OTTAWA and TORONTO – A pared-down basic programming package, with its content and pricing determined by the CRTC, could be the solution to affordability if fee-for-carriage is implemented, the CBC said.
In a submission to the Commission on Monday, the public broadcaster recommended that BDUs adopt an all-Canadian basic package which includes only the “essentials”, such as local television stations, plus “a very limited number” of other licensed programming services.
Calling it a “win-win-win scenario”, CBC said that its proposal would benefit BDUs, consumers, and broadcasters alike.
“It’s a win for cable companies because they’ll have all the flexibility that…
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TORONTO – Seeking to protect its rights as a co-owner of Canwest Global’s stable of specialty channels, U.S. investment banking firm Goldman Sachs has filed a motion against a portion of the Canadian broadcaster’s restructuring attempts.
Filed late Monday with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, the motion asks the court to reverse the windup of a numbered holding company of Canwest’s. According to the Goldman Sachs motion, 4414616 Canada Inc., a division of Canwest Media Inc., was shuttered on October 5, 2009, the day before Canwest’s Companies, Creditors, Arrangement Act filing on October 6.
As readers may recall, Canwest…
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OTTAWA and TORONTO – The CRTC’s decision which derailed wireless challenger Globalive’s plans to launch in Canada has also served to put a “regulatory gun to our head”, says chairman Anthony Lacavera.
In an interview Wednesday with Cartt.ca, the head of Globalive Wireless Management, the Canadian parent of Wind Mobile, said that the Commission has handicapped his Toronto-based company from sourcing Canadian financing.
“The CRTC said in the decision that they wanted us to deal with the debt, but they didn’t say how, and we have an issue with how ambiguous that is. But, they’ve also put us in the…
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HALIFAX – Canada’s communications regulatory regime is in desperate need of repair, says a report by The Atlantic Institute for Market Studies (AIMS).
In the recently released ‘In The End of that ’70’s Show: Rethinking Canada’s Communications Regulatory Institutions for the 21st Century’, report author and former AIMS research director Ian Munro says technological advances have made the existing regime obsolete.
"Long gone are the days when the telecommunications and broadcasting sectors were distinct entities," Munro said in a statement. "Yet the regulatory regime still treats them as such, which creates inefficient duplication and complete disconnects across government agencies and departments with…
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CALGARY – Shaw Communications has closed its acquisition of Mountain Cablevision from the Boris Family who has owned Mountain Cablevision for the past 50 years.
The transaction was subject to approval of the CRTC which was granted on October 22, 2009.
The purchase price was approximately $300 million, $120 million of which was paid through the issuance of 6.14 million class B non-voting participating shares of Shaw, with the balance paid in cash.
www.shaw.ca
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WINNIPEG – MTS Allstream has lent its voice to the fee-for-carriage debate, urging its customers to “speak out” to the CRTC against proposals by broadcasters which it says could add at least six dollars to monthly service bills.
"It is not fair to expect customers to start having to pay for something that has been available free for decades, particularly in light of the fact that we are already mandated to provide the signals as part of our basic packages”, said CCO Chris Peirce, in a statement. “We encourage customers to make sure their own voices are part of the…
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MONTREAL – Following the lead of its peers, Cogeco Cable’s Canadian operations continued to grow during the recession, the company reported today. The company continues to struggle in Portugal, although it is reporting some positive indications there.
Fourth quarter 2009 consolidated revenue increased by 8% to reach $307.8 million, when compared to the corresponding period of the prior year. Driven by increased revenue-generating units combined with rate increases and the financial results generated by the acquisition of Cogeco Data Services in the last quarter of fiscal 2008, fourth-quarter Canadian operations revenue went up by $34.8 million, or 15.8%.
However, the company’s…
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By Michael Janigan, PIAC
THE CURRENT SPECTACLE of Canada’s television networks engaged in a pie-throwing contest with the cable and satellite industry seems as confusing to the viewer as an episode of “Lost”.
For one thing, the mantle of “consumer champion” sits uneasily on the shoulders of the distributors – the cable and satellite companies, whose own offerings are crammed with services owned by them that hoover up ever-increasing subscriber fees. In turn, some Canadians are startled to learn that there still is significant local broadcasting, after over two decades of damaging cuts to such programming.
The facts are that the…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – Globalive does not meet the Canadian ownership requirements set out in the Telecommunications Act, the CRTC ruled late Thursday.
Under the legislation, a telecommunications company is only eligible to operate in Canada if it is not at any time owned and controlled, in law and in fact, by non-Canadians. Egypt-based operator Orascom Telecom, which has about 78 million subs world-wide, is providing much of the funding and the Wind brand name for Globalive.
During its proceeding, the Commission examined the influence of Orascom over Globalive’s business decisions and day-to-day operations. Despite the fact that Globalive made structural changes…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC has added the channel Russia Today to the list of eligible satellite services.
Ethnic Channels Group Ltd. applied to the Commission in July to add the non-Canadian, English-language satellite news service to the lists of eligible satellite services for distribution on a digital basis.
The channel is described as a 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week English-language international news and information service targeted to an international audience.
www.crtc.gc.cawww.ethnicchannels.com
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