OTTAWA – There will be no new fee for the carriage of broadcast signals in Canada. But a new levy is being imposed to help boost local programming.
No fee, but a new fee * One of the first items in the press release announcing the new policies governing broadcast distribution undertakings and specialty services (and the over-the-air fee-for-carriage issue) was the Commission’s desire to boost local programming. “The desire for better local programming in Canada’s smaller markets was clearly made evident during this proceeding,” CRTC chair Konrad von Finckenstein said in the Commission release today. “We have taken…
Continue Reading
SO WILL WE SEE fee-for-carriage, or not?
A blizzard of issues were discussed, argued and dissected in the over half-a-million words spoken (seriously, we counted…) six months ago in Gatineau during the CRTC’s hearing into the policies governing broadcast distribution undertakings and specialty & pay TV channels.
But the most buzz-worthy question during the 12 hearing days was one that wasn’t fully related to either. It was the question of whether subscription fees will have to be paid to conventional over-the-air broadcasters by those BDUs (cable, satellite and telco TV).
Of course, we’ll have to wait until 4 p.m….
Continue Reading
TORONTO – CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada is providing Punjabi broadcasts for 55 games from its 2008-09 schedule at CBCSports.ca, as announced prior to the start of the NHL regular season.
Rogers and Bell TV have also been providing games to its subscribers, and starting Nov. 1, Shaw Digital Cable will also be making the Punjabi broadcasts available to its customers.
CBC’S Hockey Night in Canada Punjabi broadcast package provides Canadians with two games each Saturday night in Punjabi – including the 57th NHL All-Star Game in Montreal on Sunday, Jan. 25, 2009 – for the 2008-09 regular season….
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – "Community radio in Canada punches far above its weight. Despite being under-resourced, the sector makes unique and vital contributions to culture and pluralism," says Ian Pringle, a member of the first ever board of directors for the Community Radio Fund of Canada.
"The establishment of the Community Radio Fund will translate into a stronger, more vibrant broadcast system in Canada. It is long overdue and much needed."
The CRFC recently held its first annual general membership meeting and board elections in Ottawa. The members of the first CRFC board of directors are: Jean-Francois Côté, Victoria Fenner, Jean…
Continue Reading
TORONTO – "Without a doubt culture played a central role in this election,” said Richard Hardacre, ACTRA’s national president, in summing up Tuesday’s election.
“We hope that Prime Minister Harper heard the concerns of the thousands of Canadians who spoke up during the campaign and will make culture a priority in the coming months… We welcome the Conservatives’ campaign commitment to scrap their plans to give bureaucrats arbitrary powers to withdraw or withhold tax credits from Canadian films and television productions. And now the Prime Minister has an opportunity to re-consider his $50 million dollars in cuts to arts…
Continue Reading
TORONTO – On the eve of today’s election, Canadian broadcasters were distancing themselves from fellow journalist and Conservative candidate for the riding of Thornhill, Peter Kent.
The former Global News anchor (and NBC/CBC reporter) has posted a video on his web site where the likes of Lloyd Robertson, Pamela Wallin, Peter Mansbridge and Kevin Newman, among others, sing Kent’s praises.
While the video was made to honour Kent when he won the 2006 RTNDA Canada president’s award, the fact it is posted on Kent’s election site may make it seem to some that the journalists are endorsing his candidacy,…
Continue Reading
HALIFAX – EastLink and CBC News in Nova Scotia are partnering to provide coverage of this month’s Nova Scotia municipal election.
The joint coverage will run from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. on October 18, election day.
CBC News: Nova Scotia at Six host Jim Nunn will anchor the coverage, while EastLink’s Dan Robertson will provide regular updates from the EastLink Results Desk in Lower Sackville.
“We are delighted to be joining forces with EastLink to deliver community-by-community results of these elections in a way that no one else can match,” said Andrew Cochran, managing director, CBC Television, Maritimes….
Continue Reading
TORONTO – CBC Radio One 99.1 was quick to point out its Metro Morning Show continued to dominate the Toronto morning market when BBM released its S3 2008, or summer, radio ratings earlier this week. Radio One’s morning show with host Andy Barrie garnered a 12.4% market share in S3. The market share for CBC Radio One rose from 7.4 to 7.6. in Toronto from S2 to S3 for adults 12+ from Monday to Sunday in the 5 a.m. to 1 p.m. period.
But aside from markets such as Toronto, Ottawa and Edmonton, the picture isn’t as rosy in…
Continue Reading
WHAT A DIFFERENCE a day makes.
Or so they say in politics. Perhaps in the broadcast and cable regulatory environment it takes a little longer than a day, but the world has most definitely changed since last spring’s broadcast distribution undertaking and specialty & pay policy framework hearing in Ottawa. A quick look today at the headlines tells us in no uncertain terms that “Canada heading for recession, say economists” (CBC.ca), and that “Investors panic, markets plunge as crisis spreads in Europe, Asia” (Globe and Mail).
As the credit crunch deepens and consumers begin to rein in their spending,…
Continue Reading
TORONTO – The 2nd annual Insight Entertainment Industries Summit will run October 22-23 at St. Andrew’s Club and Conference Centre in Toronto.
The event is aimed at senior executives and counsels from the film, television, new media, gaming, music and print media industries who are involved in content creation, development or distribution.
The keynote luncheon address will be given by Namir Anani, executive director of Policy Development and Research at the CRTC.
The conference program co-chairs are Alan Sawyer, principal consultant, Two Solitudes Consulting, and Susan Abramovitch, partner, Gowling Lafleur Henderson, LLP.
Topics include issues facing each content genre,…
Continue Reading
