By Doug Barrett, an Adjunct Professor in the Arts, Media and Entertainment MBA Program at the Schulich School of Business
On June 3, Culture Minister Marc Miller announced an investment of $600 million per year in “immediate support to strengthen Canadian culture and ensure Canadian content remain affordable.”
Notwithstanding this financial commitment, the underlying substance of the release was that the CRTC would be directed to review its recent decision to regulate online streamers. To guide that review, the government will be issuing a new policy direction to the CRTC, presumably replacing the existing direction that had governed the work of…
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The CRTC on Monday launched three separate proceedings to garner comments on the market capacity and the appropriateness of issuing a call for radio applications to serve three Quebec markets, including Shawinigan and Mékinac Regional County Municipality, Saint-Hyacinthe, and Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu.
The proceedings follow applications from LE5 Communications Inc. to operate new French-language commercial FM radio stations serving the three markets.
For all three proceedings, interested parties have until August 5 to submit comments. The deadline for replies to interventions is August 20.
If little or no interest is expressed to…
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Quebecor still interested in buying Corus; Corus has supporters for recap plan
By Ahmad Hathout
Approving the transfer of Corus’s licensed services to a new company that will be controlled by a group of debt holders will threaten the viability of the largest independent private broadcaster in the country, Quebecor Media is claiming to the CRTC.
To relieve $500 million in debt, Corus agreed to transfer its assets to the new company (NewCo) which will be listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and be majority held by Canadian investment funds, including Canso Investment Counsel Ltd. The CRTC launched…
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The CRTC on Tuesday launched a proceeding requiring Bell, Telus and Rogers to show cause why fees they have introduced recently are not in violation of the telecom regulator’s prohibition on activation and modification fees, which came into effect on June 12.
The proceeding, open to comments from the public, is being launched following CRTC warnings to Bell over its new $40 device handling fee, to Telus over its $15 SIM purchase fee, and to Rogers over its $40 device setup fee — charges…
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By Ahmad Hathout
Before asking the CRTC to revisit a decision that ordered foreign streamers to increase their contribution to Canadian content, Culture Minister Marc Miller received a memorandum outlining scenarios after the Federal Court of Appeal rules on those streamers’ challenge to the initial base contribution decision from 2024.
The heavily redacted February memorandum, uploaded by Cartt here, summarizes what’s going on with the CRTC’s implementation of the Online Streaming Act, which forces the arms-length tribunal to directly regulate the online streamers.
But the memorandum focuses on what happens following the yet-to-be-released Federal Court of Appeal decision that…
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By Ahmad Hathout
Corus executives said Friday that they hope the federal government will direct to news a portion of its new $600-million pledge to Canadian content.
The new money, announced by Culture Minister Marc Miller earlier this month, is part of a rebuke of a CRTC decision last month to up, by 10 per cent, the amount foreign streamers must invest into the broadcasting system. The minister has already told the CRTC to revisit the decision and will hand down a new policy direction that will require the regulator to contemplate affordability of services…
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The CRTC on Thursday approved for distribution two non-Canadian channels.
Public broadcasting service WPBS-TV, serving northern New York and eastern Ontario, and family entertainment service Dog and Cat TV were approved after the regulator found no evidence that they would be competitive with any domestic discretionary television services.
WPBS-TV provides drama, documentary, news, lifestyle, children’s animated and live-action, music and theatrical performances, and current affairs/interview programs.
Dog and Cat TV provides original programming dedicated to the domesticated animals, including 134 hours of lifestyle, human interest, recreation, leisure and reality content, plus 34 hours of long-form documentary programming.
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A week after questioning Rogers about its new device setup fee and other charges to customers, the CRTC has sent the wireless giant a new letter asking about its intention to add a $5 monthly charge to its customers’ bills starting next month.
“I have been informed today that Rogers Communications Canada Inc. (Rogers) informed its mobile wireless customers through a note on their billing statement that it intends to add a $5 monthly charge to their mobile wireless customers’ bills as of 15 July 2026, calling it…
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By Connie Thiessen
A group of minority shareholders has formally filed its opposition to Corus Entertainment’s proposed $500-million debt-for-equity recapitalization plan, urging the CRTC to demand full transparency or reject the takeover entirely.
As part of the recapitalization plan, Corus is seeking to move its CRTC licences to a new company. The majority shareholders of that newco will be lenders who will forgive approximately $500 million worth of debt hanging over the media company. The transfer would end control by the Shaw Family Living Trust and position investment firm Canso Investment Counsel Ltd. as the largest…
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The federal government on Monday announced more than $96.8 million in funding from the Universal Broadband Fund (UBF) for a project by Valley Fiber Ltd. to bring high-speed internet access to up to 7,875 homes in more than 50 rural and remote communities across Manitoba.
“Reliable high-speed Internet is no longer optional infrastructure — it is the foundation for education, health care and economic opportunity. This investment allows Valley Fiber to reach communities in rural and remote Manitoba that have been overlooked for too long. We have the network, the team and the…
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