GATINEAU — The CRTC’s public hearing into Bell’s proposed acquisition of the V television network and other assets from Groupe V Média takes place this Wednesday in Montreal.
Representatives from Bell, Groupe V Média and Québecor Media and other intervenors are scheduled to appear at the two-day hearing, which will take place at the Palais des congrès de Montréal starting at 9 a.m.
Québecor has been very vocal in its opposition to the V acquisition, going so far as taking out ads (pictured) and creating a special website outlining its concerns regarding what it sees as Bell’s dominance in…
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GATINEAU — The CRTC will hold a non-appearing public hearing in April regarding kids channel ToonAvision’s application to be licensed as a discretionary service.
Having exceeded a threshold of 210,000 subscribers for three consecutive months, the company noted in its application, the currently exempt programming service is seeking a licence to operate as a discretionary channel. ToonAvision is owned by Atlantic Digital Networks and broadcasts out of Dartmouth, N.S. The animation channel launched in June 2018 and is widely distributed on Eastlink and Bell.
Specialty services are exempt from CRTC licencing until they hit 200,000 subscribers.
As part of its licence…
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WOODSTOCK, N.B. – Over 24,000 rural homes and businesses in Nova Scotia will soon have access to much better internet.
Xplornet Communications said today it will build a fibre optic network as part of a plan to connect the people in Cumberland and Colchester (the first two counties you’d drive through coming into the province from New Brunswick), who which currently have limited access to the broadband speeds and unlimited data typically offered in the cities.
The project was made possible because of investments announced today by Xplornet, Develop Nova Scotia, and the Municipalities of Cumberland and Colchester. The project will…
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GATINEAU – Stingray Group’s proposed purchase of two Welland, Ont. Radio stations was approved by the CRTC today.
Stingray announced the deal to buy CIXL-FM (Giant FM) and CKYY-FM (Country 89) from R.B. Communications for $6.5 million in October.
“Stingray Radio proposed a value of the transaction of $6,868,940, which includes working capital amounts of $360,000, as well as an assumed lease valued at $8,940. The applicant proposed a tangible benefits package of $412,136, which is equal to 6% of its proposed value of the transaction,” reads the decision.
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TORONTO – Independent broadcaster Hollywood Suite announced this week vice-president of programming Ellen Baine (above) will be retiring in March.
“After starting in the TV business in the traffic department of Citytv in the X0’s (I’m not allowed to say exactly when!), Ellen has screened thousands of hours of tv programs and movies, programmed years of and years of content, haggled with hundreds of distributors and producers, verbally jousted with opinionated viewers and sock puppets, represented in front of a few CRTC hearings, sat on a few film festival juries, and led and mentored numerous programming teams,” said Hollywood Suite…
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Others have hope in other proposals
OTTAWA – Independent ISP VMedia and others are expressing concerns about how the language used in a report recommending changes to the country’s communications laws may affect a new government directive that requires the CRTC to view its telecom decisions with a renewed focus on competition and consumer interests.
While big and small telecoms have been trying to complete study of last week’s 235-page report (meaning more than a few have not yet wanted to comment on it and all the big carriers have told us in various ways they’re still digesting it), which includes…
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OTTAWA – Two organizations well-versed in internet issues will argue, if they are granted intervenor status, that an extraordinary Federal Court order forcing internet service providers to block websites hosting allegedly infringing material (stemming from the Gold TV case) is a method that runs afoul of the country’s established copyright laws.
The Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic (CIPPIC) and the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) have filed applications for leave to intervene this week in an appeal brought forth by TekSavvy late last year against a decision by the Federal Court to order ISPs to block…
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Follow-up proceedings coming for small ILECs and Northwestel
OTTAWA — The CRTC issued two decisions Tuesday related to the phasing out of the local telephone service subsidy and the Commission’s associated review of the price cap and local forbearance regimes for Canada’s large incumbent local exchange carriers (Bell, Telus and SaskTel).
In 2018, in Telecom Regulatory Policy 2018-213, the Commission announced it would phase out the local telephone service subsidy over a three-year transition period from January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2021, through semi-annual reductions. At the same time, the Commission initiated a proceeding to review certain elements…
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OTTAWA — The CRTC provided final relief to Videotron on Wednesday in its dispute with Bell over wholesale roaming. The Commission had provided interim relief in June 2019 while it processed Videotron’s Part 1 application.
In its decision Wednesday, the Commission said it approved Videotron’s application for final relief, but it expected the Quebecor-owned company to submit information showing it had resolved a couple of issues that came to light during the proceeding.
In May 2019, Bell had informed Videotron by letter that a number of its customers were allegedly using Bell Mobility’s wholesale roaming service in a manner…
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MONTREAL — Music service provider and broadcaster Stingray Group announced Wednesday its 2020 third quarter revenues increased 14.9% year over year, primarily driven by last year’s acquisition of Newcap Radio.
“Despite lower radio sales related to challenging market conditions in Western Canada, our radio segment continues to perform well in its other key markets such as Toronto and Ottawa,” said Eric Boyko, president, CEO and co-founder of Stingray, in the company’s news release.
The company’s overall revenues increased to $81.3 million in Q3. Looking at results by country, Stingray’s revenues in Canada increased 23.1% to $57.5 million, and in the…
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