CHANGE AT THE VERY top of the CRTC may be only the tip of the iceberg.
It’s been an open secret-slash-assumption for a while that the Conservative government was not keen on extending Konrad von Finckenstein’s stay as CRTC chairman. While the chair had made it known in the summer he would like to stay on for a few more years at least (a shorter, three year term was discussed, according to people with knowledge of the situation), Federal Cabinet has decided a new person will take the reins come January 25, when von Finckenstein’s mandate ends.
On Tuesday, he sent…
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TORONTO – A cut in funding to the CBC could have a significant impact on its five-year plan and damage the economic spinoffs that the national broadcaster provides, according to the Canadian Media Guild (CMG).
The CMG, which represents about 6,000 media workers including 4,500 at the CBC, was responding to comments made by Heritage Minister James Moore on the CBC radio show Q earlier this month. Minister Moore said that CBC must be “part of the strategic review and find 5%” of its funding to offer up as a cut in 2012. He also said that the government is…
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OTTAWA – Calling next month’s digital transition “an unprecedented opportunity for community broadcasting, rural broadband and cell service”, the Canadian Association of Community TV Users and Stations (CACTUS) is encouraging communities to consider launching their own rebroadcasting systems.
The group has posted information on its website aimed at communities that stand to lose their over-the-air television signals on September 1st. Noting that more than 100 communities in Canada already maintain their own broadcasting towers and retransmit TV signals, CACTUS spokesperson Cathy Edwards said that the information provides clear explanations of the technology and helps communities estimate the cost of establishing their own rebroadcasting…
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GATINEAU – The clichés and attempted parallels were flying on the final day of the CRTC’s vertical integration hearing on Tuesday.
All of the independents, from V Interactions at the start of Tuesday through to GlassBox and Fight Network at the end of the day, are afraid the big, vertically integrated companies will only act ruthlessly in their own self interests to the severe detriment to their much smaller companies.
Among the elements of its proposal, the Weather Network/Météomédia owner Pelmorex Inc. argued that the Commission should “entrench in regulation” a requirement on broadcast distribution undertakings (BDUs) that they can’t alter…
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By Steven James May
MP CHARLIE ANGUS WAS bang on when he dubbed Canada’s digital television transition a “hodgepodge” during a Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage in March 2011. Trying to figure out if, when and where a particular over-the-air (OTA) television broadcaster will be going digital (or not) requires significant digging.
With just over two months to go before Canada’s digital television transition (70 days according to the Cartt.ca countdown clock), many viewers in cities such as Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto are already enjoying digital over-the-air (OTA) television. (For many, it is a viable, enjoyable, alternative to paying a TV…
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GATINEAU – The CRTC today asked Canadians what they think about “online broadcasting services,” and to provide it with data and information on the impact of the various over-the-top video options available to online Canadians.
(We bet many Canadians will obsess over what’s not available to them.)
“The digital environment is providing Canadians with more programming choices than ever before,” said Konrad von Finckenstein, chairman of the CRTC, in the press release. “Canadians have access to libraries of online content that can originate from anywhere in the world, and which can be watched on different screens. This fact-finding exercise will give us…
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TORONTO – Canada’s professional performers union said that it is hopeful that the new Conservative cabinet will “seize on the potential of Canadian cultural industries” as they focus on building the digital economy.
“We congratulate Minister Moore on his reappointment as Minister of Heritage and welcome Minister Paradis to his new Industry portfolio,” said ACTRA national president Ferne Downey, in a statement. “It’s a new day, we’ve got a new government and we’re keen to start working with both Ministers on the shared files that directly impact our cultural industries.”
ACTRA called on both Ministers to work together on delivering new copyright legislation…
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IT’S ALL ABOUT ENSURING Canadians have access to an open and affordable Internet. This is how Steve Anderson, founder and executive director of OpenMedia.ca, describes the mission of the consumer advocacy organization with respect to the ongoing battle over usage-based billing.
He spoke at length with Cartt.ca last week about UBB, the organization, its creation, its financial backing and other issues.
He says he got involved in Internet policy matters when net neutrality sparked considerable debate in the United States. It was for purely personal reasons at first, but once he realized that this issue would rear its head north of…
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ONE THING BECAME CLEAR pretty quick when I sat down to with Phil Lind a not long ago. He wanted to talk about fee-for-carriage.
The vice-chairman and executive vice-president, regulatory, at Rogers Communications gets a little animated and agitated when it comes to fee-for-carriage(or the renamed value-for-signal). Over four years ago, when we said (wrongly at the time) that it seemed inevitable the CRTC would grant OTA broadcasters the right to charge a fee for their signal, he called me up out of the blue to tell me in no uncertain terms how wrong I was.
For that particular proceeding,…
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HAMILTON – The tribute evening for Mountain Cable founder, the late Owen Boris, will take place this Thursday, May 5 at the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum in Hamilton from 4-7 p.m.
Boris died of a heart attack at his home on April 9 and the family wanted to plan a celebration of his life in a place that could accommodate the number of people sure to want to pay tribute, as well as celebrate one of Owen’s great loves, flying.
Also this week, the family will be confirming a sizable donation to a Hamilton hospital to launch new research into alcoholism,…
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