GATINEAU – The CRTC has approved SaskTel’s application for a national general interest pay-per-view service.
The service would air mainly live sports, concerts, and other events, as well as pre-recorded sports and events, local programming, and adult programming. Up to 85% of programs would be live sports. Most programs would be in English, though French and third-language programming would be considered based on viewer demand.
As well, the commission has approved SaskTel’s application to run a free outlet for local expression, similar to a cable community channel, as part of its PPV offering. Less than 10% of its total…
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GATINEAU – The CRTC today announced the approval of 10 new Category 2 third-language digital TV channels.
The commission has approved Music Television Español, Spanish Sports TV1, Spanish Sports TV2, Spanish Entertainment TV 1, Spanish Entertainment TV 2, Italian Entertainment TV (all from Telelatino Network Inc.), FLS Movie Channel (from Fairchild Television Ltd.), and Venus TV—Indian Pop Music, Venus TV—Punjabi Pakistani, and Venus TV—Sikh Culture and Religion (all from Golden Tunes Productions Inc.)
Music Television Español would be devoted to the Spanish-speaking community, airing music-related programming such as videos, concerts, performances, movies, and artist interviews. It would broadcast not…
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OTTAWA – The VOIP decision will stand, with a "but".
Today the CRTC re-affirmed its May 2005 decision on voice over Internet protocol. Federal cabinet told the Commission in May of this year to reconsider that decision after all but one of Canada’s ILEC’s filed an appeal.
However, because of the sheer speed in which Canada’s incumbent local exchange carriers are losing customers, the Commission did signal it’s prepared to alter course when it deems necessary and will already re-examine its March 2006 decision on local forbearance.
Specifically, it "declared that competition in local telephone service is…
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OTTAWA – The VOIP decision will stand, with a "but".
Today the CRTC re-affirmed its May 2005 decision on voice over Internet protocol. Federal cabinet told the Commission in May of this year to reconsider that decision after all but one of Canada’s ILEC’s filed an appeal.
However, the Commission did signal it’s prepared to alter course when it deems necessary. Specifically, it "declared that competition in local telephone service is taking hold more firmly than anticipated," said this morning’s press release. "As a result, the CRTC is taking steps to reassess certain aspects of its…
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OTTAWA – The Commission hopes that decisions on adding foreign services to the eligible satellite list will get a bit quicker with a recently announced decision.
In calling for comments on adding French channel Planète Thalassa to the lists of eligible satellite services, the CRTC also said that, commencing with this proceeding, it will rely primarily on comments filed to identify the Canadian pay and specialty services with which a sponsored non-Canadian service might compete, and which should therefore be included in its assessment of the competitiveness of the non-Canadian service.
Videotron has asked the CRTC to add Planète…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – Canadian cable companies hold a slight lead in the broadband race among consumers.
According to CRTC figures released today, 51% of Canadian homes are wired to a broadband Internet connection and of those homes 54% are served by cable companies (a total of 64% of Canadian homes subscribe to some kind of Internet connection, which shows the continued decline in dialup, not to mention the fact that well over one-third of Canadians still don’t have an Internet connection at all in their homes).
The Commission’s sixth annual Telecom Monitoring Report reveals that the growing impact from the…
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GATINEAU – A Télé-Québec public affairs show was not racist when it broadcast episodes critical of Islam, the CRTC has found.
The commission received complaints from some viewers who were offended that Benoit Dutrizac, co-host of the program Les Francs-tireurs, said that Islam was a “stupid religion” for requiring children to fast. In another episode, he said that he was “pissed off” by Muslim students at a Montreal school who filed a million-dollar lawsuit against the school after it refused to provide them with areas for prayer and other religious practices.
The Centre for Research-Action on Race Relations said…
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GATINEAU – The CRTC is calling for applications for new radio stations in Sydney, N.S. and Sudbury, Ont.
The commission has received an application for a commercial station in Sudbury, as well as one in Sydney, and invites other broadcasters to apply before Sept. 15, in both cases.
While the CRTC has made public financial information on the Sudbury radio market, there aren’t enough stations in Sydney to allow the release, for confidentiality purposes.
Applicants will have to fulfill the usual requirements, including technical specifications, demonstrated market demand and potential advertising revenues, and promises of Canadian talent…
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GATINEAU – The CRTC has approved requests to show VOD and PPV programs that include commercials if they were already aired on Canadian TV and the show is offered for free to subscribers.
The commission will amend the licence for the Bell ExpressVu’s Vu! on-demand and pay-per-view services, and Cogeco’s VOD service, to allow this limited use of advertising.
Bell ExpressVu said the amendment would allow it to compete equally with other Canadian VOD services and evolving PPV media. Cogeco said it would be in the public interest.
Rogers Cable supported the move in its intervention to the commission,…
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GATINEAU – The CRTC on Friday announced that it’s renewing the transitional digital radio licences for another 12 months for some 73 stations in large centres across Canada.
The commission is extending the licence terms from Sept. 1, 2006 to Aug. 31, 2007, to buy time while it develops its new commercial radio policy, following its extensive public hearing held last month in Gatineau, and while it makes changes to its transitional digital radio policy, introduced in 1995.
The licences allow existing stations to operate a digital audio broadcasting signal. Of the 73 licences, 20 are not yet on…
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