TORONTO – Blue Ant Media announced Wednesday it will acquire Canadian broadcaster High Fidelity HDTV and its four premium high definition television channels – Oasis HD, eqhd, radX and HIFI HD.
The transaction, which has been rumoured for months, is pending CRTC approval. The deal calls for the company to initially purchase 29.9% of shares in High Fidelity HDTV, with the remaining 70.1% closing subject to CRTC approval. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Blue Ant Media is a recently established independent media company led by media veteran, former Alliance Atlantis CEO and co-founder Michael MacMillan. In addition to…
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WE’LL CONTINUE TO cover industry news as it happens on Cartt.ca over the next two weeks, but our newsletters are taking a holiday break. Today's edition will be the final regular newsletter until January 10th as those of us at Cartt.ca pause to celebrate Christmas and the New Year.
If there's REALLY BIG news over the holidays, we'll be on it of course, but the whole industry gets a bit quiet between now and the back-to-school week, so that’s when we schedule our break, too.
We'll be pretty busy right away in the new year as Cartt.ca consumer electronics editor John…
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REGINA – It’s been an jarring 18 months for SCN, the former Saskatchewan provincial public broadcaster, and viewers in the province.
Back in the first half of 2010, the government there decided to close the channel down, citing a need to cut costs and get out of non-core government initiatives such as television few seemed to watch. However, just before the government faded it to black, Bluepoint Investments, which is headed by advertising executive Bruce Claassen, stepped into the breach and paid $350,000 for the operation.
The CRTC approved the transaction in late 2010 and altered the…
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OTTAWA – A number of radio stations have found themselves on the CRTC’s naughty list this year, prompting the Commission to issue a refresher on how to file their annual returns.
The CRTC said Tuesday that it has experienced “serious difficulties” in assessing the broadcasters’ Canadian content development contributions, among other criteria, due to annual returns being filed late and/or with inaccurate or missing information. In addition to more paperwork, this has also contributed to broadcasters being found in non-compliance with the radio regulations, prompting appearances before the Commission.
Annual returns must be submitted before November 30 for each licensed radio…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC is calling for comments on a proposed code of conduct and best practices for campus and community radio stations.
Submitted by the National Campus and Community Radio Association (NCRA), the proposed codes address clauses relating to programming, the handling of complaints, sponsorship and advertising, and employees and volunteers, plus the codes’ application and administration, while the guidelines are intended to provide additional context for the interpretation of the codes.
If approved by the Commission, NCRA members would abide by the codes instead of the CAB Code of Ethics.
Comments are due by February 16, and the…
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OTTAWA – BDUs must provide at least 60 days notice to broadcasters before changing their terms of carriage, packaging or retailing of any programming service, the CRTC has reiterated to carriers in a letter this week.
The Commission drove home this point, originally set out in Broadcasting Public Notice 2005-35, at the behest of the Independent Broadcast Group/Le groupe de diffuseurs indépendants (IBG/GDI). In a letter to the CRTC, one that also copied vertically integrated companies Rogers, Bell, Shaw and Quebecor, the group expressed concern that the notice policy might be discounted by the big BDUs.
“If adequate notice is not provided,…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC’s first call for comments on its vertical integration policy is centering on audit provisions for BDUs and on the potential creation of a standard form non-disclosure agreement.
The Commission said Monday that it is seeking comments on the timeframes and other modalities around audits, the wording for a standard form non-disclosure agreement, and to whom such agreements should apply.
During its recent VI hearing, stakeholders such as independent broadcasters expressed their concern to the CRTC about delays after submitting an audit request to a vertically integrated BDU. The Commission said that it is therefore encouraging responses that…
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MONTREAL – Astral Media Radio has received CRTC approval to move forward with its purchase of Vancouver-based Shore Media Group Inc., three months after the Commission initially halted the deal.
As Cartt.ca reported, the Commission denied the acquisition after determining that it ran afoul of its licence trafficking policy. But the CRTC has now approved the $13.4 million transaction which is set to be completed early next year.
Shore Media is the radio licence holder for CHHR FM 104.3 (Shore FM). Astral also owns Virgin Radio 95.3 and AM 650, plus a nine-face digital outdoor advertising network in the Vancouver market.
"We are…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – Canadians are encouraged to weigh in on the Local Programming Improvement Fund (LPIF) as part of the CRTC’s planned review of the fund’s success.
The Commission said Monday that it has scheduled a public hearing as part of its review process, which will begin April 16 in Gatineau. Comments are due by February 15, 2012.
The fund was created almost three years ago to support the development of local television programming, particularly local news, in non-metropolitan markets. At that time, the CRTC determined that broadcasters' spending on local programming had stagnated due in large part to the fragmentation of television audiences and…
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OTTAWA – Brama Telecom has been ordered to appear before the CRTC over its failure to become a member of the Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services (CCTS).
The Commission said Thursday that it has scheduled a public hearing at its Gatineau headquarters on March 22 at 9:00 AM at which time it will review whether or not to disconnect the VoIP providers’ services.
Under the Telecommunications Act, all telecommunications service providers (TSPs) that provide services within the scope of the CCTS’s mandate must become members after being informed by the CCTS of a complaint against it. After receiving five complaints from…
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