GATINEAU – On November 19th, the day after the CRTC is set to wrap up its look at the DTH satellite TV policies, the Regulator will hear Quebecor Media’s request for a SunTV News category two digital specialty service license.
With much fanfare back in June, the company made public its plan for a new news channel featuring “hard news” during the day and “straight talk” at night. In its original submission to the Commission, QMI proposed to shutter its money-losing SunTV station in exchange for a category one digital license, which would make the channel a must-offer…
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OTTAWA – Hundreds of thousands of Canadians are being deprived of access to their local CBC or Radio-Canada signal, and it’s up to the CRTC to right that wrong, according to the ‘pubcaster.
CBC/Radio-Canada is asking for the public’s help as the CRTC prepares to review its policies for direct-to-home (DTH) satellite distribution. In a statement on Wednesday, it said that Bell TV carries only nine of 14 CBC stations and eight of 13 Radio-Canada stations, while Shaw Direct carries only 10 of 14 CBC stations and six of 13 of Radio-Canada stations.
Conventional television licensees have argued in the past…
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TORONTO – The imminent arrival of Fall also marks the start of hockey season.
CBC’s Hockey Night In Canada announced an 87-game schedule starting with preseason play on September 25th, and regular season play on October 7, 2010, the NHL’s opening day of the 2010-11 season.
Its schedule also includes the all-Canadian outdoor NHL Heritage Classic between Montreal and Calgary at McMahon Stadium in Calgary; the 2010 NHL Winter Classic on New Year’s Day from Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, featuring an outdoor showdown between Washington and Pittsburgh; the 58th NHL All-Star Game on January 30, and its popular Hockey Day in Canada on February 12…
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OTTAWA – CBC/Radio-Canada will challenge the legal recourse filed by Canada’s Commissioner of Official Languages earlier this month “in the interest of protecting its programming independence”.
“The Commissioner of Official Languages should not have jurisdiction over the Corporation’s programming”, said Maryse Bertrand, CBC/Radio-Canada’s VP of real estate, legal services, and general counsel, in a statement. “It would be inappropriate for him, or another third party, to be able to dictate what kind of content CBC/Radio-Canada should air. It’s in the public interest that the Corporation’s editorial independence be protected. That independence is at the very heart of the public broadcaster’s…
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TORONTO – The CBC will expanding its hockey coverage to more than just the NHL this season.
The Corp. has signed a one-year broadcast agreement with the American Hockey League (AHL) that will see CBC broadcast 10 games throughout the upcoming 2010-11 season. All 10 games will feature AHL teams affiliated with one of the six Canadian NHL teams, and will air and be streamed live on Sunday afternoons.
“We’re looking forward to featuring the stars of hockey’s future with the AHL on CBC,” said Scott Moore, executive director, CBC Sports and general manager of CBC Media sales and marketing, in the…
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YELLOWKNIFE – Bell Mobility has been named in a class action lawsuit launched by two Yellowknife men who say the mobile carrier charges for locally non-existent 911 service.
Justice Ronald Veale certified the lawsuit as a class action for customers living in the Northwest Territories. James and Samuel Anderson are suing Bell Mobility for charging 75 cents a month in 911 emergency access fees, even though 911 service is not available in the in the territory.
According to a CBC report, a cellphone user who dials 911 in Yellowknife receives an automated message saying "There are no 911 services in…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC has extended various Canadian broadcasting licenses in order to carry them through next year’s digital transition deadline.
CBC, Canwest, CTV, and Rogers received license extensions for their respective conventional, over-the-air stations from September 1, 2010 through March 31, 2011 so that they may be considered as trial markets for the upcoming transition.
Many category 1 and 2 specialty stations and radio networks were renewed through August 31, 2011, while others – such as The Score, ATN, Teletoon and some pay TV channels – received an extension through August 31, 2012.
“The Commission intends to administratively renew the…
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TORONTO – CBC president Hubert Lacroix tried to quell speculation and set the record straight after last week’s surprise departure of executive vice-president, English services Richard Stursberg.
In a post on the Corp’s blog, Lacroix scoffed at rumours that Stursberg was escorted from the building, and said that the creation of a new strategic plan was “a good time to review the leadership of CBC.”
"The decision to change leadership was not a sudden decision triggered by any specific incident”, Lacroix wrote. “It was, rather, the culmination of a very long reflection on the future of the Corporation,…
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WATERLOO and TORONTO – Corus Entertainment, CBC and TVO are some of the first Canadian content producers to have podcasts included in Research In Motion’s new BlackBerry Podcasts service.
Launched Wednesday, BlackBerry Podcasts is a free application that allows BlackBerry customers to discover and acquire podcasts from various content providers.
Users can access free audio and video content by searching the podcast catalog by keyword, category, channel or top downloads. Content can be downloaded over Wi-Fi or cellular networks and consumed through BlackBerry’s media player. BlackBerry Podcasts also uses the push technology of the BlackBerry platform to notify users when new…
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OTTAWA – Richard Stursberg’s last day at the CBC was Friday.
The executive vice-president, English services at CBC/Radio-Canada was let go, in order to bring in “new leadership”, according to the Corp.
Stursberg was appointed to the job on November 22, 2007 and was first appointed EVP of CBC Television on October 1, 2004. He oversaw all aspects of CBC/Radio-Canada’s English-language programming services, which includes, among other things, CBC Television, CBC Newsworld, The Documentary Channel, CBC Country Canada, CBC Radio One, CBC Radio 2, CBC Radio 3, and CBC.ca.
"When Richard was appointed executive vice-president of CBC Television six years ago, he…
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