TORONTO – The federal government has unveiled a new fund to support the creation of interactive cultural content and applications developed by Aboriginal and ethnocultural communities, official-language minority communities, and other not-for-profit cultural organizations.
The Canada Interactive Fund (CIF) will invest $37.5 million over five years and be put in place in 2010-2011.
Building upon the Partnerships Fund and the Gateway Fund, the CIF is expected to build technical capacity within the funded organizations, possibly allowing for future commercial potential and the creation of new jobs. It will encourage the development of highly interactive cultural content and include Web 2.0 applications and mobile…
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HOLDING A HEARING ON fee-for-carriage one month after a hearing on fee-for-carriage sounds stupid to the extreme, on the face of it, anyway.
However, in a very political move, Heritage Minister James Moore yesterday told the CRTC it must hold a hearing into the issue of fee-for-carriage so that consumers can have a chance to participate in the process and make their voices heard.
Of course, mobs of consumers (more than 12,000 submitted form letters supplied to them by Rogers) are already participating, or have already participated, in BNC 2009-411, and November’s hearing into group licensing and fee-for-carriage is…
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IN A VIRTUALLY unprecedented display of unity, Canada’s biggest broadcasters and BDUs unanimously agreed that the federal government’s decision to step in on the fee-for-carriage issue was a good one.
In a joint statement, CTV, Global and CBC all said that they welcomed the government’s “commitment to consumers” and “new negotiation for value regime”.
"We are in agreement that consumer interests should be front and center when it comes to implementing a new negotiation for value model for local television across the country," said Charlotte Bell, Global’s SVP of regulatory and government affairs, in the statement. "Going forward, we welcome a clear…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – The CRTC was quick to reply to the government’s request to hold consumer hearings into the fee-for-carriage debate.
It will begin public hearings this December, the Commission said in a statement, with a report to the government to follow.
In addition to soliciting feedback on the implications of fee-for-carriage (or a compensation regime for the value of local television signals, as the Commission calls it), Canadians will also be able to respond to the proceedings at the November broadcaster hearings.
Click here to the read the Commission’s formal reply to Heritage Canada.
www.crtc.gc.ca
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – Despite the fact the CRTC is set to take a new look at fee-for-carriage for local broadcasters in a hearing this November, Minister of Heritage James Moore today announced that the Government of Canada issued an Order-in-Council requesting the Commission “hold hearings and provide the government with a report on the implications of implementing a compensation regime for the value of local television signals, more commonly known as fee-for-carriage.”
The CRTC, says the government’s release “is to consider the views of the general public regarding the impact of such a measure. By making this request of the CRTC,…
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GUESS WHAT? Canadians don’t want to pay any extra per month for their television. They also don’t want to lose their local TV stations.
Independent producers think that broadcasters should have to buy lots of shows made by them and those broadcasters would prefer to use those producers a little less, so that they can make (and sell) some of their own dramas.
The creative side of the industry is afraid of the word “flexible” when it comes to the broadcasters’ requests for changes to their Cancon requirements because flexible might mean less Canadian drama and comedies altogether, fewer hours in…
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TORONTO – CTV, Canwest Global and CBC officially announced late Sunday they have joined together to launch a national campaign, dubbed “Local TV Matters”, aimed at striking back at Canadian BDUs and putting pressure on politicians and the CRTC in advance of the November Commission hearings which will again analyze the challenges facing Canadian broadcasters, including the contentious fee-for-carriage issue.
“Our viewers are telling us that local television is very important to them and to this country,” said Paul Sparkes, CTV’s executive vice-president of corporate affairs, in the group’s official press release. “Canada’s broadcasters are responding to our viewers’ concerns…
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OTTAWA – John Fitzgerald Young has been named to the CBC/Radio-Canada board of directors.
"I am pleased that Mr. Young is joining the Board of Directors," said Heritage and Official Languages Minister James Moore, in the announcement. "His strong academic background and his involvement on the international front will certainly benefit the Board of the CBC/Radio-Canada."
Young is currently the dean of the college of arts, social and health sciences at the University of Northern British Columbia, and is senior fellow at the International Centre for Law and Religion Studies at Brigham Young University. As well, he is a published author…
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EVERY YEAR AT THIS TIME, both because it’s fun and because we want the weekend off… we re-publish the top 25 stories from the last 12 months.
The other reason why we do it now and not in January is that September, just after Labour Day, is the “new year” for broadcasters. The new fall shows are coming out and speaking from a regulatory perspective, too, the 2009 broadcast year ended August 31st and we are into a new year.
After spending hours pouring over our analytics to identify the top stories, I can say it has been a very busy…
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OTTAWA – If the transition to digital television is going to work here, Canadian consumers are going to need digital set top boxes – and help paying for them – says prospective satellite company FreeHD Canada.
In its early submission to the CRTC on Broadcasting Notices of Consultation 2009-411 and 411-3, the company (which just asked the CRTC for BDU and SRDU licenses last month, as first reported by Cartt.ca) notes the substantial issues facing the Canadian broadcast industry with less than two years until analog TV is set to be switched off forever.
BNC 2009-411 and 411-3 are of…
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