TORONTO – CTV issued a terse press release this afternoon to announce that Shaw Communications will not purchase the broadcaster’s stations in Brandon, Man., Wingham and Windsor, Ont. after all.
In a newspaper ad on April 30, Shaw offered to buy the three stations from CTV after hearing the broadcaster tell the CRTC and the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage that they couldn’t find anyone to buy the, not even for a buck.
Shaw called CTV on it, saying it would take the stations off their hands for a loonie each. CTV then called what has now proved to…
Continue Reading
THE DIGITAL BRITAIN REPORT, an ambitious new plan by the leadership of the U.K. aimed at leading that country into the digital age, has set the year 2015 as the deadline when it will shut off analog transmission of radio station signals.
According to the Daily Telegraph newspaper, the government there is hopeful the continued uptake of Digital Audio Broadcasting, the standard of choice across the Pond, will allow them to make the switch, freeing up additional OTA spectrum for other uses and multiplying opportunity for radio broadcasters. Right now, digital listening already accounts for just over 20%…
Continue Reading
THE MORE WE TALK to people and the more we hear, the more it looks like the CRTC wants to try and let conventional local broadcasters charge a wholesale fee for their local OTA signals, paid for by the customers of their cable, satellite and telco TV carriers.
Now, the power brokers on Parliament Hill have made it clear they want no part of being blamed for rising consumer TV bills (because you can bet that any new mandated fee-for-carriage would be identified as a “TV tax” or something on customer bills by those carriers if such a…
Continue Reading
IT MAY NOT BE UNTIL 2010 when the CRTC holds licence renewal proceedings for the big Canadian TV companies, but the new chief executive of Canada’s national producers association has been working hard on that file for weeks already.
“We believe that the corporate group licence renewal hearings that are coming up in 2010 are probably the most important regulatory event of our generation and will have wide-ranging impact for the next 25 or 30 years,” said Norm Bolen, president and CEO of the Canadian Film and Television Production Association (CFTPA), in a recent interview with Cartt.ca. “It’s very…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – The CRTC has set out the framework for forbearance from regulation of retail local exchange services that will apply in the serving territories of the small incumbent local exchange carriers (SILECs).
This framework is based on the local forbearance framework established for incumbent local exchange carriers, but with modifications to the requirements regarding the competitor presence test, the 18-month grace period for certain competitors, and competitor quality of service reporting.
The Commission also decided that SILECs who are required to join the independent telco consumer agency the Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services Inc., must become…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – After dominating the three months worth of hearings earlier this Spring, the House of Commons committee on Canadian Heritage left out any recommendation on the controversial issue of fee for carriage in its report on the state of local television released Friday.
The committee heard testimony from 45 different groups in March, April and May about the issues and challenges facing Canada’s TV industry, from the importance of local television, to the fragmentation of TV audiences, through to declining advertising revenues.
Made up of MPs from all of the federal parties, the standing committee’s report made 18…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – Asian Television Network International Ltd. (ATN) received CRTC approval for ten new TV channels on Thursday.
ATN already operates 14 multicultural TV channels, and now holds national licenses for two Hindi movie channels; two cricket channels; three South Asian news channels; two Hindi music channels; and a sports service called Asian Sports Network.
The Commission denied ATN’s request for a national, English-language, ethnic Category 2 specialty television channel called ATN Multicultural Channel, and its application for the Commonwealth Broadcasting Network, a national, English- and Hindi-language general interest network that would target Caribbean and African communities.
www.crtc.gc.ca www.asiantelevision.com
Continue Reading
TORONTO – GlassBOX Television will launch its cross-platform AUX music channel as a new digital channel on Rogers Cable beginning this Fall.
AUX, which calls itself “Canada’s music discovery destination”, launched last November as a video-rich web destination. The carriage deal will allow its music-themed journalism, current affairs, news, charts, videos, films and documentaries to come to television.
"We are delighted to be launching AUX on Rogers as a key next step in our strategy to bring our unique brand of music television to audiences across Canada," said Raja Khanna, Co-CEO of GlassBOX and founder and president of AUX, in the…
Continue Reading
EDMONTON – Allarco Entertainment, owners of Canadian pay-TV service Super Channel, filed for protection from its creditors under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act on Tuesday, Cartt.ca has learned.
According to documents filed with the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta, the company has liabilities of $139 million and assets of $68 million.
In those documents – as well as a letter sent to its affected program suppliers – Allarco president and COO Malcolm Knox said the company plans to reorganize and continue broadcasting. He blamed the poor economy and a lack of BDU promotion follow-through for the young broadcaster’s…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – The CRTC has granted regional video-on-demand (VOD) licenses to four telcos in Ontario.
Brooke Telecom Co-operative Ltd., serving Inwood, Watford and Alvinston; Huron Telecommunications Co-operative Ltd., serving Goderich, Wingham, Lucknow, Ripley and Kincardine; Quadro Communications Co-operative Inc., serving Fullerton, Granton, Kirkton, Uniondale and surrounding rural areas; and Tuckersmith Communications Co-operative Ltd., serving Kippen, Seaforth, Hensall, Bayfield and surrounding rural areas, all received CRTC approval Wednesday.
The new VOD services will consist primarily of feature films but may also include other types of programming such as adult programming, children’s videos, short films and television shows.
www.crtc.gc.ca
Continue Reading
