I DARE ANYONE TO disagree with this statement: “A child without access to the Internet will find life increasingly difficult in the information age.”
National Cable and Telecommunications Association president and CEO Michael Powell said it Monday morning during his keynote speech to delegates in the standing-room-only opening general session at the 2012 Cable Show here in Boston. He was singing the praises of the U.S. industry’s Connect to Compete initiative where all of the major American cable companies have teamed up with the Federal Communications Commission and a large number of other corporations to push…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC renewed a number of national and regional video-on-demand licences Thursday.
Bell ExpressVu, Cogeco Cable, Rogers Communications, Telus Communications, and Videon Cablesystems had their licences extended through August 31, 2016, while MTS and SaskTel had theirs renewed through August 31, 2015.
Videotron received a short term renewal to August 31, 2014. In addition, it must provide the Commission with proof that it is in compliance with its requirements relating to its English-language feature film inventory by July 16, 2012, and file quarterly compliance reports going forward.
SaskTel and MTS were directed to inform the Commission that they are…
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MONTREAL – Natural resource channel IDNR-TV has signed its first major affiliation deal with Cogeco Cable in Quebec.
IDNR-TV is devoted to the coverage of natural resources including industry related and social issues programming. As Cartt.ca has reported, the eight-year old independent channel was banking on a recent groundswell of community support to help it nail a major carriage deal. Cogeco will include IDNR-TV in its basic cable package starting this Fall.
"Cogeco Cable's affiliate relations managers were very responsive and professional and a pleasure to deal with”, said IDNR-TV CEO Ivor Barr. “They are clearly committed to serving their customers…
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MONTREAL – Cogeco has added Wild TV to the majority of its markets in Quebec.
Wild TV offers programming devoted to hunting, fishing and the environment. It is available now on channel 153, and on demand on channel 600, on a three month free preview.
OTTAWA – The Canadian Media Production Association (CMPA) and the Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund are partnering on a new mentorship program designed to offer hands-on training opportunities to digital media producers.
Working with an independent production company, participants of this new initiative will develop their technical, business and creative acumen in the digital content production sector. The program emphasizes one-on-one mentoring provided by seasoned producers, and creating enhanced professional development opportunities in a digital media environment.
The deadline for applications is July 3, 2012. Click here for more information on the program, application forms and eligibility criteria.
“In today’s ‘digital…
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by Steve Faguy
GATINEAU – It's the most important decision about private French-language television in Canada in years, but the CRTC's renewal of licenses for major broadcasters contained few surprises.
On Thursday, the CRTC renewed broadcasting licenses for Quebecor's Groupe TVA, Astral Media and the independent specialty channel Canal Évasion. The Commission also reviewed the licenses of the V network (formerly TQS), which was given exceptional relief from its regulatory obligations in 2008 when purchased by its current ownership while in bankruptcy. For the most part, the decisions were based on proposals made during discussions at the hearings in Montreal in…
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OTTAWA – Small local telephone companies operating in rural regions of Ontario and Quebec have enjoyed special protection from competition for long enough and now is the time to open up their markets to cable competitors, its competitors and potential competitors have told the Governor-in-Council.
The Ontario Telecommunications Association (OTA) and the Association des Compagnies de Téléphone du Québec Inc. (ACTQ) fear that if their markets are fully opened to competition, they will suffer severe financial impacts that could put them out of business (as they have noted on Cartt.ca). They are urging the Governor-in-Council to…
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TORONTO – Travel+Escape HD is available in approximately 1.1 million homes across Canada after launching on Rogers, Cogeco, Telus and EastLink on Tuesday.
Owned by GlassBox Television, the travel and adventure themed channel is available on free preview for the next three months. Viewers will be able to watch programs such as Lonely Planet’s Roads Less Travelled as well as Anthony Bourdain’s The Layover, Fishing Adventurer and Cottage Life, in addition to new commissioned series Destination Fear and Scam City.
“Travel+Escape HD fulfills our commitment to giving our viewers the ultimate entertainment experience,” said programming EVP Vanessa Case, in the announcement. “Being able to watch our quality travel and…
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MONTREAL – Cogeco Cable has increased its Internet speeds in Ontario after upgrading its current ‘Ultimate 50’ package to ‘Ultimate 55’.
Effective immediately, most of Cogeco’s Ontario customers can access the new package that offers top download speeds of up to 55 Mpbs, upload speeds of 2 Mbps, and a monthly data transfer capacity of 250 GB. It also includes the company’s full line of security services and modem rental at no extra charge.
‘Ultimate 55’ is priced at $109.95 per month for customers subscribing only to Cogeco’s Internet service, and $99.95 per month to customers who also subscribe to its…
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OTTAWA – Lawyers for the broadcast distribution undertakings (BDUs) told the Supreme Court of Canada on Tuesday that the CRTC’s regulations can’t trump retransmission provisions within the Copyright Act.
Jay Kerr-Wilson, a partner at Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP who was representing Rogers Communications, said the CRTC stepped into copyright law when it established its value-for-signal (VFS) regime (also known as fee-for-carriage) and argued that the CRTC doesn’t have the authority to set new copyright, since only Parliament has that right.
“The CRTC cannot have the jurisdiction to do what it proposed since its proposed scheme creates a new copyright in television…
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