IN A VIRTUALLY unprecedented display of unity, Canada’s biggest broadcasters and BDUs unanimously agreed that the federal government’s decision to step in on the fee-for-carriage issue was a good one.
In a joint statement, CTV, Global and CBC all said that they welcomed the government’s “commitment to consumers” and “new negotiation for value regime”.
"We are in agreement that consumer interests should be front and center when it comes to implementing a new negotiation for value model for local television across the country," said Charlotte Bell, Global’s SVP of regulatory and government affairs, in the statement. "Going forward, we welcome a clear…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – The CRTC was quick to reply to the government’s request to hold consumer hearings into the fee-for-carriage debate.
It will begin public hearings this December, the Commission said in a statement, with a report to the government to follow.
In addition to soliciting feedback on the implications of fee-for-carriage (or a compensation regime for the value of local television signals, as the Commission calls it), Canadians will also be able to respond to the proceedings at the November broadcaster hearings.
Click here to the read the Commission’s formal reply to Heritage Canada.
www.crtc.gc.ca
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OTTAWA – The Supreme Court of Canada has told the CRTC is can do what it pleases with the $650 million in deferral account money.
That means the Commission’s plan of giving some back to urban telecom customers who overpaid – while rural areas with little broadband will be able to draw on a few hundred million for more access, will go ahead.
The Court dismissed appeals from the major telcos and consumer groups that wanted the money to be doled out differently.
“While distinct questions arise in each of the appeals before us, the common problem is whether the CRTC, in…
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TORONTO – Canada’s two largest cable companies have very different opinions of a nine-year old agreement that had its genesis during a March 2000 dinner in Toronto between Ted Rogers and Jim Shaw – and the dispute has led the country’s two largest cable companies to court.
Rogers Communications is asking the Ontario Superior Court of Justice for an injunction blocking the $300-million sale of Hamilton’s Mountain Cablevision because Shaw signed a letter that became effective in March of 2001 which says the Calgary-based MSO wouldn’t mess in Rogers’ territory and the big red machine would stay out of the…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – Despite the fact the CRTC is set to take a new look at fee-for-carriage for local broadcasters in a hearing this November, Minister of Heritage James Moore today announced that the Government of Canada issued an Order-in-Council requesting the Commission “hold hearings and provide the government with a report on the implications of implementing a compensation regime for the value of local television signals, more commonly known as fee-for-carriage.”
The CRTC, says the government’s release “is to consider the views of the general public regarding the impact of such a measure. By making this request of the CRTC,…
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TORONTO – It is simply fear that has the incumbent telcos trying to block new competition from the Canadian wireless sector, says Wind Mobile.
Responding to Rogers’ request to the CRTC to review the ownership of fellow new wireless entrants DAVE Wireless and Public Mobile, Wind’s CEO Ken Campbell called the move “distasteful and disappointing”.
“This type of regulatory gamesmanship is extremely disappointing and harmful", Campbell said in a statement. "The uncertainty presented by our upcoming CRTC hearing and the human and financial resources spent preparing for it won’t stop us from bringing a compelling new offering to Canadians by the end of the…
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FOUNDED IN 1999, THE SHERIDAN Visualization Design Institute was – and is – a pioneer in understanding the concept of "visualization". That is, essentially deploying technology to create simulations of that we cannot see or fully imagine.
Launched with funding support from the Canada Foundation for Innovation, VDI is dedicated to innovation in the field of computer visualization, and specializes in developing high-quality, interactive digital media applications for education, training, and entertainment. Situated within Sheridan’s renowned high-tech animation teaching environment, the institute’s team of researchers, artists, and technologists has a successful ten-year track record of diverse projects produced in collaboration…
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WINNIPEG – Add MTS Allstream to the ranks of BDUs opposing the contentious issue of fee-for-carriage.
The company filed a submission on the issue to the CRTC Wednesday, in preparation for the Commission’s hearing on broadcast issues scheduled for November.
"The solution to the broadcasters’ problems is not to hold Canadians ransom by forcing them to pay for something that is already available free of charge," said CCO Chris Peirce, in a statement. "The fee is simply a reaction to the current financial situation of its main proponents. There is no reason that service providers like MTS Allstream who are investing in innovative…
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GUESS WHAT? Canadians don’t want to pay any extra per month for their television. They also don’t want to lose their local TV stations.
Independent producers think that broadcasters should have to buy lots of shows made by them and those broadcasters would prefer to use those producers a little less, so that they can make (and sell) some of their own dramas.
The creative side of the industry is afraid of the word “flexible” when it comes to the broadcasters’ requests for changes to their Cancon requirements because flexible might mean less Canadian drama and comedies altogether, fewer hours in…
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OTTAWA – MTS Allstream, along with independent ISP Acanac, this week filed a motion with the Federal Court of Appeal seeking leave to appeal, and eventually to overturn, CRTC Telecom Order 2009-484.
The order, entitled “Bell Aliant Regional Communications and Bell Canada – Applications to introduce usage-based billing and other changes to Gateway Access Services,” approved a new charge, usage-based billing, that would be applied to each customer of third party ISPs who lease lines from the incumbents in order to provide Internet service.
The new charge would be applied to any customer whose data usage exceeded a set limit,…
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