"We need new tools to deal with the new environment"
IAN SCOTT IS already two years through his five-year mandate as chair of the CRTC. He hasn’t been as active calling hearings as his predecessor, who kept thinking up ways of making sure regulatory departments and the journalists who cover them were always hopping, but the CRTC under Scott has still been very busy.
While the Commission is an arm’s length agency, the federal government has been quite keen on pushing a few big issues which, despite what many critics might have to say, are awfully complex…
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Would let the province veto future Netflix-type deals
OTTAWA – In the most detailed plan yet on broadcasting from any of any of the major political parties during the federal election campaign, the Green Party has broadened its protectionist policy to provide Quebec with a veto on agreements with foreign production companies, such as Netflix, which affect the province’s cultural sector.
“The culture of Quebec needs to be protected from content that streams into our homes online that has nothing to do with Canada,” Green Party leader Elizabeth May said at Place des Arts in Montreal on Wednesday.
She was joined by…
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HALIFAX — Attendees of FIN Partners, Canada’s leading international co-production/co-financing market, were treated to some inspiring keynotes and discussions at the industry partnership event held last week in Halifax.
Coinciding with the beginning of the FIN Atlantic International Film Festival, happening this week in Halifax, FIN Partners occurred September 13-14 and featured keynote speakers Finola Dwyer of Wildgaze Films, the Oscar-nominated producer of Brooklyn and An Education, and Mark Slone, president of Pacific Northwest Pictures.
FIN Partners was attended by 154 delegates who came to Halifax in the hopes of securing financing for projects in development and to forge new co-production…
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TORONTO — The Podcast Exchange (TPX), a leading Canadian podcast marketing and sales enterprise, has announced a new sales partnership with Stitcher’s advertising arm, Midroll Media.
The Stitcher app, available for iOS and Android devices, is one of the world’s most popular podcast listening platforms, with a growing network of original content and a premium subscription service. Stitcher is the parent company of Midroll Media, the leading podcast advertising network representing more than 200 of the world’s largest podcasts, and top-ranked comedy podcast network Earwolf. Stitcher was founded in 2007 and is a wholly owned subsidiary of The E.W. Scripps…
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KEEWAYWIN FIRST NATION, Ont. – The federal government today announced $187,896 will be made available to fund a digital documentary series from Keewaywin First Nation.
The northwestern Ontario community will partner with professional filmmakers to produce a digital multimedia series in Oji Cree and each episode of the documentary-style, youth-oriented program will feature a different aspect of life in the community. It will be broadcast online through IsumaTV, says the government’s press release.
The funding is being provided under the Northern Aboriginal Broadcasting component of the Aboriginal Peoples' Program.
"Our language is central to our identity. It's…
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AUSTRALIAN LAWMAKERS look set to force the likes of Netflix, Amazon and other foreign streamers to abide by similar rules as its own TV companies, according to reports, including this one in the Wall Street Journal.
According to the report, its communications minister said the government will ask the streaming platforms to make more original Australian content and that legislation to force them to do so is possible before the end of this year.
“The free-to-air networks have an obligation to show a certain amount of Australian content. They’ve got to pay to…
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TORONTO – Members of the Canadian creative industry members will shadow MPs and potential MPs this fall, asking federal election candidates to answer questions on the future of Canada’s $9 billion market in screen-based production.
Cast, crew and creators are banding together for what is being called the “Just Ask” campaign (“Je m’implique” in French), where three groups are calling on its members to pledge to attend at least one election-related event this fall and ask at least one question on key issues facing the industry.
The campaign includes the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA), the…
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TORONTO – TLN Media Group and its all Spanish-language children’s TV channel, Teleniños, announced today the premiere of original children’s language learning series, Mi Nombre Es Ripley (My Name is Ripley), exclusively on Teleniños TV, Saturdays and Sundays at 10 a.m.
The series follows the adventures of Ripley, a curious and fun-loving French bulldog who finds herself learning simple Spanish words as she interacts with characters she meets throughout her day.
“We are not only proud to launch our original Canadian Spanish language children’s series Mi Nombre Es Ripley, but also to do so on a channel we conceived and…
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Von Finckenstein rebuts Menzies
IN THE JULY 3 EDITION of the Report on Business, former vice-chair of telecom Peter Menzies wrote he believes Ottawa has given the CRTC conflicting directives which will result in a tough road for the current Commission chair, Ian Scott.
I see the issue differently. The federal government has actually issued two helpful directives.
First, the previous government under former Industry Minister Maxime Bernier issued a directive in 2006 putting the emphasis on competition and directing the CRTC, when regulating, to maximize competition in the telecom sector. Now, under ISED Minister Navdeep Bains, today’s…
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Heritage Minister offers an enlightening tweet
OTTAWA – They heard directly from from 150 stakeholders and read through more than 2,000 interventions and today the Broadcast an Telecom Legislative Review panel released their summary of all of that.
It’s not too exhaustive, nor does it tie any points of view back to specific stakeholders (that can be found in the individual submissions which are all now online) but the report highlights the areas of tension identified in their consultations – and really, the same tensions fought over in the industry for…
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