OTTAWA – The CRTC announced Thursday its game plan to implement legislation that would force large technology platforms to compensate news publishers if they want to continue to link to their content.
The regulator will essentially embark on creating the regulatory backstop needed to catch any mandatory commercial negotiations between platforms and news publishers that fall through.
As such, in the same way it announced how it would tackle the Online Streaming Act, the CRTC said it will first launch a public consultation this fall to gather comments.
At this point, it will also issue a call for proposals…
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TORONTO – CBC on Wednesday unveiled its fall 2023 streaming and broadcast schedule, announcing premiere dates for new and returning original series on CBC Gem and CBC TV.
New original series include the five-part drama Bones of Crows, Marie Clements’ multigenerational epic tale of Indigenous resilience and strength starring Summer Testawich, Grace Dove (Monkey Beach) and Carla Rae (Rutherford Falls), who portray main character Aline Spears at various stages of her life “as she survives Canada’s residential school system to continue her family’s generational fight in the face of systemic starvation, racism and sexual abuse,” reads a…
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TORONTO – CBC announced Wednesday its streaming service CBC Gem is now available on the Roku platform in Canada.
Starting Wednesday, Roku users have free access to CBC Gem’s library of more than 6,500 hours of live and on-demand Canadian programming and its curated selection of acclaimed content from around the world, including more than 800 documentaries, 500 hours of ad-free content for kids and tweens, and a collection of more than 200 Canadian feature films.
Roku users are able to stream all seasons of past CBC hit original series, including Baroness von Sketch Show (seasons 1-5), Kim’s…
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TORONTO – CBC/Radio-Canada president and CEO Catherine Tait has written an open letter to Meta’s president of global affairs, Nick Clegg, asking the social media giant to end its blocking of Canadian news content and accounts on its Facebook and Instagram platforms for communities currently dealing with the wildfire crisis in Canada’s North.
“As you are undoubtedly aware, many smaller and remote communities in Canada are currently experiencing unprecedented natural disasters which threaten human life and property. At this writing, entire communities are under evacuation orders due to wildfires — including the territorial capital of Yellowknife in…
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By Connie Thiessen
Blue Ant Media and marblemedia have announced the merger of their respective production and distribution operations into one unified studio and rights business.
The deal sees Blue Ant acquire marblemedia and its international sales operation Distribution360. Former marblemedia co-CEOs Mark Bishop and Matthew Hornburg will helm the combined business, based in Toronto, serving as co-Presidents and reporting to Michael MacMillan, CEO and co-founder, Blue Ant Media.
The combined business, which encompasses the marblemedia, Blue Ant Studios, Saloon Media and Look Mom! Productions prodcos, in addition to distributors Distribution360 and Blue Ant International, will form what’s being billed as a…
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GATINEAU, OTTAWA and TORONTO – The Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB), public broadcaster CBC/Radio-Canada and print and digital news association News Media Canada (NMC) have jointly applied to the Competition Bureau to investigate Meta’s alleged abuse of its dominant market position, after the social media giant last week began officially blocking news content in Canada on Facebook and Instagram.
Meta had threatened back in June to end news availability on its platforms in Canada in response to the passing of the Online News Act, and on Aug. 1 it began the process to do that, saying the…
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CBC calls it “irresponsible” and “abuse of power”; CAB says it shows “tangible disregard for democracy”
Starting Tuesday, Meta has begun blocking Canadian news content on Facebook and Instagram for their users in Canada.
In an update Tuesday to its June announcement of its intention to end news availability on its platforms in Canada, in response to the passing of the Online News Act, Meta says these changes “will be implemented for all people accessing Facebook and Instagram in Canada over the course of the next few weeks.”
The changes mean news links…
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By Connie Thiessen
CBC Podcasts has launched a new channel on YouTube, making a collection of the public broadcaster’s most popular shows available through the platform.
Audiences can now stream series like Someone Knows Something; Uncover; Run, Hide Repeat; and daily news podcast, Front Burner, among a dozen others, on YouTube. CBC says the channel will continue to grow in the coming months with the addition of video podcasts.
“The launch of CBC Podcasts on YouTube furthers a commitment to making our amazing catalogue of podcast content available to audiences on the platform of their choice,” said Continue Reading
TORONTO – Bell is the latest media company to pause advertising on Meta’s Facebook and Instagram social media products, becoming the latest giant to retaliate after Meta’s decision to end news link sharing in Canada.
“As Meta continues with its plan to block Canadian news content from its digital platforms, we are immediately pausing our advertising on Facebook and Instagram,” Bell Media president Wade Oosterman said in a late Friday afternoon statement.
“Like many Canadians, we are concerned about the consequences Meta’s decision to block links from Canadian news organizations will have on Canadians, and all those who reside or work…
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By Christopher Guly
OTTAWA — In a rare display of non-partisanship support for government legislation, Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez – joined by his opposition counterparts Martin Champoux of the Bloc Québécois and Peter Julian of the New Democrats – announced at a Parliament Hill news conference on Wednesday that the federal government will suspend advertising on Facebook and Instagram in response to parent company Meta Platforms Inc.’s decision to end news availability on both platforms prior to bill C-18 taking effect.
Last week, Google followed suit and announced that it would…
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