OTTAWA – Does bigger necessarily mean better? Corus Entertainment appears to think so, and asked the government to support vertical integration in the broadcast industry so that Canadian players can better compete globally.
Speaking Tuesday before the House of Commons Standing Committee of Canadian Heritage, EVP and General Counsel Gary Maavara said that the arrival of non-Canadian new media players like Apple and Google mean that companies like Corus compete in the world market, even at the local level.
“The notion of a ‘domestic market’ is rapidly changing. It is complex and the most powerful players are not Canadian”, Maavara said….
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OTTAWA – The Canadian Media Production Association (CMPA) is urging the government to protect independent producers from what it calls “the negative impact (of) consolidation” in the broadcasting industry.
Appearing Tuesday before the House of Commons Standing Committee of Canadian Heritage, the CMPA claimed that the three integrated private broadcast corporate groups in English Canada are “using their dominant position to secure unreasonable terms that undermine independent producers’ businesses and put at risk the thousands of high-skilled jobs”.
“I would like to think that independent producers are well positioned to make a significant contribution to Canada’s burgeoning digital economy”, said CMPA…
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JAY SWITZER IS ABOUT to find out if Canadians want to accept an invite into his new Hollywood Suite.
That’s the name Switzer, the former CHUM Ltd. CEO, and David Kines, another former CHUM executive (who was EP of the just-wrapped Gemini Awards) have given their new company, which is about to launch four new high definition movie channels: dubbed at their license approvals: Velocity, The Love Channel, Kiss, and Adventure.
The independent broadcaster will officially launch in the coming days, announcing key people, branding and programming, aiming at an April 2011 launch with Canadian carriers.
Switzer and…
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OTTAWA – The Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage begins its study of “the impacts of private television ownership changes and the move towards new viewing platforms,” today in Ottawa and will hear first from CRTC chairman Konrad von Finckenstein and a group of independent Canadian broadcasters this afternoon.
Watch for the CRTC chairman (who will be joined by acting vice-chair, broadcasting, Rita Cugini and executive director, broadcasting, Scott Hutton) to speak to the recent merger announcements as well as the proceeding just called into the very same topic about which MPs will be grilling the Regulator’s representatives this afternoon.
As for…
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OTTAWA – The dichotomy of the old and new media was clearly on display at a Parliamentary committee hearing last week. The Canadian music lobby faced off against a new media consulting firm at the Heritage committee which is studying the challenges and opportunities arising from emerging and digital media.
The Canadian Independent Music Association (CIMA) and the Songwriters Association of Canada (SAC) told the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage that the more money is needed to support Canadian artists (something talked about today in the House of Commons as the latest re-write of the Copyright Act, Bill C-32, has…
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OTTAWA – The Canada Media Fund celebrated its six month birthday with an event in Ottawa that saw stars of Canada’s television industry rub shoulders with senior government officials.
"Six months into the Canada Media Fund, we have come an incredibly long way and it’s gone incredibly well," Heritage Minister James Moore told the crowd, which also included representatives from the creative, broadcasting, and distribution industries. "We want to make sure there’s a broad diversity of Canadian content and Canadian culture available on the platforms that Canadians choose to consume it on."
Created by Canada’s cable and satellite distributors and the federal government, the CMF champions…
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OTTAWA – Change may be in the air at Canadian Heritage, according to an announcement Friday from Prime Minister Harper’s office.
Judith Anne LaRocque, currently deputy minister of Canadian Heritage will become senior advisor to the Privy Council Office, effective October 12, pending a diplomatic appointment. She will be replaced by Daniel Jean on November 15.
Jean, who has a master of Business Administration from State University of New York, plus a Bachelor of Social Sciences, International Relations and Economics from the University of Ottawa, has been deputy minister of the Administrative Services Review, Privy Council Office, since April. Prior to…
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TIANJIN, China – Industry Minister Tony Clement told Cartt.ca late on Friday that one of his priorities this month is to get the wheels rolling on the auction of the 700 MHz wireless spectrum.
While beginning a tour of China on Friday, Minister Clement took to Twitter to note his visit with telecom manufacturer Huawei, writing: “Finished a meeting with telecom provider Huawei. They are set to hire more Cdns. I’ve concluded we must get the 700mHz auction going soon.”
That obviously caught our attention, so we responded to the minister on Twitter asking for clarification. He called us back to…
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TORONTO – The imminent arrival of Fall also marks the start of hockey season.
CBC’s Hockey Night In Canada announced an 87-game schedule starting with preseason play on September 25th, and regular season play on October 7, 2010, the NHL’s opening day of the 2010-11 season.
Its schedule also includes the all-Canadian outdoor NHL Heritage Classic between Montreal and Calgary at McMahon Stadium in Calgary; the 2010 NHL Winter Classic on New Year’s Day from Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, featuring an outdoor showdown between Washington and Pittsburgh; the 58th NHL All-Star Game on January 30, and its popular Hockey Day in Canada on February 12…
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TICK, TICK, TICK. There are 407 days left until the end of analog over-the-air television in the major markets the CRTC has identified as must-switches (just look up and to the right to see our countdown clock).
Last week the CRTC, as we reported here, said 857,000 households in major markets will be left without viable TV signals because they use older analog sets fed by rabbit ears or some other sort of antenna because they continue to receive their television off-air.
It also okayed a "Freesat" type of alternative (free service for a small package “local” stations, after…
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