OTTAWA-GATINEAU – The CRTC has taken away the dual carriage status of five specialties as of Sept. 1 this year.
Currently, eight specialties have dual status on the basic tier: MuchMusic, CBC Newsworld, Le Réseau de l’information (RDI), TV5, VisionTV, VRAK.TV, The Weather Network/MétéoMédia, and YTV. The commission has announced that TV5, Vision TV, VRAK.TV, The Weather Network/MétéoMédia, and YTV will lose their dual status this fall. It has granted mandatory digital basic carriage for Newsworld and RDI. The commission did not receive an application from MuchMusic to be granted mandatory digital basic carriage.
In addition, the CRTC received…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – The CRTC has approved an application for a new English-language digital channel providing described video programming for the blind and visually impaired.
The commission will grant a licence to the National Reading Service Inc. to operate The Accessible Channel, which will also be subject to mandatory carriage on digital basic by DTH and Class 1 and 2 BDUs (excluding MDS services, given their limited capacity).
The Accessible Channel will offer a 24-hour service providing news, information, drama, entertainment, and other programming to blind and visually impaired Canadians. The Canadian content levels will be a minimum of 60%…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – With the Commission’s report on what ails the Canadian Television Fund due out tomorrow afternoon (the CRTC under the new chair sure is speedy these days!) Shaw Communications CEO Jim Shaw sent a letter to CRTC chairman Konrad von Finckenstein making it quite clear his feelings on the whole matter.
Shaw, and then Videotron, both suspended their payments to the fund this past winter thanks to a number of long-standing complaints. Mr. Shaw said then and since that because the money was coming from Canadians through their cable and satellite companies they should have better…
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OTTAWA – Astral Media Radio Inc. is proposing a $63.3 million benefits package over seven years as it seeks regulatory approval for its $1.082 billion acquisition of 52 over-the-air radio stations and two small-market TV stations from Standard Radio Inc. Astral also pledges to take measures to ensure compliance by the Standard Radio stations that didn’t meet licence conditions with regard to Canadian content, and to pay any outstanding tangible benefit amounts connected to stations previously purchased by Standard that are included in the Astral deal.
Referring to the deal as “evolutionary, and not revolutionary,” Astral tells the CRTC…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – Seven months after XM Radio Canada owner John Bitove applied for a license for a new national over-the-air digital/high definition television license, the CRTC today called for other applicants.
Bitove’s HDTV Networks has asked for a broadcasting licence for an over-the-air digital/HD television programming undertaking to serve Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, and Halifax.
But, the CRTC doesn’t hand out licenses normally without calling for competitive bids and Monday made that call.
When Bitove went public with his application back in December, he said: “Canadians are drastically falling behind in HDTV technology and it is…
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OTTAWA and GATINEAU, June 8 – As first reported in cartt.ca yesterday, the CRTC has approved the transfer of effective control of CHUM Ltd. to CTVglobemedia Inc., but the deal comes at a stiff price: CTV can take on the A-Channel stations, but not the more lucrative Citytv stations in Toronto, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver.
The decision – enabling CTV to buy seven TV stations, 34 radio stations and, in whole or in part, 20 specialty TV services – has been issued with what appears to be unprecedented speed, with only six weeks having elapsed from the end…
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OTTAWA – CTVglobemedia may have declined all comment today on the CRTC’s decision to approve its takeover of Chum Limited – without CHUM’s key TV assets, the Citytv stations in Toronto, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver – but some observers and commissioners have said much of what CTV CEO Ivan Fecan and colleagues must be thinking.
As first reported on cartt.ca yesterday, the regulator approved the transfer of effective control of CHUM Ltd. to CTVglobemedia Inc., but the collection of new assets CTV would obtain is significantly different than what it proposed in its application. (With the public hearings…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – The CRTC will issue its decision on the purchase of CHUM Ltd. by CTVglobemedia tomorrow morning, Cartt.ca has learned.
It’s a stunningly quick decision, given the size of the deal and the fact the hearing concluded just five weeks ago, but according to sources, none of whom wish to be identified, it was an easy decision because the Commission will deny the biggest part of the acquisition: CTV’s request to purchase CHUM’s Citytv stations.
The CRTC has had a long-standing policy against Canadian broadcasters owning a twin-stick operation – or two commercial over-the-air stations of the same…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – Canada’s incumbent telcos won’t be allowed to boost everyone’s rates in order to cover off and eliminate reconnection fees for customers who move, the CRTC announced today.
As we reported last summer, Bell Canada, Bell Aliant and Telus applied to the Commission to make changes to the local telephone rates for residential customers. "The companies had proposed to eliminate the connection charges for new customers and existing customers who move in exchange for approval to increase rates for all residential customers, explains the release.
In their submissions, Bell Canada and Bell Aliant proposed to increase the monthly…
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OTTAWA – Bogged down by having to examine every case individually, the CRTC is considering spelling out which adverse events would result in changes to telco’s retail quality of service (Q of S) rate adjustment plans.
“The requirement for a case-by-case analysis to determine whether an event is adverse has added additional time and a level of complexity to processing Q of S exclusion applications. The adoption of a force majeure clause that identifies what events are adverse would reflect common commercial practice and increase the timeliness of decisions,” the CRTC states in Telecom Public Notice CRTC 2007-9.
In…
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