OTTAWA – Last year’s transition to digital transmission helped to cut Canada’s over-the-air television penetration to an all-time low of just 5%, says a new report by the Media Technology Monitor (MTM).
The report, entitled ‘Post-DTV Transition: Did Canadians Convert?’, found that there are now more Canadians who have opted out of television than there are those who use antennas. These “tuned-out” Canadians – people who choose to live without TV – increased from 4% to 7% of the population in just one year.
The conversion from analog to digital over-the-air TV broadcasting occurred in most markets in Canada on September…
Continue Reading
MONTREAL – One of the most influential figures in Canadian media history, Pierre Juneau, died yesterday in Montreal. He was 89.
A staunch backer of Canadian content on the airwaves, Juneau held three of the most important cultural positions in the country during his long and distinguished career. First, at the National Film Board, he created the French language arm of the organization and is recognized in Quebec as playing a central role in the development of French filmmaking in Canada. Back when TV didn’t exist much (let alone any other form of transmission) Juneau first toured Europe showcasing Canadian…
Continue Reading
GATINEAU – One thing the aggregate annual financial returns of Canadian broadcast and distribution companies showed is holding the rights to the Olympics, even a home one, isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
(Last Friday, February 10th, the CRTC released the 2011 broadcast year aggregate annual returns of large distribution undertakings, multi-system operators and conventional television and radio ownership groups, a requirement under Broadcasting Regulatory Policy CRTC 2009-560. The 2011 broadcast year ended on August 31st.)
The figures show that at Bell Media (which during the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics was still CTVglobemedia) 2011 national ad…
Continue Reading
GATINEAU – The CRTC’s Local Programming Improvement Fund (LPIF) is either a necessary source of cash desperately needed to keep some local TV stations on air, or a stimulus program circa 2008 that now should be terminated. However, if the Commission is tabulating submissions for and against (and it isn’t) LPIF the 1300-plus submissions so far on the CRTC web site land squarely on the side of maintaining it.
The fund was created almost three years ago (in the midst of the financial crisis and just prior to the destructive Stop-The-TV-Tax vs. Local-TV-Matters battle), before Shaw and Bell bought into…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – As the CRTC prepares to review the relative success of the Local Programming Improvement Fund (LPIF), it has released new numbers for the 2010-2011 period, ending August 31st, which indicate Shaw Communications paid the most into the fund, followed by Bell Canada and Rogers Cable.
Shaw (cable and satellite) combined to pay almost $32 million (an earlier version of this story had an erroneous amount for Shaw), followed by Bell at $25.08 million and Rogers at $24.05 million. Quebecor (Videotron) contributed $13.6 million and Cogeco, $6.77 million.
Shaw, the LPIF’s largest contributor, received only $8.06 million in…
Continue Reading
TORONTO – Leveraging a recent music licensing deal with Audio-Video Licensing Agency (AVLA), the CBC has launched a new, free, digital music service.
CBC Music and the CBC Music App will offer subscribers a choice of 40 different web radio stations, 14 genre-based communities, and direct access to the music of nearly 1,000 major and independent music companies. At first glances, it looks pretty slick.
The music services features “original content from the most knowledgeable and experienced music personalities and programmers from across the country, hundreds of concerts, features, blogs, playlists, and more,” says the CBC in…
Continue Reading
TORONTO – Three in four Canadians view domestic media companies as too important for cultural and security reasons to allow them to be controlled by foreign interests, according to a online survey commissioned by Friends of Canadian Broadcasting.
In the survey of 2,022 adult Canadians conducted from November 4 to 10, 2011, 77% respondents said they believed that Canadian media was “too important for culture and national security” to be foreign owned, according to the Friends release. However, 23% said they believed Canadian media owners should be able to sell to foreigners to be competitive. The survey was designed and…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – CMPA president and CEO Norm Bolen has chosen to step down from his position in June, says Canadian Media Production Association chair Tom Cox.
“Three years ago, Norm put his personal plans on hold to serve as president and CEO of our association during a pivotal time for both our organization and the industry. His contributions have been immeasurable and we thank him for his steadfast commitment and exemplary leadership,” said Cox, in a release.
Bolen was hired in 2009. He was formerly executive vice-president, content, for Alliance Atlantis, and prior to that spent over 20 years as an executive…
Continue Reading
HAMILTON, ON – CBC has found a home for its new local digital service in Hamilton, which is scheduled to start this Spring.
The national broadcaster said Wednesday that the new service will be located in the city’s downtown in the former Dominion Furniture Store at 118 James Street North (pictured below, building on the right). Accessible through smart phones, desktop/laptop computers and tablet devices, the service aims to provide an up-to-the-minute, and ‘look ahead’ view of local news, weather, events and other information.
"We're absolutely thrilled to have found such a remarkable home at the centre of Hamilton's growing arts, entertainment…
Continue Reading
MONTREAL – CBC Montreal will beef up its weekend news offering for English-speaking viewers starting in May.
As part of the national broadcaster’s strategic plan, new television and an expanded radio presence will be designed to serve the local needs of audiences in Montreal and throughout Quebec.
"This is another step in the evolution of an already exceptional news service," said Jennifer McGuire, GM and editor-in-chief of CBC News, in the announcement. "We will be providing more news seven days a week, providing audiences with the information they want, when they want it and on the platform of their choice. We'll…
Continue Reading
