BANFF – It’s not easy being a small fish in an ocean filled with predators new and old – and with unpredictable tides – but the strong, well-organized school of independent CCSA members consistently show they have advantages which can allow them to survive and thrive.
That’s the message CRTC vice-chair broadcasting Tom Pentefountas carried with him this morning to open the Canadian Cable Systems Alliance annual Connect conference at the Banff Springs Hotel.
He recognized that the transitions being made by the large companies in the media, cable and telecom spaces are exceedingly difficult and have certainly not been easy…
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GATINEAU – The screen went black for about 15 minutes Friday morning at the CRTC’s Let’s Talk TV policy hearing when chairman Jean-Pierre Blais abruptly called for a break after Netflix’s director of global public policy, Corie Wright, repeatedly refused to agree to provide Canadian subscriber information in confidence. After the TV time out, Netflix was ordered to provide Canadian subscriber information without the confidentiality guarantee it was seeking.
The brouhaha started about 10 minutes into questioning when vice-chair of broadcasting Tom Pentefountas wondered aloud if Netflix would provide Canadian subscriber figures. After Wright responded that the company didn’t release…
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GATINEAU – Canada’s independent and ethnic broadcasters faced off before the CRTC on Thursday, with the more established Category A services arguing the removal of buy-through provisions which sustain their businesses would be detrimental to Canadian content – while the newer Category B licensees want them eliminated so they can take advantage of more channel packaging flexibility.
“The BDUs have every incentive to substitute us“ and “without mandatory distribution and buy-through, Canadian programming is compromised,” argued Connie Sephton, director of corporate affairs at Fairchild Television under questioning from Quebec commissioner Yves Dupras.
In its presentation, the company questioned the merits to…
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OTTAWA and GATINEAU – Rogers and Bell are among the last wireless services companies that have yet to fully comply with the CRTC’s wireless code.
On Thursday, the Commission issued a report card assessing the implementation of the wireless code by the country’s 33 wireless services providers. That code, which turns one in December, was designed to make it easier for Canadians to understand their contracts for cellphones and other mobile devices, plus outline their basic rights.
Noting that verification of the code’s implementation is the first step in assessing compliance, the CRTC asked the wireless companies to submit reports…
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THERE ARE ALWAYS A HANDFUL of questions asked repeatedly by commissioners during a CRTC hearing which can tip followers off about the direction the Regulator is leaning on certain topics. The Let’s Talk TV hearing is no different.
Big questions have been asked, answered and covered by us and others over the first eight days of the hearing (just search Cartt.ca for “let’s talk tv”), but there’s one query most have not touched upon yet: CRTC chairman Jean-Pierre Blais’ recurring request for a road map from each of the companies to help him with the timing for changing the rules….
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GATINEAU – At one point during the CRTC’s Let’s Talk TV hearing yesterday, chairman Jean-Pierre Blais noted the utter lack of media in the room covering the primary focus of day eight, accessibility.
While we covered the hearing via webcast Wednesday, the chair has a very good point. While the talk of a potential “Netflix tax” or a skinny basic or pick and pay or Super Bowl ads made all kinds of headlines over the past number of days, the fact that a good chunk of the population has a lot of trouble seeing or hearing TV content on any…
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BANFF – I *heart* local cable will be a focal point for the 2014 Canadian Cable Systems Alliance annual conference to be held this year at the Banff Fairmont Springs starting Sunday.
The successful cable community channel awards, now in their second year, will honour not just excellent community channel programming, but excellent television that can stand up to any other professional productions (we’ve seen them).
After 350,000 votes cast from coast to coast for member company programming by viewers, the CCSA announced the award winners in July and they will be lauded by their peers Monday…
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GATINEAU – Independent ISP TekSavvy Solutions told the CRTC Tuesday it would love to become a broadcast distributor because that’s what its customers are asking, but added it can’t enter the game at the moment because the cost of bandwidth is simply too high.
According to a study from Nordicity, the bandwidth costs for the ISP to provide basic service would come to $80 if networked PVR capability was included. “That’s just the bandwidth – before we pay for content or anything else,” said TekSavvy CEO Marc Gaudrault in his opening remarks to the Commission’s Let’s Talk TV policy hearing.
He…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – Second hand clothing store chain Thrift Magic has paid $250,000 as part of a settlement over violations to the country’s telemarketing rules, plus agreed to correct its telemarketing practices, the CRTC said Wednesday.
Acting on complaints, the Commission investigated Thrift Magic for alleged violations of the Unsolicited Telecommunications Rules and found that it made unsolicited telemarketing calls to Canadians whose numbers were registered on the National Do Not Call List (DNCL). Thrift Magic also failed to register with the national DNCL operator and subscribe to the list, plus made calls outside the permitted calling hours.
In addition to paying the…
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OTTAWA – CRTC chairman Jean-Pierre Blais and Privacy Commissioner of Canada Daniel Therrien will join representatives from Google, Bell Canada, TekSavvy and more as speakers at this year’s IIC Canada 2014 Conference.
Scheduled for October 21 – 22, 2014 in Ottawa, 'Vision 20/20 – What's next for Canada's communications industries' will bring together business and government leaders in broadcasting, media, telecommunications and technology, with the goal of unpacking the intersection of policy and politics in today's technology-driven communications sector.
Discussion topics include:
– Recent developments in the communications industries;
– Disruptive innovation, consumers and creativity: a look at what makes Canada's video game industry…
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