IN LESS THAN FIVE months, all American full power television broadcasters are required to shut off their analog transmitters.
In Canadian border regions, this could present an opportunity as those remaining Canadian viewers who have resisted cable or satellite TV for so long, instead picking up a number of American TV stations with their rabbit ears. Unless they invest in some digital rabbit ears and a new television, they’ll need help getting the programming they are used to.
For example, in Windsor there are 22 stations available off-air, most from the other side of the border Detroit, Mich., and…
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LOUISVILLE, Colo. – Dr. Richard Green told the CableLabs executive committee last week in New York that he intends to retire as CEO when his current contract expires in December 2009, the organization announced today.
The committee agreed to begin a search for a successor immediately in order to complete an orderly transition prior to Green’s departure. The group also reaffirmed a strong industry commitment to the work and program of CableLabs.
“The entire industry is indebted to Dick for building and managing one of the most successful development laboratories in the country. CableLabs has and will continue to…
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TORONTO – While Bell TV announced on the weekend it has added TSN2 to its channel roster, watch for more pressure to come on a couple of other Canadian carriers from their local football fans later this week.
Bell TV (formerly ExpressVu) is the first of the “big four” carriers (Shaw/Star Choice, Rogers and Videotron being the others) to begin carrying TSN’s secondary channel. TSN2 will air live games when the main network has something of a higher priority scheduled, as well as some taped shows and tape-delayed games.
As reported earlier this week by Cartt.ca, TSN has been…
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TORONTO – They’ll probably crack eventually, but so far, the big four of Canadian video distribution, Shaw Communications, Rogers Communications, Bell TV and Videotron have resisted adding the new TSN2 to their channel lineups.
As usual, it’s a fight over money (that and to a lesser extent, packaging and capacity).
TSN2 was the “alternate feed” of the main TSN network, a sometimes on, sometimes off, dumping ground that the sports network used when it had conflicts with two live events. Most of the carriers had it somewhere on the dial and didn’t mind making space for that channel since…
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OTTAWA – Despite complaints about the CRTC’s decision to allow the new owners of Quebec private conventional TV broadcaster to dramatically cut local programming, Minister of Canadian Heritage Josee Verner said late Friday she’s not going to get involved.
The TQS union and the opposition Liberals had demanded the decision to let Remstar Diffusion take over the broadcaster while cutting local news to the bone be referred back to the CRTC for a re-think.
Without Remstar’s bid to purchase, it’s thought that former co-owners Cogeco Inc. and CTVglobemedia were tired of losing money with the station and were considering shutting…
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MONTREAL – CanWest Broadcasting is rebranding Lonestar, a Western-themed cable channel, as MovieTime, a digital offering of popular Hollywood movies. CanWest says that MovieTime, which goes live Oct. 6, will feature more than 250 Hollywood movies.
Catering to adults 25-54, MovieTime will offer viewers unparalleled access to an extensive collection of contemporary hit movies.
"There are few things that generate as much excitement, delight and passion as people’s most-loved movies and with MovieTime, we are thrilled to give audiences a one-stop channel to catch all their favourite hits," says Barb Williams, executive vice-president, content, Canwest Broadcasting.
Canwest says Movietime reflects its on-going…
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TORONTO – The SCTE Ontario chapter is holding their fall meeting at the Premiere Banquet and Convention Centre on October 21, 2008. The meeting will explore the opportunity and technical requirements for deploying and supporting commercial and small-business services. All members are now invited to submit a simple one paragraph outlining a topic they would be willing to present at the meeting.
Presentations should be approximately 20-30 minutes in length and be primarily technology or best-practice centric. Of particular interest are real-world examples or case studies of successful commercial or small-business deployments including any of video, data, telephone, or…
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IF THERE’S ONE THING distributors don’t like, it’s being told what to do by the CRTC.
As we saw during the April hearings into broadcast distribution undertaking and specialty service policy, cable companies don’t like linkage rules or must-carries or carriage restrictions or much of anything else they “have” to do.
Cable altogether opposed the licensing of the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network as a must-carry, 91(h) channel in 1999, but the Commission still licensed it as a channel which all distributors must carry as a basic service. APTN is one of those channels that furthers the goals of the…
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TORONTO – Top line results from the Canadian radio ratings across Canada won’t cause too many PDs to break into a sweat.
A few top line (A12+) ratings share highlights:
* Cogeco’s CJMF-FM 93.3 (Rock and Talk) saw a nice spike to a rating of 13.8, up from its S1 showing of 10.8 and well ahead of a year ago, when it came in with a 7.1 showing
* Astral’s English-language Montreal rock station, CHOM-FM rebounded in the ratings to an 11.8 in this book. That’s up from S1’s 9.9 rating but still well off S2 2007’s 14.
*…
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OTTAWA – A review of broadcasting in new media is utterly unnecessary, says an unprecedented joint submission to the CRTC by Canada’s largest Internet service providers.
Friday was the deadline for submissions on PN 2008-44, which only asked for comments on what the scope of any future proceeding on Canadian broadcasting in new media might be. The Commission wants advice on what questions it might ask when it decides to undertake a review of what new media is doing to broadcasting and what Canadian regulations might have to say about it. At this point, it doesn’t want to…
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