TORONTO – Blue Ant Media announced Thursday a series of greenlights for its lifestyle and factual TV channels: Cottage Life, T+E, Love Nature and Smithsonian Channel Canada. The new original slate adds seven new docuseries and specials to Blue Ant Media’s channels in 2021 and 2022.
Overseen by Sam Linton, head of original content (Canada), the lineup includes four world broadcast premieres with several series available for licensing globally by Blue Ant International, says the press release.
“We’re committed to growing Blue Ant’s television platforms with new, original series from some of the best producers in Canada,” says Jamie Schouela, president,…
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By Denis Carmel
GATINEAU – Like other organizations who appeared during this multi-day hearing, the Canadian Media Producers Association took a narrow view, arguing other discussions should be allowed to take place first.
“We think it’s important to ask questions about how CBC will ensure discoverability, success, and relevance for programming available online, but before thinking of substituting any current requirements for new metrics, we need to engage in the kind of wider industry consultation that will be possible in a major policy proceeding once Bill C-10 is passed,” said Reynolds Mastin, president and CEO of the CMPA during its appearance…
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By Ahmad Hathout
The Motion Pictures Association (MPA) Canada sent a letter to the federal and British Columbia governments with a proposal to extend tax incentives to global film players for a three-year period, post-pandemic.
The four-point proposal, obtained by Cartt.ca through a freedom of information request, includes federal incentives for foreign studios to hire Canadian production companies, an adjustment to the 23% withholding tax on non-residents of big-budget live action productions that would release some of that tax to them through a rebate, a tax measure to incentivize purchases of Canadian products and services by global studios, and incentives for…
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By Denis Carmel
GOOGLE HAS AGREED to pay for the news it helps circulate online in France.
On January 21st, Google France and The Alliance de la Presse d’Information Générale announced an agreement about neighbouring rights under French law. This is a major step forward in Europe as it is the culmination of months of negotiations within the framework set by the French Competition Authority.
The Alliance de la Presse d’Information Générale represents some 300 publishers from France and this agreement establishes a framework within which Google will negotiate individual licensing agreements with IPG certified publishers within APIG’s membership, while reflecting the…
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Show journalists some respect, too
By Christopher Guly
OTTAWA – Three days after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau massaged his cabinet with a mini-shuffle, he released on Friday “supplementary” mandate letters to several ministers, including François-Philippe Champagne, who moved from heading up Global Affairs Canada as foreign affairs minister to succeeding Navdeep Bains as minister of innovation, science and industry.
The letters contain commitments drawn from both last year’s throne speech and the fall economic statement, and for Champagne, means that he is to continue building on Bains’ work with Rural Economic Development Minister Maryam Monsef to ensure that Canadians have access to…
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CRTC launches process to have fees waived or reimbursed
GATINEAU — As previously announced in the federal government’s Fall Economic Statement on November 30, eligible television and radio stations will have their Part II broadcasting licence fees waived in 2020-21, which is expected to provide as much as $50 million in relief for these broadcasters.
The Department of Canadian Heritage on Tuesday issued a press release to confirm the waiving of the Part II fees, and reiterated the measure does not include cable, satellite and IPTV providers (i.e., BDUs), “as their revenues are not as dependent on advertising,” says…
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By Denis Carmel
OTTAWA – Bill C-10, also known as the Broadcasting Modernization Act, even though it was not voted upon in second reading, will get a head start with the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, Cartt.ca has learned.
Although, the committee will not be discussing the bill itself, members will discuss the subject matter of the bill when they reconvene at the end of January, and prior to second reading.
“In its meeting on December 7, 2020, the committee agreed to conduct a study of the subject matter of C-10. Therefore, the committee could begin receiving testimony on this subject…
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TORONTO — A group of more than 500 current and former employees of CBC/Radio-Canada who oppose the public broadcaster’s Tandem sponsored-content initiative today launched a social media campaign and website where they’ve published an open letter to Canadians to amplify their efforts to stop paid content on the CBC.
In the letter on the website (www.stoppaidcontentoncbc.ca), the group of mostly journalists asks for the Canadian public’s support in demanding CBC put an end to Tandem, the broadcaster’s new marketing division which was launched in September.
The open letter is signed by current CBC journalists, including Carol Off, Michael…
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WINNIPEG — Indigenous broadcaster APTN today announced it will broadcast a special winter edition of APTN Indigenous Day Live (IDL), in a belated celebration of National Indigenous Peoples Day which is held on June 21 each year.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, APTN’s planned series of events in June were postponed, and now APTN will broadcast the first-ever APTN Indigenous Day Live Winter Solstice programming from December 21 to 25 in five one-hour shows.
To create the IDL Winter Solstice celebrations, APTN recorded some of Canada’s best talent in the fall of 2020. Hosted by Earl Wood and Janelle Wookey, the…
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TORONTO — ACTRA Toronto announced yesterday it has hired Jenn Paul (above) in the newly created role of industry relations specialist: anti-Black racism, diversity, equity and inclusion.
Paul comes to ACTRA Toronto with a variety of industry experience, including producing, distributing and marketing ACTRA productions. She is a producer of Sharon Lewis’s CSA-nominated Brown Girl Begins, and also a producer of four short films and a commercial under her production shingle Token Creative, which has two anthology series in development, including one on mental health.
Most recently, Paul was an integrated producer with Livewire Communications. Previously, she was with Bell Media…
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