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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OTTAWA – The CRTC has tweaked its approach regarding contributions by broadcasting distribution undertakings to local expression.
Under the current broadcasting distribution regulations, licensed BDUs must, for each broadcast year, contribute 5% of their gross revenues derived from broadcasting activities in that year to support Canadian programming, and are authorized to allocate up to 2% of those revenues to local expression.
After seeking industry input, the Commission determined that the maximum dollar contribution to local expression by each terrestrial BDU licensee will be based on the amount contributed during the broadcast year ended August 31, 2010 (the 2010 contribution level). This…
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TORONTO – One of the applicants vying for a spot in the Toronto radio market has launched a grassroots campaign designed to elicit support from its future listeners.
Biz88 FM, the all-talk business news and information station proposed by independent broadcaster Channel Zero, launched the campaign on Monday encouraging supporters to visit its website and send a letter of support to the CRTC on its behalf.
“The CRTC takes your comments seriously – please show them your support for Business News in Toronto”, reads the web page which requests participation prior to April 2, 2012. The CRTC has confirmed…
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MONTREAL – In its third major content acquisition in a little over 18 months, BCE Inc. (Bell) announced today the purchase of Astral Media Inc. and all its assets for $3.38 billion. If approved, the deal would dramatically boost Bell’s French language TV viewership in Quebec from 6% to 32%, placing it within striking distance of Quebecor, which reaches about 35% of viewers. But at least one market analyst has questioned the value of the deal and believes Bell should have invested the money in its broadband network.
"Bell is gaining a well-seasoned national Astral management team, dramatically expanding our…
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