TORONTO – The website for Canadian Broadcast Sales (CBS), Radiocbs.com, has been redesigned to produce “Canada’s most comprehensive source for information on radio” and is now available for use by the advertising industry.
“In the absence of the Radio Marketing Bureau, we saw the need to significantly enhance our website and make it the “go to” source for radio information in Canada,” said Patrick Grierson, president of CBS. “After consultation with agencies, advertisers and stations, our in-house Research and IT departments collaborated with Imagination Plus, a leading website design and development firm, to produce a…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – Fifty-seven campus and community radio stations are sharing nearly $1 Million from the Community Radio Fund of Canada (CRFC) to help them serve the needs of their communities all across Canada.
The funding is a result of the CRFC’s new program, Radiometres: Measuring the development, participation and sustainability of campus and community radio stations. All funded projects aim at improving local programming or increasing the volunteer and community participation in the stations activities.
"We had high expectations for Radiometres. We created this program based on some of the core…
Continue Reading
MONTREAL – Astral Media reports profits rose sharply in the fourth quarter, with net earnings of $54.3-million, up 14% from $47-million the previous year. Revenue growth grew at a slower pace of 2% to $251.8-million from $247.6-million.
Astral noted that with the CRTC’s rejection of its takeover by BCE, and the outcome of BCE’s appeal officially unknown, “there can be no assurance that the transaction will occur, or that it will occur on the terms and conditions currently contemplated," read the release. Company co-founder and CEO Ian Greenberg wouldn't say much…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – The CRTC has renewed the direct satellite relay distribution undertaking (SRDU) and Direct to Home (DTH) licences for Bell ExpressVu, Shaw Direct and Shaw Satellite Services for another seven years until August 31, 2019.
Shaw requested to be relieved from the requirement to contribute 5% of its annual revenues from broadcasting activities to the creation and presentation of Canadian programming, as well as from the requirement to file reports regarding such contributions. Shaw submitted that its SRDU’s competitors, namely terrestrial relay distribution undertakings (TRDUs), have no such obligation.
The Alliance of Canadian…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – While he didn’t come right out and say that federal cabinet will definitely stay out of the CRTC’s denial of Bell Canada’s purchase of Astral Media, Industry Minister Christian Paradis left little doubt that he believes this is a matter is best left up to the Commission and processes already in place.
During a scrum with reporters Tuesday afternoon after his speech to the International Institute of Communications Canadian conference, Paradis was asked whether or not cabinet will jump in and issue a policy directive to the Commission, as requested…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – The CRTC is ending the 5% limitation on the carry-over of Canadian programming over-expenditures and the obligation to use them in the subsequent broadcast year, but broadcasters currently subject to it will have to apply to have it removed.
The CRTC’s decision follows previous filings by both Rogers and Bell that argued the 5% cap limited their flexibility. Rogers submitted that the cap reduced its ability to operate its Citytv conventional television stations and that some of its Canadian programming expenditures (CPE) were already committed to large budget productions during the first broadcast year…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – Jean-Pierre Blais wasted little time during his keynote at IIC Canada’s annual conference Monday in restating that the interests of Canadians as consumers, creators and citizens will be of utmost importance to the CRTC during his mandate as chairman.
An example of how he will make sure individual Canadians are front and centre will be when the CBC/Radio-Canada appears before the Commission next month for its licence renewal hearing. “I don’t think our proceedings should be attended only by people who are paid to be there in their official capacity. Let’s level the playing field,” he said. “We’ve offered evening sessions…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – The CRTC reports that the number of National Do Not Call List complaints about telemarketers dropped by nearly 7,000 the previous month to about 11,000 complaints in September.
The CRTC also reported it started two new investigations in September, closed 22, and has 119 still active. It made 191 citations to notify telemarketers that the Commission had received consumer complaints alleging that the telemarketer has violated the Unsolicited Telecommunications Rules.
The citation identifies the alleged violations and notes the specific corrective action to be taken. The citation sets out the process to be…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – The CRTC’s National Do Not Call List has levied $441,000 in penalties and registered an additional 1.2 million Canadian numbers in the past reporting year. As of March 31, 2012 the total number of registered numbers was almost 10.7 million. In the past year it also reached its first cross-border agreement that helped halt two Mexican-based companies telemarketers, and co-chaired the first International Do Not Call Network meeting. The report from the CRTC covers the period of April 1, 2011 to March 31, 2012.
The creation of the network brought together 13 telecommunications…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA-GATINEAU – Incumbent telephone and cable companies will have to make more information public when proposing rates for wholesale services says the CRTC in a decision released on Friday. Much of the previously confidential information submitted to establish wholesale rates will now be put on the public record, but companies will retain the right to protect competitively sensitive information.
“This represents a key part of a huge shift,” says OpenMedia.ca Executive Director Steve Anderson. “The CRTC has been the site of some major changes—from being very industry-centric and closed-off to increasingly public-interest oriented—as the pro-Internet…
Continue Reading
