YET ANOTHER FEDERAL government digital/new media announcement was made on Friday that offers hundreds of millions of dollars to connect the 280,000 Canadians without broadband access because of where they live while remaining silent on the million or so who have broadband already at their doorsteps but who aren’t connected because they can’t afford it.
Yes of course it is important to connect rural Canada, but there has long been – and continues to be – many government programs to help that along. That’s despite the face that private companies such as the numerous independent phone…
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AN INTERESTING DECEMBER 2012 paper from the Australian Government's Department of Finance and Deregulation, Offices of Best Practices Regulation entitled "Influencing Consumer Behaviour: Improving Regulatory Design" is an instructive piece of research when viewed through the lens of our own TV business.
The paper explores two broad frameworks that influence consumer behaviour – Rational Choice theory and Behavioural Economics. Rational Choice theory holds that consumers maximize utility subject to their budgetary limitations. Behavioural Economics assumes choice is affected by social, economic, emotional and other factors. Examples from the health, finance and other sectors are used to…
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BASED ON THE DOZENS of submissions from radio companies and other groups to the CRTC, the answer is a resounding… maybe.
Whether to bring the proprietary digital broadcasting format which has been deployed in most major markets Stateside to Canada was just one of many questions the CRTC put to the public about changes to radio policy. The questions were raised on Oct. 30, and the deadline for replies to comments was last Tuesday.
In general, broadcasters and interest groups supported the idea Canadian stations should be allowed to experiment with HD Radio, but most were against the idea that there…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC is calling for comments on DHX Media’s proposal to buy Family, Disney XD, and the English- and French-language Disney Junior channels from Bell Media.
As Cartt.ca reported, the Halifax-based children's entertainment company proposed the acquisition, valued at $170 million, last November. The deal comes as part of Bell Media's requirement to divest some properties to comply with regulatory conditions attached to its acquisition of Astral Media.
The Commission made the application public Thursday, noting that it will also consider DHX’s proposed tangible benefits package and amendments to the broadcasting licence for Family Channel.
The deadline for the…
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OTTAWA – Noted filmmaker and TV producer Robert Lantos isn’t letting last year’s failure to secure a licence for a must-carry all Canadian movie channel get in his way. His proposed endeavour Starlight is up for consideration as a Category B specialty service in a CRTC hearing next week (as a non-appearing item).
The English-language specialty television channel, which also has the backing of Victor Loewy and David Kassie among others, aims to be a showcase for Canadian feature films. Its plans are to air feature films and documentaries intended for theatrical release, including made-for-TV movies and programs with or…
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OTTAWA – Rogers Media wants to reduce its Canadian content and cut in half its programming commitments for ethnic groups and distinct languages for its group of OMNI stations. The company will appear before the CRTC next week to defend these and other proposed changes to its conditions of licence (COLs).
The programming changes appear to be quite significant. Rather than meeting the requirement to broadcast programs to 20 different ethnic groups and in 20 distinct languages, Rogers is requesting these be cut in half to 10 in both cases. As well, the company wants to decrease its Canadian programming…
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CHATHAM, ON – Independent ISP TekSavvy Solutions has named Bram Abramson as its new chief legal and regulatory officer, effective immediately.
Abramson joins TekSavvy from national law firm McCarthy Tetrault where he advised a range of service providers and investors on network regulation and tariffing, media distribution and licensing, spectrum allocation, emergency communications, and broadcast and telecom mergers and acquisitions. Prior to becoming a communications lawyer, Abramson worked at telecom analysis and mapping firm TeleGeography and within the telecommunications branch of the CRTC.
The company’s announcement said that “Bram will help keep TekSavvy at the forefront of protecting Canadian consumers' communications…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – The CRTC has upheld its rules relating to automated calling devices in an effort to further protect the privacy of Canadians from telemarketers.
On Monday, the Commission turned down an application by the Canadian Marketing Association (CMA) to loosen the rules around the use of automatic dialing-announcing devices (ADAD). Specifically, the CMA had asked to make automated calls without having express consent, when there is an existing business relationship between the telemarketer or client of the telemarketer and the called party.
The CRTC said that it considered the CMA's proposal in the context of a broader public review of…
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OTTAWA – Corus Radio officially killed off The Bear on Monday, replacing Ottawa’s FM 106.9 with a new contemporary hit radio station known as JUMP! 106.9.
Corus agreed to buy CKQB-FM 106.9 and CJOT-FM (Boom 99.7) from Bell Media last year as part of the divestitures required as conditions of Bell Media’s purchase of Astral Media. That deal received CRTC approval earlier this year.
According to Corus’ press release, JUMP! 106.9 will be unique in the market with a core playlist of the biggest names in music, including Katy Perry, Pitbull, Beyoncé, Justin Timberlake and Bruno Mars. Spinning a mix of top 40…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC has agreed to a request by CBC to amend the broadcasting licences for its Espace Musique and Radio 2 networks and stations, tweaking the conditions of licence pertaining to advertising.
CBC was given the green light to introduce advertising on its Radio 2 and Espace musique properties in May 2013, but only for three years.
In the current applications, the CBC proposed to amend the conditions related to sponsored programming and embedded advertising. The Commission approved those demands on Tuesday.
www.crtc.gc.ca
www.cbc.radio-canada.ca
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