VANCOUVER – Longtime television host Elwy Yost died at his home in West Vancouver on Thursday. He was 86.
Yost, pictured, was best known as the witty host of programs such as the CBC’s Passport to Adventure movie show from 1965-1967, and TVO’s Saturday Night at the Movies from 1974-1999. He also made one of the first independent movies in Canada called In Between, published four books, and helmed a special features unit that produced the TV series Magic Shadows, Rough Cuts, Talking Film and The Moviemakers.
“Those who…
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TORONTO – Wind Mobile is encouraging customers to take control of their wireless spend through its new prepaid service called Pay Your Way.
Offering a $0.25 per minute flat-rate across Canada and the U.S., the service also provides free incoming text, Facebook, call control features like caller ID and missed call alerts, plus free CBC News and weather updates on Wind’s mobile portal. Pay Your Way customers may also extend their service life and reactivate or rollover unused credit up to 365 days with a single top-up.
In other company news, Wind is gearing up to launch in Kitchener-Waterloo area of…
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THE YEAR 1972 saw the beginning of the Watergate scandal and the M.A.S.H. television series. It was also the year that the balm of simultaneous substitution (simsub) was handed to Canadian broadcasters.
Simsub, where the Canadian feed including ads is substituted over the American channel’s signal, was designed to soothe broadcasters’ fears over bruised bank accounts caused by advertisers defecting to the U.S. with the advent of cable. Instead, this Band-Aid solution healed one hurt but caused another. Peel it back and there’s a sore festering over Canadian content.
(Ed note: An earlier version of this story contained an inaccurate description of…
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OTTAWA – Calling next month’s digital transition “an unprecedented opportunity for community broadcasting, rural broadband and cell service”, the Canadian Association of Community TV Users and Stations (CACTUS) is encouraging communities to consider launching their own rebroadcasting systems.
The group has posted information on its website aimed at communities that stand to lose their over-the-air television signals on September 1st. Noting that more than 100 communities in Canada already maintain their own broadcasting towers and retransmit TV signals, CACTUS spokesperson Cathy Edwards said that the information provides clear explanations of the technology and helps communities estimate the cost of establishing their own rebroadcasting…
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PLAY A GAME WITH THE average English-language Canadian: “Name a Canadian television show”. Exclude Hockey Night in Canada and news. Watch them furrow their brow.
“Uh, Flashpoint?” says one friend, with whom I had an animated discussion about how Canadian TV can be as polished as American TV, and referenced Flashpoint.
Corner Gas will likely come up and another friend mentions Being Erica. Depending on your age, Degrassi (the original) may come to mind, too, or Street Legal. Perhaps Dragon’s Den.
Aside from these, and maybe Rookie Blue and Combat Hospital because they’ve been getting so much press, in the…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – Canada’s 654 commercial radio stations saw 2010 revenues increase by only 2.9%, according to data released Wednesday by the CRTC.
For the broadcast year ending August 31, 2010, FM stations reported higher revenues and profits on the strength of improved local and national advertising sales, but there was little change in the results for AM stations. Total revenues for AM and FM stations increased to $1.55 billion, while expenses rose by 1.5% to $1.21 billion. As a result, profits before interest and taxes (PBIT) climbed from $271.6 million in 2009 to $298.4 million in 2010, and the PBIT margin went…
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OTTAWA and TORONTO – Wait just a minute: we didn’t mean that the whole licence renewal hearing should be postponed.
That was the message from the Canadian Media Production Association (CMPA) and the Documentary Organization of Canada (DOC) after learning that the CRTC decided to push back the CBC’s licence renewal process from September to June, 2012. While acknowledging that they both supported a request from the Quebec English-language Production Committee (QEPC) for more detailed financial data from the CBC, the two organizations were quick to issue statements expressing their collective disappointment with the Commission’s decision to delay the…
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TORONTO – Chris Boyce has been named executive director, radio and audio at the CBC, replacing Denise Donlon who has parted ways with the national broadcaster.
Effective immediately, Boyce (pictured) assumes responsibility for the operations of CBC Radio and the execution of its strategic plan, in addition to his existing duties leading radio programming. He will report to Kirstine Stewart, EVP of CBC English Services.
"Chris brings to his new role a wide range of experience, a deep passion for what we do as a public broadcaster and an…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – The CRTC has postponed the CBC’s licence renewal hearing from this September until June 4, 2012.
The Commission said Friday that the decision was made for two reasons. First, in response to a request by the Quebec English-language Production Committee (QEPC) for the ‘pub caster’s “aggregate financial production information”, similar to that made available by the private English-language television broadcasters for their group-based licence renewals last April.
“The (CBC’s licence renewal application and appendices) do not provide the data that the commercial broadcasters publish in their annual independent production reports, such as the number of projects, aggregate length, region…
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TORONTO – Broadcast executive Tony Burman is returning to Canada to teach at Ryerson University where he has been named as the Velma Rogers Graham Research Chair. The former editor-in-chief of CBC and head of Al Jazeera’s international English-language news channel will also write a weekly column on international affairs for the Saturday edition of The Toronto Star.
“We are honoured to have one of Canada’s most acclaimed and experienced news executives join Ryerson’s School of Journalism,” said Alan Shepard, provost and vice-president academic, in the announcement. “Tony Burman has been involved in every major news event of our time, understanding,…
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