OTTAWA – The federal government’s vague plans for lower wireless prices, and pick and pay TV channel packaging seem to be ploys to curry consumer favour and not in the public interests, overall, argued members of a panel at the International Institute of Communications Canada’s annual conference in Ottawa on Tuesday.
Rather, the federal Conservatives are focused on scoring political points and on short-term outcomes without considering the potential long-term ramifications of their actions on the broader Canadian public.
Richard French, a professor in international and public affairs at the University of Ottawa and former vice-chair of telecommunications at…
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MONTREAL – Canadian social TV audience measurement service Seevibes is expanding to Europe after acquiring French social TV measurement firm TvTweet. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Founded in Bordeaux in 2011, TvTweet is already present in seven European countries, covering more than 100 media, and working with industry names that include Orange, TF1 and NRJ12. Seevibes said Monday that it will soon open an office in France to jump-start its development in Europe.
With a database of several thousand TV shows and 500 top brands, Seevibes measures and analyzes television’s social media…
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TORONTO – Asian Television Network International (ATN) has launched six new channels on Bell Fibe.
Four of the six new channels were launched are in collaboration with Doordarshan, India's largest terrestrial broadcaster, and two are in collaboration with Sri Adhikari Brothers Television Network Ltd.
The new channels are:
– ATN-DD India: general interest channel;
– ATN-DD News: news and current affairs channel;
– ATN-DD Bharati: cultural and lifestyle channel;
– ATN-DD Urdu: general interest channel in Urdu language;
– ATN-Dhammal: comedy channel; and
– ATN-Masti: music channel.
"We are…
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OTTAWA – Representatives from the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) are on Parliament Hill this week in support of Canada’s film and television industry.
Referencing the CRTC’s ‘Let’s Talk TV’ consultation, ACTRA said that it is calling on Members of Parliament to support the call for more Canada on all screens – big, small and mobile. Its wish-list for this lobby trip includes:
Nurture Canadian cultural sector jobs – support stories by, for, and about Canadians;
Invest in the infrastructure of our industry and through long-term, stable investments in…
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OTTAWA – The CBC is asking the CRTC to tweak its broadcasting licences for its Espace Musique and Radio 2 networks and stations across Canada.
In an application made public on Wednesday, CBC is proposing to amend the conditions related to sponsored programming and embedded advertising. As Cartt.ca reported, CBC was given the green light to introduce advertising on its Radio 2 and Espace musique properties last May, but only for three years.
The deadline for comments or interventions is November 19, 2013.
www.crtc.gc.ca
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TORONTO – CBC introduced its broadcast teams for the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games on Wednesday at a event celebrating the 100-day countdown to the Opening Ceremony on February 7, 2014.
Perennial hosts Ron MacLean and Scott Russell introduced their fellow talent who include CBC television and radio and news personalities from across Canada, plus well-known Canadian athletes who will serve as analysts for their individual sports. The broadcast team has attended more than 180 Olympic Games combined, either as broadcasters or competitors, and has won 30 Olympic medals.
“I couldn’t be more pleased…
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TORONTO – The CBC has launched a new educational portal, called Curio, which allows educators to access the public broadcaster’s wide-breadth of content for in classroom learning.
The new web portal allows instructors at all levels – elementary, secondary and postsecondary – to stream highly relevant video and audio content in classrooms to support their teaching, says the Monday press release.
“Boasting an enhanced library containing thousands of media files, Curio will allow students to learn about today’s topical issues through CBC/Radio-Canada’s most popular programs, hosted by some of the country’s most celebrated radio and television personalities…
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OTTAWA – Families with children living in the home are more likely to go online to consume audio and video content, according to one of two new reports released by Media Technology Monitor this week.
According to Families and Media Consumption, one third of Anglophones have a child under 18 living at home. These families spend three hours less weekly watching traditional television, however, they are more likely to visit the likes of Netflix and YouTube for content.
Individuals with children also tend to be heavy users of the Internet, often multitasking while watching TV and…
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By Greg O'Brien
TORONTO – The topics of change and evolution dominated CBC/Radio-Canada’s fifth annual public meeting Wednesday at the Canadian Broadcasting Centre in Toronto while in the backs of many minds were thoughts of ice, pucks and sticks.
Noting that the public broadcaster was at the midpoint of its five year strategy ‘2015: Everyone, Every way’, president and CEO Hubert Lacroix said that CBC/Radio-Canada is now “more present in the regions, more connected with our audiences” than at any point in its history. “We’re changing, we’re evolving. We’re challenging the status quo. We want to create a…
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TORONTO – CBC is overhauling its scripted prime time department by splitting in to two divisions – drama and comedy, the public broadcaster said Monday.
“This change will allow for a more specific focus on genre and our relationships with the independent production community,” said Sally Catto, executive director, commissioned and scripted programming, in the announcement.
As part of the move, Helen Asimakis becomes senior director, drama, after 12 years as an executive in charge of production. Michelle Daly becomes senior director, comedy, after serving as an executive in charge of production since 2011. Jenny Hacker, senior director, scripted…
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