OTTAWA – The CRTC must ensure a vibrant, healthy Canadian television industry or risk losing Canadian talent and audiences, the Writers Guild of Canada (WGC) told the Commission during its appearance at the Let’s Talk TV hearing Thursday.
“The great success stories of Canadian television came about because Canadian creators have had opportunities to collaborate with experienced colleagues,” said executive director Maureen Parker. “Quantity is needed to create quality. If the industry shrinks as a result of some proposals on the table, the talent will simply leave the country.”
Speaking on behalf of its members, some 2,200 professional English-language screenwriters across…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC has granted Gold Line Telemanagement Inc. regional broadcasting licences to operate terrestrial broadcasting distribution undertakings serving Vancouver and Victoria in B.C. and various locations in Ontario, including Toronto, Ottawa, Windsor and Hamilton/Niagara.
Based in Richmond Hill, ON, Gold Line distributes prepaid phone cards and long distance services in Canada. According to the company’s website, it is also the frontline sales and marketing department for all of Group of Gold Line's products and services, which includes IPTV and VoIP. The Commission says that Gold Line is wholly owned and controlled by Ata Moeini.
Gold Line has…
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MARKHAM, ON – CRTC Ontario Commissioner Raj Shoan will address Ontario Association of Broadcasters members and take part in a town hall at the organization's annual general meeting next month.
The AGM will be held just prior to the organization’s fall conference, Connection 2014, at 8:00 AM on October 30 at the Marriott Toronto Airport Hotel in Toronto. Commissioner Shoan will address the membership during the AGM.
He will also participate in the Executive Industry Town Hall later that day and discuss the hot issues, challenges and opportunities affecting broadcasting today and tomorrow. Other confirmed panelists include Erica Farber, CEO, Radio Advertising Bureau (U.S.); Geoff…
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GATINEAU – The funding of big budget Canadian programming as well as the role of the U.S. TV channels in the broadcasting system were put under the microscope during the fourth day of the CRTC’s Let’s Talk TV policy hearing.
Rogers Communications, Shaw Communications and Cogeco Cable warned of significant negative consequences to the Canadian system if the commission removed US 4+1s (CBS, NBC, ABC, FOX + PBS) from basic cable packages. The CRTC’s proposal was certainly a bone of contention for Rogers with the company saying it would face the wrath of subscribers if these channels were removed from…
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GATINEAU – Late Wednesday evening, after the TV lights had long been turned off and almost everyone else had gone home, Corus Entertainment stated its belief that despite the myriad changes happening in the global media market, the CRTC shouldn’t really do too much to upset the Canadian apple cart.
However, if the Commission does move on a smaller, mandated basic package, which is one of the many proposals under review, Corus asked that new regs be sure to include kids programming in the lineup. Corus is a big kids content producer, of course, but the company didn’t ask that…
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OTTAWA – V Media Group received CRTC approval Thursday to proceed with its purchase of French-language music channels MusiquePlus and MusiMax from Bell Media.
The Commission said that the transaction, as modified in this decision, is in the public interest and contributes to fulfilling the objectives of the Broadcasting Act as it will foster competition in the French-language market and ensure the continued availability of a major showcase for Canadian musical talent. It revised the value of the deal to $22.87 million.
The decision also approved, subject to certain modifications, an application to amend certain conditions of licence relating to…
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GATINEAU – The biggest stir on the third day of the CRTC’s Let’s Talk TV policy hearing centered on the possible inclusion of revenue earned from broadcasters’ online activities when calculating Canadian programming expenditures (CPE) Bell Canada arguing that it’s illogical, odd and added insult to injury.
“Working document item 10 concerns us greatly,” said Mirko Bibic, Bell’s executive VP and chief legal and regulatory officer, adding that the proposal on the table “would treat Canadian licensees in that space differently than the Netflixes of the world.”
That bit of the CRTC’s discussion document says: “The definition…
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GATINEAU – Calls for relaxed broadcast regulations from Quebecor Media appeared to ring hollow with CRTC commissioners on the second day of the Regulator’s Let‘s Talk TV policy hearing. During its appearance, the dominant Quebec media and cable company argued that unless the Commission takes immediate action, Netflix will become one of the largest distributors and broadcasters in Canada.
“There’s nothing to prevent Netflix from offering television distribution services for a pittance while adapting its business model, moving into more and more linear broadcasting windows in order to squeeze out traditional BDUs, and responding to market demand, all without being…
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OTTAWA – Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, Shelly Glover issued a warning late Monday evening to the CRTC in a statement responding to day one of the Commission's TV Policy Review hearing.
It's an unusual thing for a cabinet minister to publicly interfere with a CRTC hearing but she (well, the Prime Minister's Office really, we're told) made it very clear that the federal government is mostly concerned about pick and pay – and will not stand for TV regulations being applied to new media outlets. The statement (which was e-mailed to some reporters and still can't…
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GATINEAU – The implications of imposing old-style TV regulations on new age digital media providers was front and centre during the first day of the CRTC’s Let’s Talk TV policy hearing today. While Google Canada suggested that other countries could follow Canada’s lead if the commission forced traditional TV regulations on digital providers, the Ontario government argued that greater regulation of online providers is critical to the long-term health of the broadcasting system and the production industry it feeds.
Kevin Finnerty, assistant deputy minister of tourism, culture and sport for the Ontario government, spoke Monday afternoon about the need for…
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