OTTAWA-GATINEAU – The CRTC said Monday that it is full speed ahead for the new Canadian Broadcasting Participation Fund (BPF) designed to help public interest and consumer groups offset their costs of participating in its broadcasting proceedings.
The independent fund is made possible by $3 million in benefits proposed by BCE when it purchased CTVglobemedia in 2011. The BPF, which incorporates feedback from various consumer groups, will be active within 60 days though the CRTC said that any cost incurred as of now could be included in a cost application.
The Commission also said that the fund will support…
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TORONTO – Rogers Broadcasting is committed to the Saskatchewan production community, and believes that its yet-to-be-approved purchase of provincial broadcaster Saskatchewan Communications Network (SCN) will help to keep that community “robust”.
Responding to criticism last week that its proposal to buy SCN seeks to spend less on local shows than the station’s previous owners, Rogers Media’s broadcasting president Scott Moore told Cartt.ca that the deal could actually prove to be a boon to local producers by opening up access to national audiences via its stable of stations and networks.
“We’ve asked the CRTC to allow us to do our Canadian programming…
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OTTAWA – Les Aliments S.R.C. Inc. has been fined $24,000 for violating the country’s national do not call list (DNCL) rules.
Between January 6 and March 17, 2011, the CRTC said that it received “numerous complaints” in relation to telemarketing telecommunications made by the Montreal-area food delivery service company to consumers whose numbers were registered on the national do not call list.
The Commission denied an appeal by the company claiming that it had an existing relationship with one of the complainants, and that the fee of $6,000 per violation was excessive. Payment is due by April 23, 2012.
www.crtc.gc.ca
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ON THURSDAY, A PANEL of seven CRTC commissioners and a dozen industry executives took part in a hearing where they all must have asked themselves repeatedly, “Geez, how often have I heard this before?” At least, that’s the question that popped into my head as I listened in.
Bell Media faced off against the Canadian Independent Distributors Group during an expedited hearing concerning the parties’ fight over Bell Media’s 2011 wholesale carriage agreement, as we have already covered extensively. The CIDG (Telus, Cogeco, EastLink, Canadian Cable Systems Alliance and MTS) say the dispute isn’t primarily about…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC’s recent revisions to BDU’s contributions to local expression was met with disappointment by the Canadian Association of Community TV Users and Stations (CACTUS) who says that the approximate $30 million would have better spent on both the diversity of voices in broadcasting in Canada and the digital economy.
"We have reviewed the Commission’s decision and are disappointed," said CACTUS spokesperson Catherine Edwards, in a statement. "Instead of establishing a community TV fund – equivalent to the Community Radio Fund that was established in 2008 – the money has instead gone to help cable companies pay…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC has turned down a request from the Canadian Common Ground Alliance (CCGA) to broaden the use of the 8-1-1 dialing code to include access to an underground infrastructure locate service in conjunction with its current use for a non-emergency telehealth triage service.
Under the North American Numbering Plan, unique three-digit (N-1-1) codes are assigned to provide abbreviated dialing access to non-commercial services that serve the broad public interest. The Commission assigned the 8-1-1 code for access to non-urgent health care telephone triage services, also known as telehealth services. Telehealth services are provided by provincial and territorial…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC is calling for comments over the confidentiality of information it uses to establish wholesale service rates.
When establishing these rates, the Commission generally uses an incremental costing approach, known as Phase II costing, to evaluate the incumbent telephone and cable carriers’ costs of providing wholesale service to competitors. Incumbent carriers submit regulatory economic studies that contain Phase II costing information and reflect the costs of prospective incremental resources used to provide the service, some of which may be submitted with a designation of confidentiality. The CRTC then applies a markup to these costs as a contribution…
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TORONTO – Future success in the digital media world isn’t about the gadgets – it’s all about the content and user experience. That was the consensus among a group of industry experts who gathered Wednesday afternoon for a panel discussion during the Digital Media Summit, as part of Slacker Canadian Music Week in Toronto.
“There’s nothing clever technologically about the Apple iPhone, fundamentally,” said James Cridland, radio futurologist and managing director for MediaUK, a media industry information web site. “It’s the user experience that makes that product a brilliant product, in comparison to the old clunky things we used to have…
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OTTAWA – Registration is now open for this year’s Communications Law and Policy conference scheduled for April 26 – 27 at the Ottawa Convention Centre in Ottawa.
Designed for lawyers, industry executives, and government officials, the event will include sessions such as ‘The Reports of the Death of the CRTC Have Been Greatly Exaggerated’, ‘Effectiveness of the Group-Based Licensing Scheme’, ‘Trends in Telecom Regulation’, and ‘Canada’s Foreign Ownership Restrictions’.
In addition to the conference materials, registrants will receive a copy of the 11th edition of the Canadian Broadcasting Regulatory Handbook, the 6th edition of the Regulatory Guide to Canadian Television, the…
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TORONTO – Rogers Broadcasting has bid $3 million for its 100% stake in Saskatchewan Communications Network (SCN) which it is planning to re-launch as Citytv Saskatchewan.
The CRTC has yet to approve the acquisition, but is scheduled to review it during a hearing on May 7 held at the Allstream Centre in Toronto.
Rogers is buying the former Saskatchewan provincial public broadcaster from Bluepoint Investments in a deal that was officially announced in January. Bluepoint paid the Saskatchewan government $350,000 for the station late in 2010 after promising to spend $1.75 million per year on independent Saskatchewan production, and $1 million per year…
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