TORONTO – Canadians need more time to weigh in on the licence renewals of the CBC’s various services, according to Friends of Canadian Broadcasting
The self-proclaimed independent watchdog for Canadian programming wrote an open letter to CRTC chairman Konrad von Finckenstein on Monday asking to extend the deadline of the on-line consultation from July 18 to August 2 to allow ample time for “the first opportunity this century for Canadians to comment on the CBC’s performance under its Broadcasting Act mandate”.
“The Corporation’s statutory independence from political interference means that the Commission is uniquely placed to ensure accountability to…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – The CRTC is asking Canadians to have their say on the country’s national broadcaster.
As it gears up to renew the CBC’s radio and television licences for the first time in 12 years this fall, the Commission has launched an on-line consultation seeking input that it will consider during the renewal hearing. That hearing is scheduled to begin on September 12, 2011, in Gatineau.
Specifically, it would like to hear from Canadians on the following questions:
– How can the CBC be relevant and meaningful in the future?– How can the CBC best deliver content to all Canadians?– Should…
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OTTAWA – CBC/Radio-Canada’s $1.77 billion worth of expenditures in 2010 led directly to $3.7 billion gross value added to the Canadian economy according to a new report by Deloitte and Touche LLP, commissioned by the CBC/RC, released today.
The report is similar to one the accounting and research firm created for the BBC last year and compares the existing CBC/Radio-Canada to a “counterfactual”, or hypothetical, version of the Corp. which would exist as a commercially-funded entity only.
“We find that CBC/Radio-Canada has a substantial positive impact on the Canadian economy, supporting jobs and businesses across the country. We estimate that, in…
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BANFF – Vertically integrated media companies in Canada are essential to the long term health and viability of the Canadian production industry, delegates at the 2011 Banff World Media Festival heard Sunday afternoon.
Speaking at a panel discussion called ‘Canadian Media Leaders: The State of the Nation’ here on opening day, it wasn’t a shock that representatives from Bell Media, Rogers Media and Shaw Media took that tack. But it was somewhat surprising that CBC and Astral, neither of whom is affiliated with a BDU, would agree so readily.
“There’s a lot to be said for how’s this industry has been working…
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WELL, THAT WAS predictable.
We awoke Wednesday morning to a new report on wireless – this time on data roaming charges – from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. The press release bellowed: “More effective competition and better regulation needed to cut high mobile data roaming costs, says OECD”.
When an international body with an unwieldy membership and fuzzy, broad mandate such as the OECD says we need more regulation of this or that, my automatic bullshit antenna engages. I also wondered aloud right away where Canada would rank in the report and in the press release (the only bit…
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OTTAWA and TORONTO – Reaction to Monday’s federal budget was seemingly unanimous across the industry as stakeholders offered a resounding thumbs-up to the government’s renewed commitment to the Canada Media Fund and the country’s national broadcaster.
The government recommitted $100 million per year in on-going funding to the Canada Media Fund (CMF), plus a one-time injection of $60 million in funding to CBC/Radio-Canada for the production of Canadian programming. These two measures were originally introduced in the March 22nd budget, but died on the order paper when the election was called.
"This is great news for Canadian programming on all…
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TORONTO – CBC Sports has finalized a five-year deal with the International Skating Union (ISU) to show some of its biggest international events.
The deal includes more than 120 hours of coverage annually of figure skating and speed skating that will be carried on CBC, its specialty channel bold TV, streamed on-line and through a strategic partnership with VisionTV.
The schedule includes the 2011 ISU Grand Prix Final this December in Quebec City, the World Figure Skating Championships (including London, Ontario in 2013), the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships, and all international Grand Prix events. It also encompasses all major…
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TORONTO – Re:Sound Music Licensing has asked the Copyright Board of Canada to extend the term of several of its current tariffs, which in turn could bump up costs at Canada’s radio broadcasters.
The not-for-profit music licensing company said Monday that its proposed tariff rates largely reflect changes sought in prior filings, update the rates assigned to various music users, and reflect “the most up-to-date understanding of the fair value of music”. The proposed renewals include Tariff 1A (Commercial Radio), Tariff 1C (CBC Radio), Tariff 2 (Pay Audio), Tariff 3 (Background Music), and Tariff 4 (Satellite Radio), and the organization has…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – Canada’s television services are back in business. CRTC figures released Thursday in a press release, (based largely on data from individual companies which we actually broke down here and here way back in January), show that the return of the advertising market translated into some, albeit modest, profits at conventional broadcasters, though the country’s specialty and pay broadcasters fared better.
According to the Commission’s count, revenue at the country’s private conventional television climbed 9% to approximately $2.15 billion in 2010 broadcast year, while expenses increased 1.7%. This resulted in profits before interest and taxes (PBIT) rebounding from a deficit of $116.6 million in…
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TORONTO – With the NHL’s Stanley Cup Finals underway, CBC’s Hockey Night In Canada is experimenting with social media in some unique ways.
Through a partnership with Internet Explorer 9, Microsoft and CBCSports.ca has been using Hockey Night Pulse to track fan reaction on Twitter throughout every playoff series. It also developed a partnership with entertainment social network GetGlue.com that allows fans to ‘check in’ with Hockey Night and chat with other fans as they watch the games.
Hockey Night Pulse tracks Twitter reaction to every goal, save and penalty in real time. To date, it has crunched more than 1.2 million tweets on…
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