By Etan Vlessing
OTTAWA – As Canada hopes to modernize its broadcasting laws via Bill C-10, CBC/Radio-Canada president and CEO Catherine Tait (right) and CMPA president and CEO Reynolds Mastin (left) on Tuesday debated how best to steer U.S. streaming dollars to Canadian content production without forcing local indie producers to give up their intellectual property rights – and Canada its cultural sovereignty.
And the solution both industry execs agreed on after touching on Hollywood scenarios involving France, Lionsgate founder Frank Giustra and I May Destroy You creator Michaela Coel standing up to Netflix was for the Canadian TV industry…
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But captures much of it anyway, and that’s a big problem
By Len St-Aubin
BILL C-10’s GOAL IS TO engage online streamers with Canadian creators in the production of Canadian stories for Canadian and global audiences. To do that, Bill C-10 proposes to modernize the Broadcasting Act by sweeping-in online (internet) audio and video.
The rationale is the impact of growing competition from unregulated internet audio and video on the regulated ‘broadcasting system’, as outlined in the report of the Broadcasting and Telecommunications Policy Review (BTLR) Panel.
The first article in this series showed how Bill C-10 is problematic for Canadian broadcasting,…
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WINNIPEG — On Screen Manitoba announced today the government of Manitoba is allowing the province’s media production industry to resume full operation with physical distancing and other Covid-19 safety measures in place, effective midnight on February 12.
Previously, the provincial government’s most recent public health orders had allowed companies producing television shows or movies to operate only if filming had started before November 12, 2020.
“On Screen Manitoba appreciates the Government of Manitoba’s confidence in our industry. From June through December 2020, the Manitoba media production industry worked safely and responsibly following strict Covid-19 protocols. Our industry looks forward to once…
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By Len St-Aubin
DEBATE ABOUT BILL C-10 thus far has focused on Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault’s goal to make big foreign online audio and video streamers, like Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime, YouTube and Spotify, contribute to the creation of Canadian content.
But Bill C-10’s scope is vast. It will impact broadcasting and the internet in Canada, and all Canadians
It’s a valid public policy goal to expect big foreign streamers which have significant market share and revenues in Canada to engage with Canadian creators in the production of Canadian stories for Canadian and global audiences. It’s a valid question whether amending the…
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By Etan Vlessing
OTTAWA – Neil McEneaney, president and CEO of media measurement firm Numeris, was on the hot seat Thursday as he told the virtual CMPA Prime Time conference how the Canadian TV ratings firm collects and measures race-based audience data amid an industry reckoning.
McEneaney told an online panel that while Black Canadians and others from diverse communities were included in Numeris panels for a representative sample of domestic TV viewership, Numeris isn’t “segmenting one race or another” as it focuses on broad Canadian French and English language TV audiences.
He explained Numeris’ “measurement design” for data points is to…
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TORONTO – CBC today announced four women who will be the broadcaster’s brand new scripted content leadership team.
They will oversee separate development and production units for comedy and drama and report directly to Trish Williams, executive director, scripted content. “The updated structure is designed to be more responsive to Canadian creators and the independent production community,” reads the announcement.
“With this new structure, we are excited to welcome fresh perspectives and recognize the shining stars of our experienced scripted team,” said Williams. “Bringing in two highly respected producers to…
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By Denis Carmel
GATINEAU – a 14-day hearing is rather long in normal circumstances but in a virtual context it is a Guinness-like feat and it did go smoothly. Kudos to the CRTC hearings team, and everyone’s local internet connections.
Thursday morning was Phase IV, the final reply portion of the CRTC hearing into the renewal of the CBC’s broadcasting licences. This is where the CBC had its opportunity to reply to the concerns raised by the 70 intervenors who appeared in front of the Commission in the last two weeks.
It’s usually used to celebrate successes with a little dash of…
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By Denis Carmel
GATINEAU – Like other organizations who appeared during this multi-day hearing, the Canadian Media Producers Association took a narrow view, arguing other discussions should be allowed to take place first.
“We think it’s important to ask questions about how CBC will ensure discoverability, success, and relevance for programming available online, but before thinking of substituting any current requirements for new metrics, we need to engage in the kind of wider industry consultation that will be possible in a major policy proceeding once Bill C-10 is passed,” said Reynolds Mastin, president and CEO of the CMPA during its appearance…
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TORONTO — More than 50 years after a National Film Board (NFB) film crew first visited Fogo Island for its Challenge for Change project, the NFB today announced a new interactive experience marking the next chapter in the island’s story, Far Away From Far Away, will be available on mobile starting February 8.
Written by Michael Crummey and led by creative directors Bruce Alcock and Jeremy Mendes, Far Away From Far Away is inspired by visionary Zita Cobb’s childhood growing up with her father in the remote and resilient community of Fogo Island, Newfoundland, during the 1960s and…
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Day 12…
By Denis Carmel
GATINEAU – On day 12 of the hearing into the renewal of the CBC’s broadcasting licences, the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) and the Canadian Media Guild (CMG) appearances grabbed our attention.
While PIAC has no real skin in this game (beyond representing Canadian consumers who pay for and watch the CBC), the Guild and the various unions are there to defend its members now and in the future.
From the get-go, John Lawford, PIAC’s executive director and general counsel, proposed the CBC’s licences be reviewed in two years “to line up with implementation of changes outlined in…
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