MONTREAL – Quebec public safety channel Avis de recherche has filed an application in Federal Court for a judicial review of the CRTC’s decision two years ago refusing its mandatory carriage renewal application.
The French-language category B service bills itself as a public interest service due to its programming dedicated to public safety and prevention, as well as police bulletins on wanted suspects and missing persons. The CRTC did not renew its mandatory spot on digital basic in Quebec in August 2013, a move that baffled and distressed founder and president Vincent Geracitano, as Cartt.ca reported.
With its mandatory distribution…
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OTTAWA–GATINEAU – Porter Airlines has agreed to pay $150,000 as part of a settlement over violations to Canada's anti-spam legislation, plus promised to improve its compliance program, the CRTC said Monday.
The Commission investigated the regional carrier for allegedly sending some commercial emails that failed to comply with various requirements of Canada’s anti-spam legislation, including those relating to unsubscribe mechanisms, the provision of contact information and proof of consent.
Once made aware of the investigation by the CRTC, Porter Airlines was cooperative and immediately took corrective actions to comply with the legislation, the Commission continued. The company also pledged to improve…
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OTTAWA–GATINEAU – The CRTC has revoked the broadcasting licences of Aboriginal Voices Radio (AVR), which operates stations in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Ottawa under radio call sign CKAV.
The Commission said Thursday that not only did AVR fail to fulfil its commitments and mandate to reflect the distinctive place of the Aboriginal community in Canadian society, it was also found in non-compliance during each of the four times it appeared before the CRTC to renew its licences over the past 15 years.
Noting that the Ottawa station has not broadcast anything since fall 2014, AVR was also not providing the…
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GATINEAU – Consumer representatives say the CRTC’s proposed TV Service Provider (TVSP) Code of Conduct should mirror many aspects and be “as consistent with the Wireless Code as possible.” The broadcast distributors, on the other hand, say that while having a standard set of practices for all TV providers is a worthwhile initiative, using the wireless code as a template just won’t work.
The TV providers Code of Conduct idea is something that came out of the CRTC's Let's Talk TV, TV Policy Review.
In a joint submission, the National Pensioners Federation (NPF) and Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) argue that…
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GATINEAU – Broadcasting Regulatory Policy 2015-96 ushered in sweeping changes to the Canadian broadcast system, namely a skinny basic and an a la carte channel regime. But the Let’s Talk TV decision also modified rules and provisions governing exempt broadcast distribution undertakings (BDUs).
Now the CRTC wants to hear from industry about those specific changes.
The new rules are designed to not only give exempt BDUs more flexibility to operate and seek new customers, but also bring them in line with regulations that the larger broadcast distributors have to follow.
The CRTC is proposing, as was indicated in 2015-96, that exempt…
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TORONTO – As both a broadcaster and a premium content producer with a 4500-episode library of kids shows, Corus Entertainment, while facing many challenges, is still poised to flourish in an ever-changing media landscape, according to CEO Doug Murphy.
“Premium branded content has never been more valuable than it is today,” he said, speaking to the CTAM Canada leadership conference on Thursday in Toronto at Corus’ Queen’s Quay headquarters, and with so many more ways to monetize content, “we’re beginning to get feedback loops in ways that we’ve never had before,” leading to more TV show popularity and increasing international…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – Despite competition from satellite, online and mobile services, revenues at Canada’s 695 commercial radio stations held firm for the 2014 broadcast year, according to the CRTC’s statistical and financial results for this sector released Monday.
Commercial Radio 2010–2014: National Statistics, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Radio Markets said that total revenues for AM and FM stations dipped 0.52%, from $1.623 billion in 2013 to $1.614 billion for the broadcast year ending August 31, 2014. These revenues enable commercial radio stations to offer a variety of programming to Canadians, to support established and emerging Canadian talent, and to provide employment to…
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OTTAWA – The ongoing rift between CRTC chairman Jean-Pierre Blais and Ontario regional commissioner Raj Shoan appears to have deepened, after Blais allegedly refused to approve Shoan's proposed travel for 2015-16.
According to a Canadian Press report this week, Blais nixed Shoan’s potential trips to Las Vegas, Amsterdam, New York City and Mont Tremblant, travel that totaled $78,000. Shoan later reduced the amount to $48,000 "under protest," describing it instead as a wish list of conferences and meetings from which he invited Blais to pick and choose which ones to approve.
"Given that you have refused to provide me with…
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OTTAWA – Despite a drop in prices for many high-volume talk, text and data plans, Canada’s mobile wireless prices once again rank among the highest when compared to other G7 countries and Australia, according to an annual report commissioned by Industry Canada and the CRTC.
Prepared by Ottawa’s Wall Communications, the 2015 edition of Price Comparisons of Wireline, Wireless and Internet Services in Canada and with Foreign Jurisdictions is an annual telecom services price comparison study that combines and averages wireline, mobile wireless, broadband Internet, and mobile Internet service rates, as well as bundles of these services along with basic digital TV…
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TORONTO – Dance station bpm:tv has taken its final bow.
Parent-company Stornoway Communications applied to the CRTC to revoke the broadcasting licence for the specialty Category B service, a request that was granted last month. The channel went off the air June 1st, according to a statement on its website.
Bpm:tv launched on September 7, 2001 as the “destination for cutting-edge music videos, exclusive interviews with the world’s top DJs, and an all-access pass to the hottest events in the world of electronic dance music.”
Stornoway continues to operate The Pet Network and iChannel.
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