OTTAWA – Canadian television viewers need protection from the “anti-competitive practices of the large broadcasting companies”, according to Telus.
The telco made the comments Wednesday in reference to the “concentration of content ownership” as a result of the recent mergers of Shaw/Canwest and BCE/CTV. Telus suggested that the CRTC implement safeguards designed “to protect consumer choice and competitive pricing” as the Commission prepares to examine the issue of vertical integration at a hearing scheduled to begin on June 20, 2011.
Telus’ proposed safeguards include:– Distributors should not withhold content from competitors in order to prevent anti-competitive programming blackouts;– Preferential…
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OTTAWA – Nearly 7,000 Canadians have told the CRTC that television commercials are too loud, and, that they want the Regulator to do something about it.
The Commission got an earful after asking for comments back in February on measures to control the loudness of commercial messages. It launched the public consultation after receiving hundreds of complaints, and comments were due last week.
“It is highly annoying the number of times we need to adjust the volume from commercials back to programming”, wrote Mark Dostie from Richmond, B.C., in his submission to the CRTC. “In fact we will often ‘pause’…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC has officially blessed the proposed merger of satellite radio companies XM Canada and Sirius Canada.
After holding a hearing in early March to examine the transaction, the Commission signed off on the deal in a decision on Monday.
While their American parents combined over two years ago, the Canadian firms only announced their intention to follow suit last November. The combined company is valued at approximately $520 million, which includes long-term debt of $130 million.
Canadian Satellite Radio Holdings (CSR), the parent company of XM Canada, has said that it expects the transaction to close during the…
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IT MAY BE 41 YEARS since he made the statement in that headline – during the famous first hearing into making Canadian radio and TV far more Canadian in content and ownership, but former CRTC chair and CBC CEO Pierre Juneau stands by it.
“All broadcasting should be Canadian, should be owned by Canadians, and should contain a percentage of Canadians,” he said just last week in an interview with Cartt.ca.
The Cancon argument dates back well past that historic 1970 hearing and has, amazingly, not abated or seemingly changed one bit as broadcasters this week freshly and further picked…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC began using a using a harmonized set of rules on Friday to process the majority of its broadcasting and telecommunications applications, and to guide public participation in its proceedings.
Commission chair Konrad von Finckenstein said in a statement that the new rules of practice and procedure offer “an opportunity to modernize and simplify our procedural rules, as well as ensure they reflect a converged communications industry”.
After reviewing its service standards, the Commission established new objectives for both sectors, and aims to publish decisions within the following time frames:
– Proceedings initiated by the CRTC as a result…
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MONTREAL – Videotron is appealing a CRTC decision forcing it to share video-on-demand content with competitors.
Cartt.ca has learned that Videotron has filed a motion with the Federal Court of Appeal seeking to overturn the Commission’s January decision which ruled that Videotron must offer content from the TVA network that is currently available on its illico on-demand platform to Bell and Telus for use on their on-demand platforms in Quebec.
Citing “errors of law and jurisdiction”, Videotron is challenging the CRTC’s finding of undue preference, alleges that the Commission “misapplied” the TV and BDU regulations, and questions whether TVA can be…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC has turned down a request from CBC to add a post-transition digital transmitter to its English-language conventional television station CBAT-TV Fredericton/Saint John.
Noting that the proposal would result in a loss of over-the-air TV service to the residents of Saint John, the Commission cited its Revised licensing framework for over-the-air digital television services policy whereby broadcasters are encouraged to provide digital coverage that matches their current analog coverage.
“The Commission notes that the proposed digital transmitter would be located such that it would provide service to only one of the two markets served by the…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC has given its thumbs up to the revised monthly recurring rates and service charge rates for the wholesale line-sharing services of the major incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) Bell Aliant, Bell Canada, MTS Allstream, SaskTel, and Telus.
Line-sharing service is a wholesale service that provides access to the high-frequency band of unbundled copper local loops. Under a line-sharing service arrangement, the co-located competitor provisions its own digital subscriber line access multiplexer to offer high-speed Internet access service to its end-customers.
The Commission also established the conditions under which line-sharing service is to be offered. Click here…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – Rogers Communications has made a $275,000 payment to the CRTC for its use of automated calling devices without consent.
The Commission said Thursday that Rogers was using these devices to notify its prepaid mobile customers of how they could purchase more minutes to avoid a service interruption. Automated calling devices are used to dial telephone numbers and automatically deliver a pre-recorded message. The CRTC’s automatic dialing and announcing device rules prohibit telemarketers from using these devices to sell or promote a product or service unless a consumer has consented to be called by them.
While not admitting fault, after…
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OTTAWA – Sports network The Score had most, but not all, of its proposed amendments to its broadcasting licence approved by the CRTC.
The Commission said Tuesday that the English-language analog service could increase its Canadian programming expenditure requirement and reduce its Canadian programming exhibition requirement; add to the program categories from which it may draw programming; and delete the condition of licence setting its wholesale rate.
However, the Commission denied its request to amend the condition of licence requiring The Score to devote no less than 50% of live sports event coverage in prime time to the exhibition of…
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