Corus urges CRTC move on children’s programming
By Ahmad Hathout
If the CRTC used current foreign streamer investments to the Canadian system as a baseline to determine obligations, then it would put the commission offside of the new Broadcasting Act and the policy direction from cabinet by forcing more contributions from them relative to traditional Canadian broadcasters, said representatives of a trade group representing the major foreign streamers Friday.
“If you were to establish the existing investment obligations as a floor, I think you would end up with foreign streaming services contributing a disproportionate amount to the Canadian broadcasting system when you…
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By Ahmad Hathout
The Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) has been accepted as intervenor before the Federal Court of Appeal to explain the relationship between royalty payments and the making of Canadian content.
The court said this week it found the largest rights management organization in Canada is “well-positioned” to address specific issues raised by Spotify, which argued in part of its appeal challenging the CRTC’s five per cent base contribution requirement that it was paying royalties to Canadian music artists.
SOCAN argues the payment of royalties is simply a cost of doing business…
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By Ahmad Hathout
Foreign streamers should be made to put money toward Canadian news funds because they are drawing money that used to go to support it out of the system, the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) argued on the first day of the CRTC’s hearing on the definition of Canadian content in the audio-visual space Wednesday.
“What the foreign streamers have been able to do is to come in and … take revenues out of Canada,” Kevin Desjardins, president of the trade group that represents the big private broadcasters, told the five-member CRTC panel about the advertising and subscriber revenues…
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By Peter Menzies, former newspaper executive, past vice chair of the CRTC, and a Macdonald-Laurier Institute Senior Fellow
On June 1, the Vancouver Whitecaps will play one of the most important games a Canadian club sports team has ever played.
In most countries – in fact in almost any country – broadcasters would be clamouring over each other for the ability to show it. The national public broadcaster might be claiming it as a program of national interest and politicians would be weighing in to play a little hero ball of their own and grab the spotlight.
The Whitecaps’ Concacaf Champions League…
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But most said they find contracts clear and easy to understand
By Ahmad Hathout
Only 18 per cent of Canadians are aware of the CRTC’s consumer protection codes, which are intended to make contracts easier to understand for internet, wireless and TV services, according to a survey commissioned by the regulator and released recently.
The result, which comes from a 1,500-person nationwide representative survey by Phoenix SPI and conducted between October 24 and November 20, 2024, is largely unchanged since the baseline survey from 2022. The results are accurate to within plus/minus 2.5 per cent, 19 times out of 20.
Respondents were informed…
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By Ahmad Hathout
The Canadian creative industry is expressing uncertainty and concern about the impact of an order made by U.S. President Donald Trump Sunday to impose a 100 per cent tariff on foreign-made films.
“While specific details are far from clear at this point, the proposed actions outlined in US President Donald Trump’s announcement will cause significant disruption and economic hardship to the media production sectors on both sides of the Canada-US border,” Reynolds Mastin, president and CEO of the Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA), said in a press release Monday, adding Canada needs a “strong, independent domestic media industry”…
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By Ahmad Hathout
The attorney general of Canada said in a letter Thursday that the Federal Court of Appeal should deny intervenor status to Music Canada but allow the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) to argue its position before a base contribution hearing next month.
The AG, on behalf of the CRTC, said SOCAN, the largest rights management organization in Canada, has met the requirements for leave because they are best suited to argue a very particular position: that royalty payments the appealing parties – Apple, Amazon, and Spotify – have said they…
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By Ahmad Hathout
Cogeco is launching in certain service areas an internet package with theoretical download speeds of up to 2 Gbps for its customers and wholesalers, according to a submission to the CRTC and confirmed to us by the company.
A Cogeco spokesperson told Cartt that an official announcement for the introduction has yet to be made, so there are no details as to where the package may be available. Per speed matching rules, Cogeco will also introduce the speeds for wholsalers, who will get upload speeds of up to 140 Mbps available on an aggregated basis on its hybrid…
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Music Canada says base contribution will disincentivize and jeopardize investments
By Ahmad Hathout
The largest rights management organization in Canada is asking the Federal Court of Appeal for intervenor status to argue that royalties are not equivalent to Canadian content contributions for the sake of determining how much foreign streamers are adding to the broadcasting system.
Amazon, Spotify and Apple, who have been granted a court hearing against a CRTC decision to force them to contribute five per cent of their annual Canadian revenues to content funds, each stream music. In their appeal against the regulator’s decision – which Continue Reading
Bell announced Wednesday it has introduced a new feature called Suspicious Call Detection, a free tool that automatically labels potentially fraudulent or spam calls to help its wireless customers better screen incoming calls.
Using artificial intelligence and machine learning analytics, the new feature displays labels such as “Likely Fraud” or “Possible Spam” on suspicious calls, providing customers with more control over which calls they choose to answer, Bell said.
The feature is available now across Bell’s mobility brands and plans, including Virgin Plus and Lucky Mobile, and will automatically start working without any action required from customers. Bell said the tool…
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