TORONTO, MONTREAL and OTTAWA – Three of Canada’s largest BDUs were quick to express their mutual disappointment with Monday’s CRTC decision, and hinted that it will be the consumer who will be hit the hardest.
Rogers said that the introduction of the “major new consumer TV taxes” should have Canadian consumers “very worried”, and vice-chair Phil Lind predicted that the new fees could cost its customers an additional $50 – $100 per year depending on their cable package.
“Today’s CRTC announcement says that, not withstanding earlier rulings by the CRTC and notwithstanding the lack of support by the Canadian…
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GATINEAU – As Cartt.ca reported last week, the CRTC has a big day coming up on Monday. Not only is the network management hearing beginning that day, the Regulator is also launching a new proceeding seeking structural reform of the TV sector while releasing new rules (and potentially a new amount) for its yet-to-be-launched Local Programming Improvement Fund.
The CRTC’s Ontario commissioner Rita Cugini addressed the two broadcasting items in a speech to the Radio Television News Directors Association on Saturday, noting that structural reform for the TV biz seems to be a necessity.
“The Broadcasting Act specifies that…
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TORONTO – CTV issued a terse press release this afternoon to announce that Shaw Communications will not purchase the broadcaster’s stations in Brandon, Man., Wingham and Windsor, Ont. after all.
In a newspaper ad on April 30, Shaw offered to buy the three stations from CTV after hearing the broadcaster tell the CRTC and the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage that they couldn’t find anyone to buy the, not even for a buck.
Shaw called CTV on it, saying it would take the stations off their hands for a loonie each. CTV then called what has now proved to…
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BANFF, AB – The Canadian Television Fund (CTF) helped to create 2,210 hours of new Canadian programming last year, through 475 productions and 325 development projects.
The organization released funding highlights from its 2008-2009 fiscal year, which ended on March 31, 2009, from the Banff Television Festival.
Its $2 million digital media pilot program launched to “extraordinary demand”, with all funds allocated within the first six weeks, supporting 20 English and 10 French productions. The $5 million production incentive pilot program, designed to support English production in Quebec and Atlantic Canada where volumes had dropped "significantly", was also entirely allocated, benefiting…
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BANFF – An optimistic Canadian Heritage minister said he was “not worried” about Canada’s culture, including its film and TV industries.
Opening the Banff World Television Festival Sunday night, James Moore predicted “there will be better days ahead,” although today was also not a bad time for the industry.
“There have never been more choices for consumers. There have never been more opportunities for producers. We’ve never had the vastness of the audiences we have right now,” he stated.
While Canadians are consuming more media than ever, they are doing it in a different manner than the 32-year-old minister…
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WE’VE READ ALL SORTS of dissenting opinions on CRTC from individual commissioners who don’t agree with their co-panellists. But a “concurring opinion”? That’s a new one for us.
Yesterday’s release of the Commission’s broadcasting in new media review was not exactly an earth-shattering moment. Response was a tepid “yea” for the most part because faced with the Act that binds its actions as well as what’s going on in reality and using common sense, the Regulator did all it could by saying no to changes in its exemption orders, going to the Federal Court, and calling for a…
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TWO SOURCES HAVE confirmed to Cartt.ca that former Heritage Minister Sheila Copps is one of the finalists for the position of president and CEO of the Canadian Broadcasters Association.
Final interviews are apparently being done this week, say the sources with intimate knowledge of the situation, but Copps is apparently the leader in the clubhouse right now.
Copps, a very high profile MP through the 80s and 90s, held the Hamilton East riding for 20 years for the federal Liberals, beginning in 1984 and was Deputy Prime Minister under PM Jean Chretien from 1993 to 1997.
A journalist by…
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SO I SET MY PVR to record about two and a half Saturday afternoon hours of CTV Newsnet (CTV News Channel, as of this morning) this past weekend in order to watch the charade I expected to see.
Heading into the weekend, viewers of CTVglobemedia properties were fed a steady dose of some very one-sided ads promoting the company’s cross-country open houses meant to help “save local TV”, along with a web site of which the best one can say tells a very incomplete story.
While it wasn’t the travesty I had assumed was coming (far from it, actually),…
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TORONTO – In what could be its last actions, the Canadian Television Fund (CTF) has announced the renewal of its digital media program and production incentive program for the 2009-2010 season.
The digital media program, which supports the digital extensions of traditional television programming, has been increased from $2 million to $10 million.
The production incentive program, launched as a pilot program last year, was designed to balance the distribution of financial support to productions across Canada by encouraging production where volumes have declined significantly. It has been increased from $5 million to $10 million.
The CTF supports the development of Canadian…
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GATINEAU – James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, talked up the pending arrival of the new Canada Media Fund at the annual convention of the Association des producteurs de films et de television du Quebec (APFTQ).
"Technology has changed how we create, obtain, and enjoy film and television productions," Minister Moore said in his address on Tuesday. "Many producers have found new ways of reaching audiences in recent years. The industry must continue moving in this direction. The key to its success remains innovation. With this in mind, we recently announced the creation of the…
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