TORONTO — Independent telecom and broadcasting company VMedia Inc. announced yesterday it has been selected as an official distributor in Canada for Ukraine24, the leading 24-hour TV news channel from the Ukraine.
This follows VMedia’s announcement yesterday it has added the Ukrainian news channel to all of its VMedia TV basic and premium packages as well as its live and on-demand streaming service RiverTV’s basic package at no extra charge to subscribers.
The announcement also comes after VMedia and several other TV providers announced they are dropping the Russian state-funded Russia Today (RT) channel from their offerings.
“VMedia is very…
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By Howard Law
HERITAGE MINISTER PABLO Rodriguez’s announcement last week that the federal Liberals are about to introduce an Online News Bill means a second rescue mission in four years to steady the finances of Canadian news journalism.
This time it’s not government money but industry money: a Canadian knock-off of Australia’s Media Bargaining Code will give publishers and broadcasters the leverage they need to obtain fair compensation from Google and Meta for using journalists’ news content to grow their audiences and make money on Search, YouTube and Facebook NewsFeed.
We’re long past debating whether the advertising-dependent business model for…
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PM wants CRTC to review channel’s presence in Canada
CANADIAN TELEVISION SERVICE providers are dropping Russia Today (RT) an English-language international news channel funded by Russia, from their channel lineups.
There has been growing concern about the channel’s presence in Canada specifically, and about Russian-funded international media around the world more generally. Many concerns relate to the dissemination of propaganda and disinformation.
On Feb. 26, Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez posted on Twitter, saying, “I share the concerns of many Canadians about the presence of Russia Today in our broadcasting system. We’re looking at all options.”
Since then, several Canadian television service providers…
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OTTAWA – Minister of Canadian Heritage Pablo Rodriguez confirmed last week government legislation seeking to level the playing field between digital platforms and Canadian news outlets will include broadcasters.
The announcement was made at a Canada 2020 event on the future of news.
“News outlets support an informed citizenry and a healthy democracy. Canadians need access to news and information to fully benefit and participate in democratic society,” a spokesperson for Canadian Heritage said in an emailed statement to Cartt.ca.
The minister’s mandate calls on him to “Swiftly introduce legislation to require digital platforms that generate revenues from the publication of news…
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By Christopher Guly
OTTAWA – On Family Day Monday in Ontario, Carol Off (above) was in her CBC office boxing up books and other tangible memories of her time as host of CBC Radio One’s As It Happens (AIH).
On Friday, her CBC family, with help from some past AIH guests – including Margaret Atwood and Romeo Dallaire – will pay tribute to Off on her final day after spending nearly 16 years at the helm of the public broadcaster’s must-listen-to weeknight current events radio program.
She will miss accumulating more intangible memories from interviews with people who touched or angered…
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VANCOUVER — Ahead of Pink Shirt Day tomorrow, Telus Communications today announced the premiere of its first short animated children’s film, Skookum and Chums, which explores the importance of inclusivity and anti-bullying.
Produced with the support of Telus, the 11-minute animated film (pictured above) features Skookum, a flying turtle, who takes their animal friends on a trip into a magical forest.
“As a proud member of the Huron-Wendake Nation, filmmaker Fred Di Blasio took inspiration from his Indigenous heritage and identifies with the turtle as a bringer of insight and wisdom to children,” explains a Telus press release.
This short film “is…
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OTTAWA – The Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage today heard from several witnesses who warned that if the proposed merger between Rogers and Shaw were to go through, there would be serious consequences for local news in Canada.
The witnesses who appeared before the committee today included representatives from the Canadian Association of Community Television Users and Stations (CACTUS), the Community Radio Fund of Canada, the National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada, Open Media and Quebecor Media Inc.
Witnesses from the CRTC (Scott Hutton, chief of consumer, research and communications and Daniel Pye, director of television programming) were also…
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By Denis Carmel
OTTAWA – Although Bill C-11, the Online Streaming Act, was introduced on Feb. 2, it had not yet been debated in the House of Commons – that is how the House works.
The first debate happens at the second reading, which happened today.
The tone of the exchanges and the positions of different party representatives can give us a sense of where this bill is going and whether we will repeat the parliamentary process of C-10, the previous version of the legislation to update the Broadcasting Act, that led to the demise of the bill even if the…
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TORONTO — Crave and production company New Metric Media announced today Hulu will be the exclusive streaming home of the debut season of the new Letterkenny spin-off series Shoresy in the United States.
The six-episode, half-hour comedy is created and written by Jared Keeso (above, standing), who stars in the title role and is also an executive producer for the series.
As previously announced, Shoresy “sees the foul-mouthed, chirp-serving, mother-loving, fan favourite character, Shoresy, join a senior AAA hockey team in Sudbury on a quest to never lose again,” reads a Bell Media press release.
Shoresy is set to premiere this…
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Also urges everyone to keep the C-11 debate “on facts”
By Amanda OYE
MINISTER OF CANADIAN HERITAGE Pablo Rodriguez (above, right) wants his daughter to grow up with Canadian music and Canadian productions – and the newly announced Bill C-11 can help ensure this, he said today, during a fireside chat on the final day of the Canadian Media Producers Association’s Prime Time conference.
Rodriguez joined Erin Haskett (above left), president and executive producer at Lark Productions, for a conversation that addressed a range of topics including the importance of Bill C-11 (also known as the Online Streaming Act), and gave…
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