OTTAWA – Tom Pentefountas, the recently appointed vice-chair of broadcasting at the CRTC, stood firm as opposition MPs on the Standing Committee of Canadian Heritage questioned his ability to fulfill the responsibilities of the position.
He said all the right words in his opening remarks, highlighting the challenges facing the CRTC in the face of convergence and the new realities on online viewing. “Convergence is on the verge of erasing the dividing line between broadcasting and telecommunications,” he said. “That is one of our greatest challenges.
“Moreover, to face this new reality, the CRTC must implement 25 year old legislation….
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OTTAWA – The CRTC will hold a proceeding to review the local, wireless, and toll network interconnection regulatory regimes.
In a notice of hearing issued on Wednesday, the Commission said that the principle objectives of this proceeding are to determine to what extent:
– existing interconnection regimes can be simplified and consolidated;– changes are necessary to enhance competition and, thus, benefit consumers; and– changes are necessary to ensure technological neutrality.
The proceeding will include a public hearing in Gatineau beginning on October 24 and is expected to last approximately five days. Should additional time be required, the hearing…
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OTTAWA – Granted, it’s just another in the thousands of oft-ignored parliamentary committee reports, but a new one released today by the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage wants the CRTC to hold a public hearing about whether or not the likes of Netflix, Google TV, Apple TV, etc., should be contributing funds to the Canadian television industry.
The report, “Impacts Of Private Television Ownership Changes And The Move Towards New Viewing Platforms,” was informed by five fall 2010 meeting days which heard from 21 witnesses representing Canadian media companies (big and small), carriers, producers, Continue Reading
MONTREAL – Françoise Bertrand has been named chair of the board of directors at Quebecor Inc. effective immediately, the company announced Monday.
Bertrand, who has been a member of the board since 2003, is also chair of Quebecor’s compensation committee and a member of its corporate governance committee. She replaces Jean Neveu who passed away earlier this month.
“A consensus quickly emerged around Françoise as the new Chair of Quebecor’s Board,” said board vice chairman, the Right Honourable Brian Mulroney, in the announcement. “She has an exceptional track record and strong moral authority. Françoise has already demonstrated a tremendous capacity…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – Canadians wishing to switch providers for their television, home telephone, wireless or Internet services will find the process a little easier thanks to a change in CRTC policy on Friday.
Consumers will now be able to switch service providers simply by calling the new provider, who can then make all arrangements to have the services transferred over on behalf of the customer. The Commission said that all customer transfers be completed within two business days, except for wireless service where transfers must be completed within 2.5 hours.
Consumers may also cancel their services by contacting their current service provider…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – Conventional television stations must kick off their national awareness campaign on the pending digital transition by May 1, 2011, the CRTC said Friday.
Broadcasters that are required to make the transition must air public service announcements at least six times per day, and at least 25% must be shown in prime time, between 7:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. The announcements must be at least 30 seconds long, be closed captioned, contain audio descriptions of on-screen information and include the following elements:
– a statement to the effect that the Canadian television system is in the process of converting its over-the-air transmitters…
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OTTAWA – Rogers wants a French language sports channel, while Stingray Digital Group hopes to add to its musical collection with a new channel called Concert TV, according to 36 new broadcasting applications made public by the CRTC on Wednesday.
Sports d’intérêt général de Rogers, will be, as the name suggests, a national, general-interest French-language Category 2 channel, according to the application. Stingray’s Concert TV would be devoted to contemporary and classical music concerts from a wide variety of music genres offered in SD, HD and 3-D, once readily available.
Other applications of interest include one from FreeHD Canada for…
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TORONTO – The Directors Guild of Canada (DGC) has named Gerry Barr as its new CEO and national executive director. He will assume the post in August 2011.
Barr’s wide-ranging career has included labour organization and negotiations for the Steelworkers’ Union, as well as the creation of its Steelworkers Humanity Fund. Since 2000, has held the role of president and CEO of the Canadian Council for International Cooperation, a coalition of approximately 100 not-for-profit organizations working on international development co-operation and humanitarian response.
“We’re thrilled to have somebody of Gerry’s stature and integrity take the helm of the Directors Guild of…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC is asking for comments on whether to remove the expiry date contained in its general authorization to down-convert digital-only television signals beyond the digital transition.
The Commission said Tuesday that the original motive for the introduction of the down-conversion rules was to avoid disruption among analog and standard definition BDU subscribers as a result of the U.S. conversion to digital over-the-air transmission in June 2009. However, the Commission noted that after the over-the-air digital transition occurs in Canada, a large number of BDUs will continue to distribute signals in analog, SD and high definition, and that continuing…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC has called for comments on amendments to the current radio regulations.
The Commission said Friday that the amendments, which would come into effect on September 1st, reflect determinations made in its proceeding on the regulatory framework for campus and community radio. In that policy, the Commission noted that its objective was to establish a single policy for campus and community radio that takes into account the differences in the two types of stations where appropriate.
Comments are due April 11, 2011.
www.crtc.gc.ca
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