CBC/Radio-Canada announced Tuesday that it is investing more in local and regional news coverage after the CRTC approved Google’s application to be exempted under the Online News Act, triggering the release of $100 million for news production.
The public broadcasters said it is adding up to 25 journalists in more than a dozen communities that are underserved by broadcast news outlets, with a focus on Western Canada.
“These new positions complement CBC News’ strategy to reach more Canadians by launching new local FAST channels, offering local and breaking news on CBC Gem and the CBC News app, and connected TV platforms in…
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By Ahmad Hathout
The CRTC on Wednesday approved a proposal by the Broadcasting Participation Fund (BPF) to expand its mandate to accept applications for public interest participation in proceedings involving the Online News Act.
The regulator is directing the BPF, which funds that participation, to file amendments to its by-laws and articles of incorporation to reflect the change by December 6.
The commission said it is comfortable with the BPF’s existing structure and processes to properly distribute the funds, even though the organization is now handling matters with two separate pieces of legislation. The concern has been that the money may get…
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Telco phasing out prepaid plans on Bell brand by year-end
By Ahmad Hathout
Bell executives said Thursday that approximately 106,000 subscribers are affected by a ruling by the CRTC this summer that prohibits Bell customers from using the wholesale internet regime in its operating territory.
The regulator said in the August decision that large players and their affiliates cannot lease internet capacity from others in areas where they have their own networks. To avoid service disruptions, existing customers on the third-party internet access (TPIA) regime will be able to continue to receive service but they cannot change speed plans…
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By Ahmad Hathout
On federal cabinet urging, the CRTC is “working quickly” to launch a public consultation on whether Rogers, Bell and Telus should be banned from using the aggregated last-mile fibre regime in Ontario and Quebec, the regulator said in a statement to Cartt, a move that is being welcomed by competitors.
The minister of Industry, Francois Philippe-Champagne, made the recommendation to the CRTC on Wednesday. It was a partial win for Bell, which requested in its February petition for the cabinet to rescind or vary the regulator’s decision last year that mandated competitor access to its bundled middle- and…
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By Ahmad Hathout
The CRTC is asking Canada’s major telecommunications service providers to explain how their employees are informing customers about the Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services (CCTS), after the regulatory said it found an unsatisfactory number of survey participants even knew it existed.
The regulator commissioned a survey by Nanos Research, which found only 2 per cent of participants who had an unresolved complaint were made aware of the organization by their service provider. The research was delivered in March.
“This finding is supported by consumer feedback data in the CCTS’s annual reports from 2015 to 2023, which shows…
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By Ahmad Hathout
Rogers filed a confidential application in May requesting the CRTC lift a standstill and allow it to remove several undisclosed Corus specialty channels primarily related to children’s programming from its television rotation due to underperformance, according to court documents on which Cartt can now report.
The documents in the Ontario Superior Court show that the CRTC had previously ordered a standstill in September 2023, indicating a carriage dispute between the two, and then reaffirmed it on May 30 and August 5, 2024. That means Rogers must continue carrying the channels until either the issue is resolved by the…
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By Ahmad Hathout
Bell announced Monday it has entered into an agreement to buy Ziply Fiber, representing a push by the telco into the United States’s northwest fibre internet market.
The value of the deal, expected to close in the second half of 2025 following regulatory approvals, is $7 billion – $5 billion in cash and $2 billion in Ziply debt. Bell said Ziply – the largest fibre provider in the U.S. pacific northwest serving Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana – is expected to bring in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $400 million next year. Ziply also offers…
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By Ahmad Hathout
The CRTC has launched a proceeding into the planned operation of a temporary fund intended to put base contribution money from streamers toward the programming of commercial radio broadcasters outside of major metro markets.
The Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) was required to file to the CRTC a detailed operational plan for the so-called Commercial Radio News Fund (CRNF), which will handle money from the five per cent base contribution large foreign and standalone Canadian streamers are required to put into the broadcasting system to float key programming, including local news. The target markets for…
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Telco says it did not receive any wholesale orders in Quebec
By Ahmad Hathout
Telus is asking the CRTC for a four-month extension to provide competitor access to its last-mile fibre network in British Columbia and Alberta.
The Vancouver-based telecom said in a review-and-vary application made public Wednesday that — after two months of work on the framework since the August decision mandated that access — “it will be impossible to implement an automated and reliable system” by the current deadline of February 13, 2025. It is asking for that to be extended to June 13.
“TELUS’ implementation work so far has made…
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By Ahmad Hathout
The CRTC on Monday approved an application by Google to be exempted from the Online News Act for a period of five years in exchange for releasing the $100 million it allocated to host Canadian news content.
The decision triggers a 60-day timer for Google to release the money to the Canadian Journalism Collective (CJC), the news rep that Google agreed to work with on the distribution in June.
Google held an open call, as it’s required under the new law, between February 28 and April 30 to field prospective eligible news businesses that want a piece…
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