OTTAWA – Canada’s broadcasters aren’t about to give up spectrum and go through another digital upgrade again without being paid for moving – and believe some of the funds coming from the next big wireless auction must be re-directed towards a new local television production fund.
First comments were due into Industry Canada Wednesday on its consultation into repurposing the 600 MHz band – the slice of spectrum upon which much of the country’s TV signals ride.
While most agree that harmonizing our bandwidth plan framework with the United States is a good idea, independent broadcasters and vertically integrated media and…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC unveiled sweeping changes to the Canadian TV broadcasting system earlier today. The Regulator has eliminated genre protection rules, shifted from Canadian content exhibition quotas to spending requirements and created a new class of online video-on-demand (VOD) services.
In a speech to the Canadian Club of Ottawa, Commission chair Jean-Pierre Blais underscored the need to adapt the broadcasting system to meet the realities of today where “people watch content in the ways, on the devices and at the times that most suit them.” He acknowledged that content is still king, but added that the viewer is now…
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OTTAWA–GATINEAU – Canadian-made content can hold its own among the best in the world, and therefore no longer requires “certain” regulatory protections, CRTC chairman Jean-Pierre Blais said Thursday while releasing the third round of decisions from the Let’s Talk TV proceeding.
The Commission is cutting the Canadian content quota for local TV stations during the day from 55% to zero, but will keep the weekday prime time requirement that 50% of programming aired between 6:00 and 11:00 PM. Specialty channels, which currently have quotas that range from 15% to 85%, will see their Cancon requirements harmonized at 35% overall with…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – Florida-based Consolidated Travel Holdings Group has paid $200,000 as part of a settlement over violations to Canada's telemarketing rules, plus agreed to stop making unsolicited telemarketing calls to consumers north of the border, the CRTC said Thursday.
Acting on complaints, the Commission investigated Caribbean Cruise Line Inc. for unsolicited telemarketing calls made via an automatic dialing-announcing device (ADAD) that offered cruises in exchange for answering a survey. The company did not possess a valid exemption to the national do not call list (DNCL) and many of the Canadians who received their calls had their phone number registered on the DNCL….
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GATINEAU – CRTC chairman and CEO Jean-Pierre Blais will deliver a speech to the Canadian Club of Ottawa on Thursday at lunch, announcing the Commission's next decisions stemming from the Let’s Talk TV proceeding.
Blais is scheduled to speak at the Chateau Laurier in Ottawa starting at 12:00 noon ET. The speech will be webcast by CPAC starting at 12:45 PM and will be available on the CRTC website at 1:00 PM, in junction with the release of the official decisions.
As Cartt.ca reported two weeks ago, Thursday’s announcement is expected to be focused on Canadian content…
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OTTAWA – A group representing distributors of Canadian feature films believes Canada’s broadcast regulator should do more to help foster the growth of Canada’s movie industry.
The Canadian Association of Film Distributors and Exporters (CAFDE) and one of its members, Elevation Pictures, told a House of Commons committee Monday that there is a role for the CRTC to play to spur demand for Canadian feature films, possibly through a quota system imposed on broadcasters or by bringing so-called over-the-top (OTT) content providers under the regulator’s jurisdiction.
“One of the most difficult challenges we face is that these OTT services…
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OTTAWA – Unintended consequences and potentially devilish details described potential outcomes of the CRTC’s TV Policy Review during panel sessions at the CMPA’s annual Prime Time conference last week in Ottawa.
In a panel titled Focus on Let’s Talk TV, independent broadcaster and content creator Blue Ant Media spoke about the problems that will come as a result of a pick and pay channel regime. Asha Daniere, executive VP of business and legal affairs at the company, noted that in a pick and pay environment, “discoverability” significantly increases in importance and difficulty. And, under a regime where consumers…
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OTTAWA – Kevin Crull, president of Bell Media, took to the pulpit at the Canadian Media Production Association’s annual Prime Time conference on Friday to criticize the CRTC for creating a regulatory environment that in fact hurts the Canadian system and to call for the banning of American OTA TV signals from Canadian cable, satellite and IPTV carriers.
During his nearly 25-minute speech, Crull spoke about a number of problems facing Canadian broadcasters, rights owners and distributors as a result of the commission’s current trajectory. This ranges from the advantage U.S. specialty channels enjoy, subscriber fees, geographic rights…
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OTTAWA – More flexible deal making, predictable and long-term funding for CBC/Radio-Canada and a light hand from the broadcast regulator are key to ensure Canadian content can be successful, achieve scale and make it on the international market, according to a panel of broadcast industry executives at the Canadian Media Production Association’s annual Prime Time conference.
In the opening panel session called Getting Ahead of Change, Bell Media president Kevin Crull noted that getting international success for Canadian content and the financing of big expensive projects will only come from having a solid domestic market, which is being destabilized by…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – The CRTC issued its first fine under the country’s new anti-spam laws Thursday, handing out a whopping $1.1 million penalty to Quebec-based Compu-Finder.
The Commission said that its investigation found that Compu-Finder sent commercial electronic messages without the recipient’s consent, as well as emails in which the unsubscribe mechanisms did not function properly. The four alleged violations occurred between July 2, 2014 and September 16, 2014, and included emails promoting training courses to businesses, often related to topics such as management, social media and professional development.
The CRTC added that it conducted a number of information sessions across the…
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