OTTAWA – The CBC has asked the CRTC to delay proceedings on a proposed regulatory framework for video-on-demand (VOD) undertakings.
The Commission issued a call for comments in October, seeking to clarify the expected role and contributions of VOD services to the Canadian broadcasting system. Comments were to be due by January 29, 2009.
But the CBC has requested delaying this process for at least a year, citing other regulatory proceedings occurring in the same time frame, and noting that this proceeding deals with the issue of advertising at a time when "the advertising market…
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OTTAWA – MTS Allstream said the CRTC missed an opportunity to promote competition and choice by refusing their request for “fairly-priced, mandated access to broadband facilities from the former monopoly telephone companies.”
MTS Allstream applied to the CRTC in May to review and vary its determinations made in Telecom Decision 2008-17, regarding the classification of Ethernet access and transport services and related services (Ethernet services), saying the commission made “several errors in its determinations.” The commission denied the request on Thursday, saying that MTS Allstream “failed to demonstrate that there is substantial doubt as to the correctness of the…
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OTTAWA – Shaw Communications’ DTH company Star Choice must distribute French news channel Le Réseau de l’information (RDI) to all digital subscribers living in Anglophone markets as part of its digital basic service, the CRTC has ruled.
The CBC filed a complaint with the Commission in May, alleging that Star Choice refused to offer RDI as part of its ‘English Essentials’ basic service package in Anglophone markets, despite “repeated efforts” on its part to secure carriage. The CBC argued that this is contrary to objectives in the Commission’s Distribution Order 2007-3, set out as appendix 4 to Broadcasting Decision…
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TORONTO – Saying the global financial situation is “causing sharp decreases in advertising spending and even the potential bankruptcy of some of our single biggest customers,” CTV told employees yesterday that the company is tightening its belt.
A memo from CEO Ivan Fecan announced a country-wide hiring freeze as well as a halt to travel and entertainment spending. “New projects, unspent capital plans will be revised, delayed or halted,” said the memo.
The company hosted a town hall meeting this afternoon to address employee concerns. Layoffs are coming, said Fecan’s memo, but it has yet to be decided where….
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TORONTO – Canwest Global CEO Leonard Asper said today that the changes in the media world and the slumping overall economy means that his company has only just begun the fight for structural changes on the regulatory front.
In leading off his comments this morning in a conference call with financial analysts over his company’s quarterly results – including a billion-dollar write down – Asper sounded angry about the new policies on specialty channels and broadcast distribution undertakings released October 30th by the CRTC. Specifically, the part of the decision that denied his company’s request for a…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – The CRTC on Wednesday issued a call for radio licence applications for Halifax, NS.
Licence applications must be submitted to the Commission and all technical documentation should be sent to Industry Canada no later than December 8.
The CRTC noted in its call that it has not decided if any radio licences will be granted for the market.
Applicants are being asked to provide evidence that there is market demand for the proposed stations.
The CRTC also wants applicants to illustrate how their proposed radio stations will contribute to the objectives of the Broadcasting Act, to show…
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QUEBEC CITY – The CRTC has issued a call for commercial radio applications for Quebec City. The call was issued after the commission received one such application.
The deadline for application is December 2, 2008. Applications must also include all technical information.
The CRTC notes that it may not license any new radio stations due to “weak growth in radio advertising in Quebec City from 2003 to 2007.” The average annual compound radio advertising revenue growth for the city was just 1.8% compared with 3.5% for the province of Quebec and 5.8% for Canada.
The application must therefore, states…
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OTTAWA – Prime Minister Stephen Harper addressed the CRTC on Wednesday during an election stop with a message aimed squarely at Quebecers who haven’t had a look at the existing structure of the CRTC.
The PM said yesterday “(b)ecause CRTC decisions affect our daily lives, it must reflect our linguistic and cultural reality.” So, “a new Conservative Government will ensure that decisions about French-language broadcasting are made by people who understand the French-language and culture."
That’s happening already but anyway, under the plan:
* The chair of the CRTC will alternate between English speakers and French speakers. (This has…
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OTTAWA – Telcos will soon be allowed to change their phone rates without the need for prior CRTC approval. The commission announced that effective October 6, 2008, it will be moving to a more efficient and less burdensome procedure for retail tariffs. Once implemented, the traditional telephone companies will be able to change most of their telecommunications rates without the CRTC’s approval. For regulatory purposes, most of these changes will now take effect on the day they are filed.
"While the new procedure eases the regulatory burden for traditional telephone companies, it does not permit them to exceed the pricing…
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TORONTO – The CBC has received the go ahead to launch an all-sports television channel despite a concerted effort from rival broadcasters to block the application. But it’s not a complete victory for the CBC as the CRTC responded to concerns by further restricting the amount of professional sports the channel can air.
SportsPlus, a national, English-language, Category 2 specialty service plans to offer programming dedicated primarily to the coverage and “celebration of Canadian athletes with a particular emphasis on amateur athletes,” says the CBC. "We feel this is great news for both CBC and the Canadian sports system,"…
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