Search Results for: crtc

Radio / Television News

Newcap Radio revenues drop as Alberta, Newfoundland markets decline

DARTMOUTH, NS — Newfoundland Capital Corporation Limited, owner and operator of Newcap Radio, reported decreases in its quarterly and year-to-date revenues, primarily due to revenue declines in the company’s Alberta and Newfoundland and Labrador operations. Newcap’s revenue for the second quarter of 2017 was $43.6 million, which is $0.6 million or 1% lower than its revenue in the same quarter last year. The company’s year-to-date revenue at the end of the second quarter was $79.3 million, a decrease of $1.8 million or 2% when compared to the first half of 2016. These revenue decreases were largely as a result of the… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

COMMENTARY: Canadian broadcasters are on the road to extinction if they don’t adapt

MONDAY, IT WAS ANNOUNCED CBS All Access, the over-the-top VOD service from the American television network, would launch in Canada next year. Leslie Moonves, chairman and CEO, CBS Corporation, was quoted as saying, “By going direct-to-consumer around the world, we will facilitate new connections between the global audience and our industry-leading premium content.” So where does this leave Canada’s private broadcasters? Canadian private, English-language broadcasters have had a long and profitable run being middlemen for American content producers. For decades, their core business strategy was to purchase popular foreign programming, primarily from U.S. networks, and resell it into the Canadian marketplace,… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

Bell buys Larche’s Northern Ontario radio stations

TORONTO — Bell Media announced Wednesday it plans to acquire four FM radio stations in Ontario from Larche Communications Inc., bringing the total number of stations in Bell’s iHeartRadio network to 109. Larche’s The Dock- and KICX Country-branded stations in Ontario operate in Sudbury, Midland, Orillia and Owen Sound. Subject to CRTC approval, Bell Media will acquire the following four stations from Larche: 104.1 The Dock (CICZ-FM) — Classic hits format in Midland 92.3 The Dock (CJOS-FM) — Classic hits format in Owen Sound KICX Country 91.7 (CICS-FM) — Country format in Sudbury KICX Country 106 (CICX-FM) — Country format in Orillia “We look forward to welcoming these award-winning… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

CRTC initiates DNCL show cause proceeding

OTTAWA — After repeated requests for information have been ignored for two years by an air duct cleaning company alleged to have violated the Unsolicited Telecommunications Rules, the CRTC announced Wednesday it has initiated a show cause proceeding against Topline Air Duct Cleaning Inc. According to the CRTC’s Compliance and Enforcement Notice of Consultation CRTC 2017-281, Topline Air Duct Cleaning and its owner and president, Naveed Raza, failed to respond to a request for information (RFI) letter sent by the Commission on July 31, 2015. The RFI letter requested confirmation from Topline that it was registered with the National… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

VMS Media Group petitions Governor-in-Council over aboriginal radio licence denial

Hearing panel make-up “procedurally unfair”, VMS argues CALGARY, EDMONTON and OTTAWA — VMS Media Group Ltd., whose applications to operate urban Indigenous radio stations in Edmonton and Calgary were previously denied by the CRTC in June, is petitioning the Governor-in-Council to set aside the decision or refer it back to the Commission for reconsideration. In its Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2017-198, the CRTC approved the licence applications of three broadcasters to operate Type B Native FM radio stations serving urban Indigenous communities in Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Ottawa and Toronto. In the same decision, the CRTC denied VMS Media Group’s applications… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

600 MHz Auction: Spectrum set aside, and no help for broadcasters

Bidding starts at $1.54 billion OTTAWA – The auction of 600 MHz wireless spectrum, when it happens, will favour the smaller newcomers like Freedom Mobile and Vidéotron and looks to offer no payments to TV broadcasters which will be forced off the band. While the Canadian bandwidth plan is to be harmonized with the United States (something we’ve known for a while), our auction for the valuable low frequency spectrum sure won’t be the same. In its consultation paper released late Friday (Ed note: right before the long weekend, so no questions, media!) Innovation, Science and… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

CRTC joins forces with U.K. agency to fight spam, nuisance calls

OTTAWA-GATINEAU — The CRTC is getting a new partner in its fight against spammers and telemarketing pests with the announcement the Commission has signed a memorandum of understanding with the U.K.’s Information Commissioner’s Office to combat commercial electronic messages and unwanted telemarketing calls. The partnership between the two countries will promote close cooperation and a coordinated approach to enforcing spam and telemarketing laws in both jurisdictions to limit the amount of unsolicited emails and nuisance calls received by Canadian and U.K. residents, the CRTC said in a news release on Thursday. As part of the agreement, both agencies agree to… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

Writers Guild tags in on PNI debate

TORONTO — The Writers Guild of Canada has joined the ongoing debate regarding the funding of programs of national interest (PNI) that has Canada’s creative community pitted against the country’s three largest broadcasters ever since the CRTC reduced minimum PNI spending requirements in its May broadcasting decision on group licence renewals. Following on the heels of the Canadian Media Producers Association’s (CMPA) response earlier today to yesterday’s open letter to the CRTC by Bell Media, Corus Entertainment and Rogers Media, the Writers Guild of Canada (WGC) released its own press release regarding PNI funding this afternoon. Saying that… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

CMPA responds to Bell/Corus/Rogers: “having your cake and eating it too”

OTTAWA —  The Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA) shot back at Canada’s English-language private broadcasters today after Bell Media, Corus Entertainment and Rogers Media released an open letter to the CRTC yesterday in which they asked the Commission to maintain status quo on recent broadcasting decisions. In their letter, the big three broadcasters urged the Commission to stand firm on its recent decisions regarding reduced minimum spending requirements on programs of national interest (PNI) as part of the CRTC’s group licence renewal decision in May. Bell, Corus and Rogers were responding yesterday to a joint open letter released… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

Broadcasters to MPs: Let us “leap forward” and leave CRTC TV decisions alone

OTTAWA – While not mentioning the CRTC’s decision on programs of national interest (PNI) specifically, the three largest Canadian broadcasters have sent a letter to Canadian MPs (also printing it as a full page ad in the Parliament Hill newspaper The Hill Times), asking them to ignore the complaints of the creative community and let recent CRTC decisions stand. The letter, signed by Bell Media president Randy Lennox, Corus Entertainment EVP and chief operating officer Barbara Williams and Rogers Media president Rick Brace says the CRTC undertook a years-long process to overhaul its TV regulations to try and prepare for… Continue Reading