OTTAWA – The CRTC will not license any new radio stations in the northern Ontario markets of Cochrane and Iroquois Falls.
After receiving applications for broadcasting licences in the two communities, the Commission called for comments and conducted a financial review of the incumbent radio stations.
Based on the comments it received and its own analysis, the CRTC determined that these radio markets of do not have the capacity to support new commercial radio stations at this time, and said that it will not accept applications for those markets for the next two years.
www.crtc.gc.ca
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OTTAWA – The CRTC has found in favour of Rogers Cable Communications over a complaint from a political candidate regarding an election debate program broadcast on its community channel Rogers TV. The Commission received a complaint from John Turmel on September 24, 2007, who, at that time, was a political candidate in the riding of Brant, ON. Brant is a mostly rural municipality located approximately 100 kilometres southwest of Toronto.
Rogers TV taped a program involving a debate between six candidates in the riding of Brant, one of whom was Turmel, on September 18, 2007. The program was to be broadcast…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – The CRTC has announced that telecommunications service providers will no longer be asked to track or report certain data in order to lighten the reporting requirements.
"As part of our ongoing efforts to reduce the regulatory burden on the industry, we reviewed the value of the reports that are submitted to us," said Leonard Katz, the CRTC’s vice-chairman of telecommunications, in the announcement. "Today’s announcement is an example of how we continue to seek more efficient and proportionate ways of regulating the Canadian telecommunications industry."
Effective immediately, requirements such as reporting on pay telephone competition, telemarketing, and tracking…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC is asking for comments on the wording to its proposed amendments that range from allowing BDUs to use of new forms of targeted advertising, to who will contribute to the new Local Programming Improvement Fund.
The changes will impact present regulations contained in the Broadcasting Distribution Regulations, the Television Broadcasting Regulations (1987), the Pay Television Regulations (1990), and the Specialty Services Regulations (1990).
Comments are due by May 3, 2009, and all regulations are scheduled to come in to force on September 1, 2009.
To read the full notice, click here.
www.crtc.gc.ca
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OTTAWA – The CRTC is asking for comments on the exemption order for smaller broadcasting distribution undertakings (BDUs) serving fewer than 20,000 subscribers.
As set out in Broadcasting Public Notice 2008-100 last October, the CRTC has also asked for input on the information to be provided by exempt undertakings, and feedback on the specific criteria to be used in determining what constitutes a "discrete operation" for exemption purposes.
Comments are due by May 6, and the deadline for submitting replies is May 27 2009.
For more on the notice of consultation, click here.
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OTTAWA – The CRTC has released its review of the broadcasting services in English and French linguistic minority communities in Canada.
The hearing began on January 13, after receiving public comments last November as it requested in Broadcasting Notice of Public Hearing 2008-12.
At issue was the availability of English- and French-language broadcasting services across all broadcasting platforms and distribution systems, and assurance that the diversity of these communities is reflected throughout the Canadian broadcasting system.
The Commission further identified three issues relating to the specific communities involved:
– the availability and quality of English- and French-language broadcasting…
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OTTAWA and GATINEAU – The CRTC has launched an online consultation to gather views on Internet traffic management practices.
Referencing the popularity of video streaming and peer-to-peer networking, the Commission’s press release said that some Internet service providers (ISPs) maintain that this growth in traffic can cause congestion, especially during peak times, which has led to some ISPs managing the flow of traffic on their networks or adopting "new business models".
The CRTC said that it will examine “the current practices of ISPs operating in Canada”, plus those that could be adopted in the future. The proceeding’s main objective is to determine…
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TORONTO – The Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) says that “record-high revenues” for Canadian specialty, pay, pay-per-view television and video-on-demand (VOD) services prove that “that the sky isn’t falling on Canada’s TV industry”.
Responding to Thursday’s CRTC report on the state of Canadian specialty, pay, pay-per-view television and VOD services, Stephen Waddell, ACTRA’s national executive director, is calling for a closer look “at the industry as a whole.”
“Doesn’t it tell us that something is wrong when small specialty networks spent twice as much on Canadian programming as the major networks?,” Waddell asked in…
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OTTAWA and GATINEAU – The Canadian specialty, pay, pay-per-view television and video-on-demand (VOD) services sector saw its total yearly revenues grow 7.6% to $2.9 billion, up from $2.7 billion in the previous year, the CRTC reported.
The Commission released its annual report on the statistical and financial summaries from the specialty, pay and VOD industry Thursday, saying the sector “enjoyed a solid financial performance” for the broadcast year ending August 31, 2008.
While profits before interest and taxes (PBIT) rose by 5.9% to $686.1 million, the PBIT margin "remained consistent", going from 23.7% in 2007 to 23.4% in 2008, the report…
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OTTAWA – The Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) has submitted its plan for the administration of the new local programming improvement fund (LPIF) to the CRTC, but the Commission is asking for public input on the fund’s allocation formula.
The CRTC said that while the CAB proposal recommends “a simple, objective allocation formula” for the LPIF, it did not provide enough specific details as to what that formula should be. In Broadcasting Notice of Consultation CRTC 2009-113-1, the Commission has proposed its own formula.
The LPIF was established to improve the quality of local programming provided by conventional…
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