Uncertainty around whether Senate will meet Nov. 18 deadline
By Denis Carmel
OTTAWA – The Transportation and Communications Senate Committee (TRCM) continued its pre-study of Bill C-11 yesterday and the committee staff should be commended for very effective casting.
The first hour featured two visions of intervenors and their approach to the bill. Peter Menzies, previously vice-chair of the CRTC, outlined some (he only had five minutes) of his objections.
“Bill C-11 seems to be inspired by a desire to assist those whose business models are having difficulty adjusting to the Internet age. That’s an understandable desire. But to the extent this overly broad…
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TORONTO – Lopii Productions, a Canadian kids’ production company founded by twins Georgina and Rennata López, announced today they have partnered with CBC Kids on the new series Bestest Day Ever With My Best Friend!.
Bestest Day Ever (20 x 7-minute) is a “live-action order set to launch in 2023” and Lopii Productions’ sixth original series, a press release says.
Made for preschoolers, the series “celebrates the cherished relationships children have with their pets and gives them the opportunity to say thank you to that fuzzy, furry, scaly, slithering or feathered friend in an extra big way,” the release explains.
“In each…
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OTTAWA – CBC’s Media Technology Monitor (MTM) today released a new MTM Junior infographic detailing the rate at which Canadian youth ages 2-17 are consuming content in the other official language.
The infographic explains 8% of anglophone youth watch television and movies in French daily, while 22% watch weekly and 28% watch at least once per month. Meanwhile, 20% of francophone youth are watching television and movies in English daily, 51% are watching weekly and 69% are watching at least once per month.
“Younger anglophones (2-11) are most likely to be consuming French content, while francophone teens (12-17) are most likely…
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By Connie Thiessen
TORONTO – Canadian Music Week (CMW) and Radiodays Europe have announced Radiodays North America, a joint event set to take place in Toronto, June 8-9.
Radiodays North America will take place over two days during the weeklong Canadian Music Week Festival, bringing keynote speakers and panelists from around the globe to Toronto to discuss all facets of over-the-air and digital broadcasting and podcasting from executive leadership and workplace diversity to innovation, technology, talent, programming, marketing and revenue growth.
“We are thrilled to be able to bring the Radiodays Europe brand and it’s expert international content to North America,” said Peter Niegel, general manager for…
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CBC NEWS NETWORK announced in an internal email today a number of host changes beginning Oct. 24.
Dwight Drummond (above), currently host of CBC Toronto News at 6 p.m. on the main CBC network, is joining CBC News Network to host Canada Tonight for one year.
“We are thrilled to welcome Dwight to the NN hosting family,” reads an email announcement sent to Cartt.ca. “He has a deep connection with audiences and communities, and will carry on the excellent work of Ginella Massa while she is on maternity leave.”
While Drummond hosts Canada Tonight, Marivel Taruc will be interim host of CBC Toronto…
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MONTREAL – Last week, CP24 host and personality Patricia Jaggernauth (above) filed a complaint with the Canadian Human Rights Commission against the channel’s owner Bell Media, which details allegations of systemic racism, sexism and discrimination.
Jaggernauth joined CP24 in June 2011 and has since worked in a variety of roles including as a weather specialist, remote reporter and CP24 Breakfast personality, according to her Linkedin page.
She told CBC in an exclusive interview she was “treated as a token and a commodity” during her 11 years there and was repeatedly passed over for promotions while her white colleagues advanced.
Jaggernauth, who…
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TORONTO and LONDON, U.K. — Blue Ant Studios and Catalyst, a Toronto-based development and funding company focusing on content created by women, announced today production has started on a new female-lead unscripted comedy series created by and starring Carolyn Taylor (above).
The six-episode, half-hour comedy, which is still untitled, was commissioned by Bell Media’s Crave and is slated to premiere on the streaming service in 2023. Blue Ant International is overseeing worldwide distribution.
The series is produced by Catalyst and Blue Ant Studios “as part of their strategic partnership to develop female-generated programming for the global marketplace,” a press release says.
Canadian…
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CBC NEWS’ CONSUMER AFFAIRS program Marketplace is marking its 50th anniversary this month and will kick off its new season on Friday, Oct. 7 at 8 p.m. (8:30 NT) with a special one-hour broadcast, Celebrating Marketplace’s 50th Season, on CBC TV and CBC Gem.
Known for its investigations of popular products and services, Marketplace first premiered on Oct. 5, 1972, with co-hosts Joan Watson and George Finstad exploring the rising cost of food in Canada, a topic familiar to today’s viewers.
“Using innovative testing and hidden cameras, a team of investigative journalists fights for transparency and change in industries across Canada,…
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TORONTO — Run With Us Productions announced today the classic animated series The Raccoons (above) is returning to the small screen with newly digitally remastered content, premiering on Crave in Canada on Oct. 8.
The restored content includes all 60 half-hour original episodes and four animated specials including The Christmas Raccoons, The Raccoons on Ice and The Raccoons and the Lost Star.
Seasons 1 and 2 drop on Crave this Saturday, while Seasons 3, 4 and 5 plus the animated specials will follow at a later date, according to a press release, which adds the remastered series will roll out in…
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By Howard Law
DESPITE THE SENATE’S singular focus on Bill C-11’s regulation of user generated content, today’s witnesses shed some light on other issues both important and neglected.
The biggest issue that has been mostly avoided in both the House and the Senate is what the post C-11 broadcasting world will look like when the US streamer/studios are placed under new obligations to make and/or finance CanCon, known in CRTC lingo as “Canadian Programming Expenditures (CPE).”
Debate over that issue immediately invokes a hot button issue: what counts as a certified “Canadian” program?
And debate over what is a Canadian program immediately poses…
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