OTTAWA – With almost nothing left to lose, CBC/Radio-Canada should take some risks on high impact dramatic programming, Michael Hennessy, president of the Canadian Media Production Association, suggested during an appearance before a Senate committee earlier this week.
Last week the Standing Senate Committee on Transportation and Communications kicked off a study of the challenges faced by CBC in relation to the changing broadcast and communications environment. The review came about after the public broadcaster lost the rights to Hockey Night in Canada (Ed note: Because if there’s one place where the world’s media challenges will be solved, it’s the…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC will examine licence renewal applications from Rogers Media, plus consider a second request for a Canadian film channel and a pay-per-view service for Telus at a hearing scheduled for April 8, 2014 in Gatineau.
The Commission made public Wednesday that Rogers has filed applications to renew the broadcasting licences for 17 of its television services and stations, including its City stations, multilingual ethnic television stations and Sportsnet. In addition to licence renewal, the Commission will examine “key issues” relating to these applications including the group-based approach to the licensing of the City television stations and…
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GATINEAU – On Wednesday, the Competition Bureau filed a submission to the CRTC’s consultation on the domestic mobile wireless roaming rates charged by Canada’s largest wireless companies.
In a press release the Bureau said it “believes that Canada’s largest wireless companies have an incentive to use high mobile wireless roaming rates to ensure that new entrants are not, and do not become, fully effective competitors. As a result, new entrants are likely limited in their ability to bring attractive product offerings to market, resulting in reduced product choice, higher prices for consumers and/or less innovation…
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OTTAWA – Canadian television viewers want more content choices and have mixed feelings about the way their television is currently delivered to them, according to the first phase of the CRTC’s Let's Talk TV: A Conversation with Canadians.
The Commission issued the Phase 1 report Wednesday, based on the 1,320 comments it received from October 24 – November 22, 2013. As Cartt.ca readers will recall, the initiative kicked off by asking Canadians the following three questions:
1. Programming: What do you think about what’s on television?2. Technology: What do you think about how you receive television programming?3….
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OTTAWA – The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) and Chimo Community Services (Chimo) want the CRTC to eliminate charges for Canadians who call helplines and crisis lines from their cell phones, and to protect helpline users’ privacy.
Currently, Canadians who call helplines from their wireless phones are charged for those calls or have those voice minutes deducted if they have a voice plan. Callers’ accounts can also identify the fact that a call was made to a helpline, as well as the number of that helpline.
In an application filed Wednesday, PIAC and Chimo argued that wireless charges and the inadequate…
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TORONTO – Corus Entertainment is banking on its recent acquisitions of Teletoon, Historia, Séries+ and Ottawa-based radio stations CKQB-FM and CJOT-FM to help “provide a solid foundation for growth” for its 2015 fiscal year.
Speaking Wednesday at the company’s annual Investor’s Day, president and CEO John Cassaday added that Corus is targeting consolidated segment profit of $340 million to $360 million and free cash flow in excess of $170 million for fiscal 2015.
Corus' portfolio of multimedia offerings encompasses specialty television and radio with additional assets in pay television, television broadcasting, children's book publishing, children's animation and animation software. It’s…
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OTTAWA – Corus Entertainment’s purchase of Ottawa-based radio stations CKQB-FM (The Bear 106.9) and CJOT-FM (Boom 99.7) from Bell Media will close on January 31st , Corus confirmed Tuesday.
Formerly owned by Astral, Corus agreed to buy the stations last March as part of the divestitures required as conditions of Bell Media’s purchase of Astral Media. The deal received CRTC approval late last week.
Corus has established a Montreal-based management team led by Mario Cecchini, president of Corus Média and head of Eastern Ontario tadio and television. In addition to overseeing Corus' Quebec-based specialty services, Cecchini will now be responsible for Corus' eastern Ontario radio and local television…
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WHISTLER, B.C. – While Rogers, Shaw and Telus say they are supportive of an a-la-carte channel environment, executives from each company offered up some cautionary advice during CIBC’s annual Whistler Institutional Investors conference last week.
Speaking at the event January 23, Steve Wilson, Shaw’s executive vice-president of corporate development and CFO, acknowledged the industry realizes that consumers want more choice, and from his company’s point of view, it’s about giving them the ability to access content in a variety of ways. There also needs to be consideration given to the impact that has on the Canadian broadcasting system and the…
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WHILE THE CANADIAN SUBSCRIPTION television market is at the beginning of a decade-long decay, growth is still in the cards for cable and telecom companies in Canada thanks to the world’s shift to broadband, says a new report from Scotiabank.
The report, entitled “Embrace the Evolution” (whose cover photo is pictured) says thanks to broadband internet “the growth outlook is bright” for telcos and cablecos (1%-1.5% revenue growth and 2.5%-3.5% in EBITDA growth), due partially to more predictability on the capital expenditure front – and the concentration on more profitable broadband products and services.
However, it won’t be pretty on the…
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GATINEAU – The simultaneous substitution of American broadcast signals for Canadian ones, when the programming is identical, has been going on since the 1970s.
Back then, cable operators were often described by broadcasters and others as pirates who brought in American TV channels and charged customers for the privilege of seeing them, even though they paid nothing for the signal and Canadian broadcasters had often purchased the copyrights of much of that U.S. programming for our country. Faced with the threat of a federal government crackdown on its business (yes, the Commission of the day was pondering forcing all American…
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