By Denis Carmel
AFTER WRAPPING UP THE portion of the hearing which programming dominated discussion, the CRTC hearing examining the renewal of the CBC/Radio-Canada broadcasting licences saw B.C. and Yukon regional commissioner Claire Anderson take over on Thursday, driving the dialogue down the roads of diversity and relevance, accessibility of programming and ratings classification
Anderson (above) introduced herself as a citizen of the Taku River Tlingit First Nation and she was taking part from Whitehorse, Yukon. “We are here to discuss how the public broadcaster can become even more representative of all Canadians over the next licence term,” she said. She…
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By Denis Carmel
GATINEAU – While day one of the hearing into the renewal of the CBC’s broadcasting licences was devoted to the 40,000-foot view with the chairman, days two and three flew a little lower, even skimming the regulatory weeds.
The second day of the hearing – and a little bit on Wednesday morning – were devoted to news at CBC/Radio-Canada.
“When I started at CBC/Radio-Canada, I was reminded that Canadians have two jobs—their own, and running the CBC,” said CBC president and CEO Catherine Tait. That is especially true of news at the corporation, so it was the topic…
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By Steve Faguy
MONTREAL — This week, the CRTC began a two-week hearing into the renewal of CBC/Radio-Canada’s licences, a process which began more than a year ago. There will be days of questioning, dozens of intervenors appearing, and discussions of everything from children’s programming to the fees for CBC News Network to diversity, local news, online distribution and official minority communities.
But one thing that probably won’t be discussed is a service the public broadcaster is specifically required by legislation to provide, relatively few know about, but that the company has seemingly treated like a forgotten stepchild: Radio Canada International.
Last…
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By Denis Carmel
OTTAWA – Day one of the CBC’s broadcasting licences renewal virtual hearing was definitely the Ian Scott show. And although he shuffled back and forth through many topics, there is a method to it all, a little like a Canadian Colombo.
The Commission has a very complete record, has had ample time to analyze the issues and the hearing is designed to validate some assumptions. But for all intents and purposes, the outlines of the decision have probably already been drawn.
The Corporation in its renewal application asked for more flexibility to face future challenges and the chair in…
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OTTAWA – Reports from Ottawa late Monday evening say Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is planning to announce a small cabinet shuffle Tuesday morning and Innovation, Science and Economic Development Minister Navdeep Bains (above) will leave federal cabinet as part of it.
It’s not as though the Minister is doing a bad job or that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wanted him out, but that Bains had informed the PM he would not be running in the next election so Trudeau acted now so that he can be “election-ready” said Global News Ottawa Bureau chief Merecedes Stephenson on Twitter Monday…
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VANCOUVER — Thunderbird Entertainment Group has created a new global distribution and consumer products division to help elevate the company’s intellectual property across its kids and family, factual and scripted divisions, Thunderbird announced today.
Industry veteran Richard Goldsmith (above) is joining Thunderbird and its kids and family division Atomic Cartoons to lead the new venture as president of global distribution and consumer products. He will be based in Los Angeles and will report to Thunderbird and Atomic Cartoons’ chief creative officer, Matthew Berkowitz.
In his newly created role, Goldsmith will oversee worldwide content distribution and the development of innovative consumer products…
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TORONTO — CBC today revealed the 10 amateur bakers who are set to compete in the upcoming fourth season of The Great Canadian Baking Show, which will premiere Sunday, February 14 at 8 p.m. (8:30 NT) on CBC and the free CBC Gem streaming service.
As previously announced, season four of the baking competition series will be hosted by comedians, actors, writers and Second City alumni Alan Shane Lewis and Ann Pornel. Pastry chefs Bruno Feldeisen and Kyla Kennaley return to the judge’s table to sample the amateur bakers’ best offerings.
Following the pandemic-fuelled home baking craze, season four applications…
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Can the Commission regulate the CBC’s digital activities?
By Denis Carmel
GATINEAU – Monday will mark the beginning of the renewal hearing of the CBC/Radio-Canada broadcasting licences, which was originally scheduled to start on May 25, 2020.
The original deadline for interventions (after the CBC received an administrative renewal in August 2019) was February 13, 2020, later moved to February 20, after putting on the public record a report the CRTC had commissioned: Harnessing public broadcasting for Canadians in the digital age: International benchmark study for the CRTC.
Finally, in June 2020, the hearing date was set and announced to be held at…
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TORONTO — Heading into the NATPE Virtual Miami Marketplace and Conference happening later this month, Blue Ant International announced this week it’s already sold more than 300 hours of premium series to linear and streaming platforms across North America.
“We’ve had incredible interest from both our current customers and emerging streaming services in the United States and Canada,” said Solange Attwood, executive vice-president of Blue Ant International, in a press release. “The broad audiences that our platform partners offer speaks to the universal appeal of Blue Ant International’s catalogue, which has a diverse array of genres and includes programming…
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Those who thought the 13-day CBC licencing hearing would be boring, think again.
By Denis Carmel
GATINEAU – In an addendum to the Notice of Hearing on the renewal of the CBC’s broadcast licences, issued on December 18, the CRTC voiced its irritation at the Corporation in a rather terse manner.
“The Commission is dissatisfied with the Corporation’s reply. It is important for the Commission to have the necessary information to consider how the Corporation is, through its programming, reflecting the circumstances and aspirations of all members of Canadian society. The Commission intends to question the Corporation on these issues at the…
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