TORONTO – The Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) has a prescription to fix what ails Canada’s broadcasting system – let Canadians see their own dramatic programming in prime time.
"What use are Canadian broadcasters if they only air foreign content?” asked national president Ferne Downey in a press release. “It’s time to end the free ride for broadcasters and big cable and make them earn the money Canadian consumers give them by giving something back.”
Noting that private broadcasters spent $740 million on U.S. and foreign programming versus $54 million on Canadian English-language drama last year, ACTRA…
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TORONTO – CTV, Canwest Global and CBC officially announced late Sunday they have joined together to launch a national campaign, dubbed “Local TV Matters”, aimed at striking back at Canadian BDUs and putting pressure on politicians and the CRTC in advance of the November Commission hearings which will again analyze the challenges facing Canadian broadcasters, including the contentious fee-for-carriage issue.
“Our viewers are telling us that local television is very important to them and to this country,” said Paul Sparkes, CTV’s executive vice-president of corporate affairs, in the group’s official press release. “Canada’s broadcasters are responding to our viewers’ concerns…
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TORONTO – Canadian wireless operators will likely see a three percent decline in their service ARPU for 2009, with data accounting for 20% of wireless service revenue – and all of the growth, says a new report from Toronto’s Convergence Consulting.
Over the last year Canadian wireless voice revenue growth has moved into negative territory, while data growth continues to be robust, thanks to the growing adoption of smartphones/data devices, which the report estimates will reach 23% by year-end 2009 (and break 50% in 2014).
Based on what Convergence projects in terms of new entrants pricing (Wind, Dave, Public Mobile), and…
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TORONTO and MONTREAL – The sale of Look Communications’ spectrum and broadcast licence to Inukshuk Wireless Partnership has cleared its final hurdle after receiving approval from Industry Canada Friday.
Inukshuk, a joint venture between Bell Canada and Rogers Communications, agreed to pay $80 million in cash for Look’s 92 MHz of spectrum and its mobile broadcast license in May.
In keeping with the agreement, Inukshuk has asked Look to support its application to the CRTC for the grant of a licence under the Broadcasting Act.
Look said that it will no longer offer services to subscribers as of November 15, 2009. It…
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TORONTO – The latest regulatory skirmish between an incumbent wireless operator and the new kids with the spectrum is “about fat cats looking to get fatter,” according to Public Mobile’s CEO Alek Krstajic.
In an e-mail to Cartt.ca, the former Rogers and Bell executive lashed out at Rogers Communications request for a review into the ownership of both Public and DAVE Wireless.
Rogers said in a letter to the Regulator that the ownership of both companies may not be sufficiently Canadian, as our regulations require, and that the Commission should analyze them in a public hearing, as Cartt.ca reported first…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC is calling for comments on a proposed change to the distribution of small market independent TV stations by Canada’s direct-to-home (DTH) providers.
The Commission announced last year that DTH licensees will be required to distribute at least one independently-owned local television station from each province where such stations have been licensed.
Once finalized, this requirement will be set out in the new broadcasting distribution regulations which come into force on August 31, 2011, replacing the current obligation to distribute 13 small-market independently-owned stations.
The CRTC had originally planned to address this issue…
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OTTAWA – Shaw Direct must either reinstate CBC Regina to its channel lineup, or drop a CTV station in order to comply with its conditions of licence, the CRTC ruled Friday.
The Commission denied a request by Star Choice Television Network Inc., made on behalf its DTH service now called Shaw Direct, to amend its licence relating to the distribution of CBC English-language conventional TV stations.
Its application followed a complaint from the CBC where it accused Shaw Direct (then Star Choice) of breaching its condition of licence number six after its removal of five conventional television stations, including CBC Regina.
In…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC has denied a request by Rogers Broadcasting to amend the broadcasting licence for the Outdoor Life Network (OLN).
Rogers had proposed to add categories to the list of program categories that may be broadcast by the service. Specifically, it asked to increase the percentage of programming that may be broadcast from category 7 drama and comedy from 5% to 25%, to remove requirements that programming drawn from that category be Canadian, and that programming drawn from category 6(a) professional sports not include stick and/or ball sports.
In its decision, the Commission expressed concern that the proposed amendments…
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OTTAWA – Men TV has received CRTC approval to amend its broadcasting licence so as to draw programming from the categories of sports and music videos.
The Cat 1 specialty service, a joint-venture between Quebecor’s TVA Group and Canwest Media, had also asked to expand its options in the drama and comedy category, but that request was denied by the Commission.
Click here to read the full decision.
www.crtc.gc.cawww.mentv.ca
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TORONTO – Last week, Rogers Cable customers received an e-mail from their big red TV provider urging them to make their voices heard in its fight against fee-for-carriage.
Or, if you want to buy into the new vernacular, “value for signal.”
Rogers customers are already a little tender about their bills, having just had under a dollar a month added thanks to the recently established Local Programming Improvement Fund (LPIF), a subsidy for smaller market television stations.
“I am now writing to inform you of yet another broadcasting policy proposal that is under consideration by the CRTC,” reads the e-mail message signed…
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