OTTAWA – It’s no increase (as producers, actors and broadcasters were hoping for) but the $200 million committed to the Canadian Television Fund by the federal government over two years is far more than two of CTF’s primary industry contributors are currently paying.
That is to say, zero.
Hot on the heels of Shaw Communications and Quebecor Media’s decisions to suspend monthly payments to the CTF, Heritage Minister Bev Oda said Friday the federal government is renewing its $100 million a year contribution to the fund through 2008-09.
"This announcement signifies this Government’s commitment to producing quality Canadian programming…
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THE SMALL AND MEDIUM-sized business market has become a crowded place.
All of the big companies have said in the past months they see this market as a place to find big growth. Rogers, Bell, Shaw, Cogeco, Telus et al – all have talked about how well they hope to do in the SME space.
So is there room for small startups like Syntagma Network Services? CEO Theresa Carbonneau thinks so. The company’s small business plan offers a full suite of voice over IP-delivered services including broadband connectivity, voice services, e-mail and web hosting, exchange server hosting, virus scanning…
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DEREGULATING LOCAL PHONE in major urban centres in 2007 seems to me to be the right thing to do.
"The idea that somehow the cable guys are at a disadvantage to the telcos has not been proven so far in the entry of the cable industry in local voice," Lawson Hunter, Bell’s chief corporate officer said to me Wednesday. I agree with him. To a point.
Setting aside the unprecedented use of the provision in the Telecom Act that let’s the government issue policy directives to the CRTC (until 2006, it just hadn’t been done), it’s time to…
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TORONTO – A great opportunity to socialize with chapter members and learn more about CTAM Canada’s plans for 2007 will happen Wednesday January 24th in Toronto.
This is an event you don’t want to miss! Do you have a friend that’s not a member? Bring them along to see what membership in CTAM Canada is all about! Enjoy a fun filled evening with great hors d’ouvres, cocktails, prizes and friends.
WHEN: Wednesday, January 24, 2007, 6 to 8 p.m.
WHERE: Flow Restaurant and Lounge www.flowrestaurant.com; 133 Yorkville Ave.; Toronto, ON
COST: Free
REGISTRATION: RSVP by e-mailing Andrea Gagliardi at…
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PETERBOROUGH – Lindsay Broadband has hired Christopher Skarica as its new vice-president of engineering.
Skarica spent 11 years in cable (Maclean-Hunter, Rogers, Cogeco) before moving to Nortel Networks in 1999 and then Broadbus Technologies (now Motorola) in 2004.
Prior to Nortel, he was the director of engineering for Cogeco Cable’s Ontario Operations. "Christopher has played key roles in the design and implementation of new technologies in cable TV networks including dual band and multi-beam satellite reception, two way optical and RF HFC equipment, SA and GI digital video compression systems, digital DWDM optical transport networks, Packet Cable compliant voice…
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NOW THAT MY TWO-AND-a-half year old daughter has outgrown her predilection towards throwing things at our living room television (think keys and golf balls, not stuffed animals), I decided my Christmas gift to the family (okay, to me) would be a new television.
I want my HDTV.
Last month though, CTAM Canada published a piece of research which said, in essence, that Canadian consumers are not getting enough information on how to get the best high definition experience and too often are leaving the stores without a digital cable or satellite receiver, which is the best way (and…
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TORONTO – Never one for lengthy media sessions, Cogeco CEO Louis Audet practically demanded that reporters ask him about its newest purchase, Portuguese cable and telecom outfit Cabovisao, prior to the cable company’s annual general meeting in Toronto on Tuesday.
So, how is it going there? Audet was typically reserved in his remarks, saying "integration is going well," but his body language conveyed some excitement towards what he sees as a key strategic growth opportunity.
Admitting "not all of our shareholders were enthusiastic about the acquisition," Audet sings the praises of Cabovisao, it’s growth opportunities and employees, noting he…
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TORONTO – Despite the hue and cry over the supposed nasty effects of new media, radio, a so-called old media, continues to post gains here in Canada.
According to Canadian Broadcast Sales, national radio sales for the first quarter of the 2007 broadcast year (September to November ’07) represent the medium’s highest-ever total revenue quarter as sales rose by 8.2% compared to the same period last year. The Toronto market took 42% of the growth.
CBS is a national sales firm representing approximately 60% of all private Canadian radio stations, a total of 128 markets, with clients including Corus,…
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GATINEAU – If the CCTA was still around, it wouldn’t have been able to find consensus among its members for the CRTC’s TV Policy Review either.
While the schisms among the Canadian Association of Broadcasters members meant that association was unable to come up with a submission containing any consensus among its members, some of whom want large carriage fees for broadcasters, some who want small ones and some who oppose them altogether, fractures of opinion exist in the distributor world, too.
Two of the former Canadian Cable Television Association‘s largest members faced the Commission yesterday with diametrically…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – The idea that Canada’s signal distributors should pay conventional broadcasters fees to carry their signals is “trash” according to Rogers Communications CEO Ted Rogers.
Speaking to reporters Wednesday following his company’s appearance before the CRTC on day three of its over-the-air TV review hearings, Rogers countered the many broadcaster arguments in favour of such charges, known as fee-for-carriage (FFC), made over the hearing’s first two days. He said broadcasters should look to new technologies – not new regulations – for new revenues. “These guys should get back to high def and keep up with the new stuff.”…
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