GATINEAU – The CRTC said today that it doesn’t think the Saskatoon market can support any more commercial radio stations and so it won’t be issuing a call for applications for new stations there.
“Based on its analysis of the comments received and its review of the financial performance of the market and its stations, the Commission remains concerned about the effects of licensing further commercial radio stations in the Saskatoon market at this time,” said a decision released Wednesday.
In May, an application was filed for a license to serve the largest city in the province and…
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QUEBECERS ENJOY HOMEGROWN television fare, programs that tell their stories and reflect who they are. But are we taking our television programming for granted?
One might think so in view of the weak Francophone response to the CRTC’s invitation to participate in a conversation about the future of television (see Stéphane Baillargeon, “L’écran rêvé: Le CRTC s’interroge sur ce à quoi devrait ressembler la télé de l’avenir,” Le Devoir, November 11). This is one of the reasons why Quebecor Media is encouraging the public to participate in the discussion and submit comments to the CRTC by…
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VANCOUVER – The Federal Government told the CRTC Thursday that it wants to be kept in the loop on how Canadians feel about unbundling their television channels.
“As stated in the most recent Speech from the Throne, our Government believes Canadian families should be able to choose the combination of television channels they want,” said Shelly Glover, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, in a statement. “This decision is an important step in defending Canadian consumers, who want choice and flexibility in their television services. Our request will ensure that the CRTC develops a more complete…
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WOULD CANADIANS really want to limit the number of TV channels coming into their homes if given the opportunity to choose them one at a time? You bet they would.
As part of its ongoing, annual, Digital Life Canada survey, Toronto’s Solutions Research Group asked respondents earlier this year what they would do if presented with more choice in their cable, satellite or telcoTV bundles.
If given a choice, 64% of Canadians would drop one or more channels from their subscription, says the independent, syndicated research. The question asked was: “Some people say that if they had a choice, they would…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC denied a request from Telus to amend the rates, terms, and conditions applicable to all wholesale high-speed access services, however, it did agree to change Telus’ rates.
The Commission said Tuesday that while it would not review and vary Telecom Decision 2013-73, it would, upon further review, adjust the rate associated with Telus’ 6 megabit-per-second wholesale high-speed access service “on its own motion”.
Its decision, retroactive to November 15, 2011, is based upon further review of the costs associated with that service, continued the decision.
www.crtc.gc.ca
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DARTMOUTH, NS – Newcap has received CRC approval to sell CHFT-FM in Fort McMurray, AB to Harvard Broadcasting Inc.
This transaction, reported by Cartt.ca last July, is expected to be completed within the next 30 days. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Fort McMurray’s radio market includes competitor Rogers, which owns Country 93.3 FM and Rock 97.9 FM. CHFT-FM, which operates as K-Rock 100.5 in Fort McMurray, will join Harvard’s Mix 103.7 FM station in that market.
"This was a unique situation in a market where two stand-alone stations, Newcap's…
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MONTREAL – BCE posted third quarter net earnings of $343 million, a sharp 34.9% drop from $527 million in the same period last year, as it absorbed the CRTC tangible benefits obligation of $230 million that it was ordered to pay as part of its acquisition of Astral Media.
The company said Thursday that EBITDA for the quarter increased 2.2% to $2.06 billion.
At the end of Q3, BCE (including Bell and Bell Aliant) served a total of 7,951,182 wireless subscribers, up 3% from Q3 2012; total TV subscribers of 2,438,100 (including 582,393 IPTV customers, reflecting the addition of 87,355 net new IPTV…
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TORONTO – While radio continues to be a success story in Canada as a strong, vibrant, local media source, “there is always a ‘but’,” Ontario regional commissioner Raj Shoan told delegates to the Ontario Association of Broadcasters Connection conference in Toronto on Thursday.
“Radio does not automatically get to hold its position in the audio marketplace. Other contenders are coming to town,” he cautioned. While streaming radio has not made a big impact here yet with only 13% of Canadians saying they do that, according to Shoan, services like Songza and Rdio (and although he didn’t say it, Canada’s own…
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GATINEAU – Interveners continued to insist the CRTC impose strict safeguards on Corus Entertainment to ensure that its acquisition of Teletoon and other services don’t negatively affect independent producers, reduce diversity of voices or open the door to anti-competitive behaviour.
On the second day of the hearing, the Directors Guild of Canada (DGC) argued that Commission approval of Corus’ acquisition of Teletoon will eliminate the safeguard as it relates to programming investment decisions being made independently of the Teletoon’s shareholders. “As a result, this transaction will effectively close a door for independent producers of animation programming,” Gerry Barr,…
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OTTAWA – Representatives from the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) are on Parliament Hill this week in support of Canada’s film and television industry.
Referencing the CRTC’s ‘Let’s Talk TV’ consultation, ACTRA said that it is calling on Members of Parliament to support the call for more Canada on all screens – big, small and mobile. Its wish-list for this lobby trip includes:
Nurture Canadian cultural sector jobs – support stories by, for, and about Canadians;
Invest in the infrastructure of our industry and through long-term, stable investments in…
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