OTTAWA – CRTC audits of the community channels operated by some of Canada’s biggest cable companies show “numerous abuses”, according to the Canadian Association of Community Television Users and Stations (CACTUS).
From 2002 through 2005 (the last year in which the CRTC monitored them), CACTUS said that the audits prove that cable companies “routinely” exceeded the maximum of two minutes per hour of promotional ads, and the 15-second limit for sponsorship messages.
Calling out Rogers in particular, CACTUS said that one of its OHL hockey programs contained 24 ads in one episode, plus another 41 ads two nights later, yet none of…
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KINCARDINE, ON – Bryan Walden just wants a chance to compete.
The president of Kincardine Cable has asked the CRTC to level the playing field and allow small cable companies like his the chance to offer local telephone service to their customers, in the same way that the independent telcos in his rural region can offer television services – or that big cable companies can offer in their urban territories.
But a leftover protection in our telecommunications regulations is standing in his way and he’d like to know why.
“(The CRTC) opened local exchange competition years ago, saying the small (telcos should) have…
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AS OF YESTERDAY, there were 17 months left for Canada to make the transition from analog over-the-air TV broadcasting to digital. Given the lack of action so far, hitting the August 31, 2011 deadline for the shut off of analog TV is now nearly impossible.
Everyone in and around the industry knows it. Everyone. It was openly talked about during the two CRTC hearings in the fall. It was as if the deadline meant nothing. But few want to acknowledge the industry’s and the federal government’s failure to act. In fact, as you’ll read, the federal government still hasn’t even…
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TORONTO – Bell Canada had some strong words for the CRTC on the way it reported the financial results of Canadian broadcasting distributors and conventional television stations last month.
In a letter addressed to CRTC chair Konrad von Finckenstein dated March 29, Bell accused the Commission of not reporting the industry’s financial data “in a factual and complete manner”, and offered its recommendations on how to do so.
According to Bell, the primary profitability measure reported by the Commission, profit before interest and taxes (PBIT), does not take into account the yearly capital investments that BDUs make.
“Nowhere is it reported…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC has changed its mind about accepting applications for new Category A services.
In a broadcasting public notice issued in October 2008, the Commission said that it would consider applications for new Category A services filed on or before April 1 2010, with a view to issuing decisions before August 31, 2011.
However, in a bulletin on Wednesday, the CRTC said that in light of the “significant changes” experienced by the broadcasting industry of late, “(i)t is the Commission’s view that the broadcasting industry needs sufficient time to adapt to these changes and, therefore, that the introduction…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC has revised the framework for expanded local calling areas (LCA) in markets that contain only regulated exchanges.
The Commission issued a call for comments in June 2008 on whether and how the expanded LCA regulatory framework should be modified to take into consideration the fact that local residential and business services have been forborne from regulation in many exchanges.
Citing “significant developments” in the telecommunications industry in both competition and technology, the CRTC eliminated the expanded LCA regulatory framework in markets that include at least one forborne exchange. It did, however opt to retain the…
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OTTAWA – The tightly knit nature of the telecommunications and broadcasting sectors makes it impossible to open telecom markets to greater foreign investment without negatively affecting Canadian culture in some way, Friends of Canadian Broadcasting told the Standing Committee on Industry this week.
Ian Morrison, a spokesperson for Friends, highlighted the integrated nature of Canada’s largest communications and broadcasting companies during his opening remarks pointing Rogers Communications, Bell Canada and Quebecor. If Rogers were owned by foreigners, it would have to sell Rogers Media. Similarly, Bell couldn’t control Bell TV, he said.
“Disposing of these key broadcasting assets would…
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OTTAWA – Broadcast visionary Moses Znaimer is officially back in the television business.
The CRTC approved the purchase of VisionTV’s broadcasting assets by Znaimer’s company ZoomerMedia on Tuesday. The deal, valued at $25 million, includes the multi-faith and multicultural channel VisionTV, diginet One: the Body, Mind & Spirit channel, and the conventional TV stations Joytv 10 in Vancouver and Joytv 11 in Winnipeg, as Cartt.ca reported.
ZoomerMedia was also granted a new broadcasting licence to continue the operation of VisionTV under the same terms and conditions as those in effect under the current licence. The licence expires August 31,…
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OTTAWA – “There is a concern that these restrictions are impairing the growth and competitiveness of the industry to the detriment of consumers and the industry as a whole,” said Marta Morgan, not wasting any time getting to the point during the opening of the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology hearings on foreign investment restrictions in telecommunications last week.
Morgan, the assistant deputy minister of the strategic policy sector at Industry Canada, and two other Industry officials appeared in front of the committee March 25.
She continued by giving a brief history of previous studies done on Canada’s foreign…
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OTTAWA – The avails are still not for sale and while ads will be allowed in the video on demand stream, there are to be new rules, the CRTC announced Monday in releasing its policy decisions on commercial advertising in the local availabilities of non-Canadian services and video-on-demand.
As Cartt.ca readers will recall, the Commission originally called for comments on the sale of local avails back in October, 2008. In doing so, it predicted that revenues from the sale of advertising for insertion in local availabilities could provide a net benefit to the Canadian…
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