VANCOUVER – Eight-year-old TV producer ATV Productions has been sold.
John Lovelace, president and CEO of the company, announced the sale today. Terms were not disclosed.
Its new owner is Krishnan Suthanthiran, who is probably best known for his recent purchase of the entire town of Kitsault in the Northern region of British Columbia.
"The sale of the company gives us access to the resources to make important improvements, while giving our producers the opportunity to concentrate on productions," said Lovelace in a release.
For his part, Suthanthiran understands that ATV, and its Vancouver operations will be able to…
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TORONTO – The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and its union, the Canadian Media Guild, are back at the bargaining table today.
Supported by an 87.3 % strike mandate, the CMG says it will stand firm on two major issues: employment status and job evaluation.
“It’s an important time as this week marks the end of the official conciliation period, which ends Sunday and will be followed by the 21 day cooling-off period. The two sides have agreed to mediation beginning Monday and continuing until a deal is reached,” says the CMG press release.
The Minister of Labour has appointed a second…
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TORONTO – Toronto reporter Ben Chin has decided to jump into politics before he even filed his first story for Global National.
The former Citytv, CBC, CTV, and Toronto 1 reporter and anchor has accepted a position as a special advisor to Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty, Global’s senior vice-president new Steve Wyatt told www.cartt.ca today. Chin (right) was supposed to begin his new job as senior correspondent and Toronto Bureau Chief for Global National very soon.
He told the senior people last week and made it official this week,” said Wyatt. “He hadn’t even started yet.”
Chin started his broadcast…
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TORONTO – Women in Film and Television – Toronto is offering the Teletoon Masters Program Writing for Animation on August 9, 16 and 23.
Sponsored by Teletoon and taught by writer Alyse Rosenberg, with other industry guests, this intensive three-part course introduces screenwriters to the animation medium and explores the principles of writing animated short films, television series and features.
Over three evenings, instructor Rosenberg leads the class through an in-depth study of the lifecycle of an animated writing project, from concept to ready-for-production script. Topics to be covered include understanding the medium, the application of classic story structure…
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QUEBEC CITY – Global Television will be letting 12 employees go from CKMI, the English-language Quebec City TV station, the end of November this year.
Following an industry trend, the company is consolidating its master control operations in Toronto. The group being let go includes one manager and 11 unionized staffers.
“We’re just doing what CTV and CBC and the French networks did ages ago,” CKMI station manager Karen MacDonald told www.cartt.ca today.
MacDonald stressed that Global was not pulling back from its editorial coverage of the provincial capital, pointing to the fact that its four reporter newsroom…
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TORONTO – After a strike vote taken last week, CBC employees have overwhelmingly supported taking strike action if necessary to get a new contract.
The yes vote won 87.3% during the vote held between July 8 and July 14.
Canadian Media Guild, the CBC union, thanked members for “turning out in such large numbers to show their support for the union at the bargaining table.” Despite a large number on vacation, 67% turned in a ballot.
"This is very strong support for the Guild and a flat rejection of the Corporation’s vision of the future ," says CBC branch…
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TORONTO – The Canadian Media Guild said today it will announce the results of the strike vote taken this week on either July 19th or 20th.
Expect overwhelming support in favor of strike action.
“Negotiations resume on July 18 and the Guild’s bargaining committee is prepared to negotiate day and night to get a fair deal with the Corporation,” says CMG.
Over 5,500 CBC employees are members of the CMG, which urged its members to vote yes, saying that the CBC is “trying to guarantee maximum flexibility to hire and fire employees at its whim.” Talks have been ongoing…
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EL SEGUNDO, Calif. – DirecTV has filed a lawsuit in a Canadian court against a well known signal thief who flouted a permanent injunction order imposed last year to stop selling piracy technology used to steal DirecTV programming, the American DBS service announced today.
The complaint alleges that Elio Gino D’Amario, of Hamilton, Ontario, has continued to sell pirate devices on his web site in violation of a permanent injunction entered against him in a U.S. District Court and the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in July 2004. The complaint against D’Amario was the result of an investigation conducted…
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TORONTO – Over 5,500 CBC employees who are members of the Canadian Media Guild are casting ballots today and tomorrow to give their bargaining unit a strike mandate.
The CMG is urging its members to vote yes, saying that the CBC is “trying to guarantee maximum flexibility to hire and fire employees at its whim.” Talks have been ongoing since May 2004.
The two sides are now meeting with a federally-appointed conciliator, which is expected to last until late in July. If no deal is reached the two sides have a 21-day “cooling off” period, during which they can…
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TORONTO – While press releases swirled all around today from CHUM Ltd. and its co-appellants and from Canadian Satellite Radio responding and re-responding to what CHUM had to say, Canada’s other satellite radio license holder, SIRIUS Canada, is quietly getting ready for its fall launch.
That’s not to say that the newly minted company isn’t on side with CSR saying the appeals are all bunk.
“Clearly there’s nothing raised by any of the now-three appeals that is in any way different than the issues that were well-covered at the CRTC hearing,” SIRIUS Canada president and CEO Kevin Shea told…
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