Bell moves to remove fault on Rogers for not knowing about non-compete restrictions
By Ahmad Hathout
The president of content sales at Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) allegedly told the U.S. content producer’s deal representative to continue negotiating with Rogers despite being told that the company had an outstanding non-compete agreement with Bell that allegedly prevented it from negotiating a licensing deal with a competitor for two years beyond the existing deal’s expiry on January 1, 2025.
“Between May 2023 and August 2023, I had understood that David Decker effectively said … continue negotiating without being concerned about the non-compete agreements, right?” said…
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By Howard Law, author of Canada vs. California, and MediaPolicy.ca
Earlier this month Cartt published “C-11, CRTC, and destabilizing market-driven CanCon,” an opinion piece from Len St-Aubin.
Two years ago St-Aubin and I volleyed back and forth on the merits of the Online Streaming Act as it passed the House of Commons. I suppose the two grumpy old men are back at it again: St-Aubin’s recent column is an indictment of the current regulatory state of affairs and here I am responding.
For the sake of brevity and avoiding repetitious debate, I will…
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By Ahmad Hathout
Timeless Inc. says it always had the authority to make “strategic and organizations changes” when it hired Mediapro to run the day-to-day operations of OneSoccer, disputing Rogers’s claims that Timeless wasn’t controlling the streaming service when it filed an application alleging the cable giant was giving itself an undue preference by refusing to carry the soccer channel.
The claim was made in response to a Part 1 application filed by Rogers this month, which alleges that Mediapro, the Canadian subsidiary of Spain’s GRUP Mediapro, not Canadian-run Timeless, had full control of the service. If that…
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By Ahmad Hathout
Rogers says it cannot be expected to continue negotiations to carry OneSoccer because it believes the service was controlled by a non-Canadian at the time the purported owner, Timeless Inc., filed a complaint with the CRTC alleging the cable giant gave itself an undue preference by refusing to broadcast its programming.
Over a year after the CRTC ruled that Rogers must negotiate with Timeless on OneSoccer’s carriage, the broadcaster has filed a Part 1 application made public Friday alleging the CRTC didn’t have the authority to make that ruling because the soccer service was controlled…
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By Ahmad Hathout
Media company Blue Ant’s request to reduce its obligations to programs of national interest (PNI) from 13.5 to five per cent of annual revenues is “unprecedented” and would spell the loss of an important contribution to the content production system, creatives are saying in submission published Tuesday.
The Directors Guild of Canada (DGC) said in an opposing submission to Blue Ant’s July request that the Toronto-based company’s PNI spending is essential to independent productions and the expression of diversity of Canadian and indigenous talent.
“Blue Ant’s historical PNI report is a testimony of the broadcaster’s important…
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By Ahmad Hathout
Rogers has filed an application to the CRTC requesting that its latest gigabit internet speeds be temporarily exempt from speed matching requirements, which would otherwise provide wholesale-based competitors with the same speeds once its rates are approved.
The cable giant launched new gigabit speed packages this month, including symmetrical 1 Gig download and upload speeds, and 2 Gig download speeds with a choice of 1 Gig and 200 Mbps upload configurations. The new speeds will be over its older hybrid fibre-coax facilities which, unlike its last-mile fibre network, is subject to mandatory wholesaling.
The CRTC has a long-standing rule…
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By Ahmad Hathout
The Cable Public Affairs Channel (CPAC) is warning the CRTC that it cannot sustain its Parliamentary and public affairs programming beyond the broadcasting year ending in 2026 because the wholesale rate for broadcasters to carry the channel is too low.
CPAC filed a Part 1 application asking the regulator to consider increasing the rate to carry the channel on basic TV service by three cents to 16 cents per subscriber per month, effective September 1, 2026. CPAC said it had anticipated that it would have been able to bring this request in August 2024, which was the previous…
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By Connie Thiessen
Music Canada, which represents the interests of Canada’s major record labels, says the CRTC’s move to impose mandatory contributions on the biggest music streamers, could amount to a “cultural policy disaster.”
In June, the commission announced that online streaming services not affiliated with a Canadian broadcaster that make $25 million or more in Canada, must contribute five per cent of their Canadian revenues to support the Canadian broadcasting system under the Online Streaming Act. Starting in the 2024-25 broadcast year, the funds will be directed to areas of immediate need, including local radio and television…
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By Ahmad Hathout
Videotron’s Freedom Mobile announced Thursday all monthly plans will now include access to its 5G network and roaming in the United States and Mexico – including new low-cost options starting at $5 per month after a digital discount is applied.
With the $5 monthly digital discount applied across all plans, Freedom subscribers can now start at a mere $5 per month to get access to the next-generation network and roaming in the U.S. and Mexico with 100 MB of data, two hours of talk and unlimited texting. At $20, they can get 3 GB of data with two…
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Quebecor’s Freedom Mobile announced Tuesday the expansion of its service area to 50 more cities and communities across B.C. and Alberta, made possible by partner agreements enabled by the CRTC’s mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) framework, according to a press release.
New additions to Freedom’s serviceable area include Chilliwack, Hope, Revelstoke and Salmon Arm in B.C., and Camrose, Wetaskiwin and Edson in Alberta. A full list of the new areas, including current subscription areas that now have additional coverage, can be found here. Freedom’s updated coverage map is here.
Freedom…
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