5e partie dans notre série sur la révision des Lois sur la radiodiffusion et des télécommunications. Une entrevue exclusive
EN 1999 LORSQUE PIERRE Karl Péladeau était le PDG de la plus grande imprimerie au monde et un important propriétaire de journaux, il ne connaissait sans doute pas l'ordonnance d'exemption relative aux nouveaux médias (OERNM) du CRTC, rendue publique cette année-là. Et pourquoi aurait-il été préoccupé?
À cette époque, les téléphones cellulaires étaient encore un nouveau phénomène utilisé que pour faire des appels téléphoniques et qu’une personne sur cinq possédait.* Tout le monde regardait la télévision grâce à des oreilles de lapin ou au…
Continue Reading
Part V in our series on rewriting the Broadcasting and Telecom Acts. An exclusive interview
BACK IN 1999, WHEN Pierre Karl Péladeau was the CEO of the world’s largest printer and a significant Canadian newspaper publisher, he didn’t know or care about the CRTC’s New Media Exemption Order, released that year. Why would he?
Back then, cell phones were still-new devices that primarily just made phone calls – which only about one in five of us owned.* Everyone got their TV off-air or via cable and just over a quarter of Canadians reported a home internet connection – upon which precious…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – The CRTC has granted stakeholders more time to comment on the idea of an Independent Piracy Review Agency (IPRA) that would help to identify websites blatantly engaged in content theft, as proposed by FairPlay Canada.
In a letter addressed to Asian Television Network president and CEO Dr. Shan Chandrasekar, on behalf of the FairPlay Coalition, and to Tamir Israel from the Samuelson-Glushko Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic (CIPPIC), the Commission agreed to the request made by CIPPIC and OpenMedia to amend the timelines associated with the application noting “the breadth and the…
Continue Reading
Part IV in our series on rewriting the Broadcasting and Telecom Acts
THE CANADIAN TV INDUSTRY faces a growing crisis. Financial contributions from the broadcast distributors to support the production of Canadian stories are on the decline. This is combined with the fact that online TV providers, namely Netflix, aren’t required to pay into the Canadian system like their Canadian competitors.
Since Netflix has emerged as a major competitor to traditional broadcasting services, many have called for the U.S. company to being paying into the Canadian system. Some have suggested taxing internet service providers is the best approach. Others have simply…
Continue Reading
4e partie dans notre série sur la révision des Lois sur la radiodiffusion et des télécommunications
L'INDUSTRIE CANADIENNE DE LA télévision fait face à une crise aiguë. Les contributions financières qui supportent la production d’émissions canadiennes diminuent. Et cela est combiné au fait que les fournisseurs de service en ligne, comme Netflix, ne sont pas requis de contribuer au système canadien contrairement à leurs concurrents canadiens.
Depuis l’arrivée en scène de Netflix comme concurrent important des services de radiodiffusion traditionnels, plusieurs ont réclamé que la compagnie américaine contribue au système canadien de radiodiffusion. Certains ont suggéré que taxer les fournisseurs de…
Continue Reading
MONTREAL – The Canadian Union of Public Employees wants the CRTC to drop its digital media exemption order.
"The CRTC has the power to act swiftly and put a stop to the preferential treatment internet giants are receiving from the federal government,” said a press release issued Friday. “We have petitioned the CRTC to reverse a decision made years ago which is completely obsolete. There is no reason Netflix and other corporations like them should be under an exemption order" said Rejean Beaudet, recording secretary for CUPE's Quebec Provincial Council for Communications (CPSC) and provincial president for the local union…
Continue Reading
Commission favoured Bell
MONTREAL – Quebecor has filed for leave to appeal a “baffling” CRTC decision that ruled against its French-language sports service TVA Sports in a carriage dispute with Bell.
The company said Friday that it is asking the Federal Court of Appeal for a review of the Commission’s January 17th decision in the final offer arbitration process between the two companies that selected Bell’s per-subscriber wholesale rates for the distribution of TVA Sports in the francophone market, defined as the province of Quebec.
“Quebecor fails to understand the CRTC's position in this case”, reads the company’s statement. “TVA Group's…
Continue Reading
TORONTO – Global News is cutting close to 80 positions across the country, many of them tied to TV production, as part of its "transformation into a sustainable, digital-first organization".
A story on the Global News website said that the company will add 50 new positions in “the growth area of digital news”, mostly journalists who will file for new, local versions of the Globalnews.ca website in Ottawa, Kitchener, Guelph and Barrie in Ontario.
Global already has 18 websites across Canada that it says were born from the company’s traditional television and news-talk radio stations.
“With digital platforms, our audience no longer…
Continue Reading
And why CPE should be reduced for traditional media companies
GATINEAU – Saying online content platforms have radically altered the Canadian broadcasting system is as undeniable as it is now cliché. Netflix itself, has an estimated six million subscribers in Canada, an amount greater than half of all cable TV subscriptions here.
With Amazon Prime growing and the arrival of other online services in the future (BritBox arrived this week and CBS All Access is coming), the Canadian system needs to evolve with this new reality in mind, several have told the CRTC…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – The CRTC has given Bell Media the go-ahead to proceed with its $17 million purchase of four FM radio stations in Ontario from Larche Communications Inc.
The deal, first announced last August, encompasses the assets of English-language commercial radio stations 104.1 The Dock (CICZ-FM) Midland, 92.3 The Dock (CJOS-FM) Owen Sound, KICX Country 106 (CICX-FM) Orillia, and KICX Country 91.7 (CICS-FM) Sudbury.
Noting Bell Media’s proposed tangible benefits package of $1.02 million (representing 6% of the value of the transaction) and the broadcaster’s stated commitment to continue to serve the markets with local programming that meets the needs and interests of the communities,…
Continue Reading
