and Television Production Association’s annual Profile report says…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – Well, this will douse some of the fire that was sure to burn at this week’s Canadian Film and Television Producers Association Prime Time conference in Ottawa beginning Wednesday evening.
With Heritage Minister Bev Oda and new CRTC chair Konrad von Finckenstein as scheduled speakers at the conference this week, one can bet that producers were prepared to pepper them with repeated questions on the Canadian Television Fund and TV production funding in Canada in general.
However, with Shaw’s announcement today that it will turn its cash spigot to the CTF back on plus this Commission…
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MONTREAL – Quebecor Media has decided to pull in its horns over the funding of Canadian television productions and will resume monthly payments to the CTF, at least for now.
Quebecor president and CEO Pierre Karl Péladeau said late Tuesday he was encouraged by the commitment made earlier in the day by the new CRTC Chair, Konrad Von Finckenstein, to become involved in finding solutions to the issues raised by Quebecor and Shaw Communications.
Von Finckenstein said the two companies had highlighted “serious issues that need to be resolved”, and that Quebecor, with its funding proposal outlined Monday, had…
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MONTREAL – After announcing suspension of its monthly payments to the Canadian Television Fund (CTF), Quebecor Media now says it wants to opt out of the CTF entirely and put all money owed by its cable company, Videotron, into a fattened Fonds Quebecor, under its own control, for the support of home-grown productions destined exclusively for broadcast by its own properties.
Quebecor president and CEO Pierre Karl Péladeau told a press conference Monday, broadcast live on the company’s all-news channel LCN as well as on its canoe.qc.ca web site, that the proposal is the “best way to ensure the…
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IT’S STARTING TO LOOK like this year could be the final one for the Canadian Television Fund in its current form.
With two of its four largest contributors (#1 Shaw Communications and #4 Videotron) adamant that they will forward $0 to the CTF – and with a Heritage Minister in Bev Oda who may be sympathetic towards their complaints – at the very least, upheaval is a certainty.
Oda, who on Monday renewed her government’s $100 million annual commitment to the fund, met with representatives of the four primary private sector contributors: Rogers Communications’ vice-chair Phil Lind, Bell…
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MONTREAL – Heading into a meeting today with Heritage Minister Bev Oda, Quebecor Media told Cartt.ca that it would double its contributions towards making Canadian content – but not under the current Canadian Television Fund structure.
As reported over the past two weeks, both Quebecor’s Videotron and Shaw Communications have suspended their monthly payments to the fund, each citing similar concerns over how it is run.
For example, the companies strenuously object to the amount of money headed towards productions to air on the CBC (37% of the annual CTF payouts is mandated to go towards productions headed to…
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OTTAWA – It’s no increase (as producers, actors and broadcasters were hoping for) but the $200 million committed to the Canadian Television Fund by the federal government over two years is far more than two of CTF’s primary industry contributors are currently paying.
That is to say, zero.
Hot on the heels of Shaw Communications and Quebecor Media’s decisions to suspend monthly payments to the CTF, Heritage Minister Bev Oda said Friday the federal government is renewing its $100 million a year contribution to the fund through 2008-09.
"This announcement signifies this Government’s commitment to producing quality Canadian programming…
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OTTAWA – The annual Prime Time conference of the Canadian Film and Television Production Association will zoom in on the key issues facing the industry when delegates gather in Ottawa next month.
With the focus on the rapidly changing broadcast environment, the conference (Feb. 21 to 23 at the Westin Hotel) will feature discussions on the future of conventional broadcasting, new programming platforms, children’s programming, and financing.
Setting the tone on the opening day (Thursday) will be the CRTC’s interim Chair, Michel Arpin and the federal Heritage Minister Bev Oda.
They’ll be followed by sessions on the place of…
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TORONTO – Unsurprisingly, two of Canada’s media unions said today they oppose the deal announced yesterday to sell Alliance Atlantis to a partnership of U.S. investment banker Goldman Sachs and Canadian broadcaster CanWest Global Communications.
The Communications Energy and Paperworkers Union, Canada’s largest media union plans to mount a "vigorous" fight to stop the CanWest/Goldman Sachs purchase of Alliance Atlantis.
"This is the thin edge of the wedge to the ceding of Canadian cultural institutions to American investment. We are demanding that the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission and Heritage Minister Bev Oda order public hearings into this proposed…
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FINAL SUBMISSIONS TO THE CRTC on its conventional television policy review were due in yesterday.
Cartt.ca managed to get our hands on eight submissions (unfortunately, none of the companies serving the Francophone market responded to our e-mails), which were filed by parties Wednesday in response to what they were asked – or what others were asked – during the seven-day oral presentations that began on November 27th.
(Ed note: Thank goodness broadcasting vice-chair Michel Arpin – who looks as though he’ll be the Commission’s Interim Chair for the time being as the PMO explores more candidates to replace departing…
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