TORONTO – Non-profit corporation Media Access Canada is hosting a private roundtable of audio-visual associations, guilds and unions at the end of this month in Ottawa, to discuss ways of strengthening Canada’s broadcasting system, it announced Tuesday.
The roundtable will include sessions on the federal government’s just-announced consultation on foreign ownership, its ongoing digital consultation and the CRTC’s 2011 licence renewals of Canada’s major broadcasting ownership groups.
"The announcement earlier this week by Industry Minister Tony Clement of another important consultation that will directly affect Canada’s cultural businesses clearly shows that non-broadcasting stakeholders must identify new ways and means of strengthening the…
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TORONTO – In light of Industry Minister Clement’s comments on foreign investment on Monday, it wasn’t long before the topic du jour came up again at Tuesday’s ‘Regulatory Blockbuster’ panel, an annual highlight of the Canadian Telecom Summit.
And while all six of the panelists supported the idea in theory, sparks flew, albeit in a good natured way (well, most of the time), on how best to loosen Canada’s foreign ownership restrictions.
Mirko Bibic, Bell’s senior vice-president of regulatory and government affairs, said his company favours the approach put forth by CRTC chair Konrad von Finckenstein to boost foreign ownership…
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TORONTO – Independent broadcaster Glassbox Television announced today it will buy digital specialty channel travel + escape from CTV.
The acquisition of the category one travel and leisure service is subject to CRTC approval, for which an application has already been filed. Financial terms of the sale were not disclosed.
Glassbox operates cross-platform broadcast and VOD channels Bite TV (a hyper-interactive digital channel) and 24-hour music service Aux.
"This acquisition is a natural next step in our company’s development and a great fit with our growing suite of services,” said Raja Khanna, co-CEO of Glassbox, in a release. The company engaged investment…
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GATINEAU – CRTC commissioners were given a lesson in basic cable architecture on Wednesday as Rogers, Shaw, Cogeco, Videotron and EastLink faced the panel considering CRTC 2009-261, the wholesale high-speed access services proceeding.
The overall message appeared to be a detailed reminder to the Regulator from cable that “we’re different. Cable is a shared network that can’t be unbundled.”
Some have asked, for example, that a single 6 MHz channel (the space in which one analog TV channel is transmitted but which can be crammed full of digital and IP data and is by MSOs) be set aside for wholesale access by…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – Revenues at Canada’s AM and FM radio stations dropped 5.2% to $1.5 billion for the broadcast year ending August 31, 2009, a CRTC report said Thursday.
Expenses, however, also fell by approximately 1.7% to $1.2 billion in 2009, due in part to a reduction in the industry’s work force. The commercial radio industry employed 10,191 people and paid $632 million in total salaries for the 2009 fiscal year, compared to 10,347 people and $635.4 million in total salaries for 2008. Total profits before interest and taxes (PBIT) were $272 million for the fiscal year, and the PBIT margin fell to…
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TORONTO – CBC’s digital channel bold will launch in high definition this Friday, just in time for its coverage of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa.
All 64 matches from the world’s most-watched sporting event will air in high def on bold HD (as well as on CBC Television, Radio-Canada Télévision, and their respective websites) from June 11 to July 11, including 8 exclusive live games on June 22, 23, 24 and 25. In addition to its World Cup coverage, bold HD will continue to air performing arts, drama and comedy series, some of which will be in…
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OTTAWA – Last June, when it released its report on new media, the CRTC decided it would continue to exempt the Internet and wireless providers from regulation in Canada.
However, it also asked the Federal Court of Canada to take a look at whether it could consider Internet Service providers as broadcasters after all.
The court will hear arguments from both sides today in Ottawa. The ISPs, of course, say no way. Content creators say that yes, because they transmit video, ISPs certainly should be considered akin to BDUs (and perhaps be made to pay a Canadian-content-making fee, like BDUs…
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MONTREAL – The new area code 579 will be introduced in the territory served by the 450 code in Quebec starting August 21, 2010.
The two area codes will coexist within the same geographic territory. The 579 code will come into use gradually and will be assigned only to new numbers throughout the entire region served by the 450 code but until then, numbers with 450 will continue to be issued until they run out.
The 450 area code, introduced in June 1998, covers a broad territory including Laval and the North Shore, the South Shore, Lanaudière, Montérégie, parts of Estrie…
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OTTAWA – Bell Canada threw a new wrinkle into the CRTC proceeding on wholesale access to certain next-generation high-speed services by proposing a solution that it says will encourage investment in networks, while also giving competitors access to incumbent facilities.
Testifying before the CRTC on Monday as part of Telecom Notice of Consultation 2009-261, the company said that it would give competitors access to sub-loops (smaller versions unbundled local loops) that would enable those competitors to offer high-speed services, but also encourage investment in network facilities by both incumbent telcos and competitors.
“Imposing access to sub-loops would rely on…
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OTTAWA – Telus executives told the CRTC today that it might resort to becoming a reseller of DOCSIS 3.0 high-speed cable services if the Commission changes the value proposition of the company’s network investments by giving competitors access to its high-speed next-generation services.
“If you make those margins large enough, I will look at opportunities to use cable DOCSIS versus build options, and then choose the most economical path, if that serves the economic interests of our shareholders,” Eros Spadotto, executive vice-president of technology strategy at Telus told commissioners on day two of the hearing looking at mandating certain…
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