GATINEAU – April 27, 2009 – It was low-key, seldom confrontational and sometimes as languid as the 30-degree heat outside, but CTV’s appearance to open the CRTC’s OTA licence renewal hearing sought tirelessly to redefine the assumptions that underpin much of Canada’s conventional TV business.
The Commission did not reduce the scope of the hearing, anticipated to last 11 days, with the expectation that renewal applicants would respond as CTV did. The regulator asked companies to structure applications based on the premise that it would award one-year administrative renewals in the economic turmoil of 2009 and longer terms next…
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TORONTO – The day before it is scheduled to appear before the CRTC, Canwest has ordered two original Canadian series for its Showcase channel.
The 13 episode one-hour dramas, called Lawyers Guns and Money (working title) and Shattered, will begin production this summer with a 2009/2010 airdate on the channel.
Lawyers, Guns and Money is the story of a young claims adjuster for a cut-throat corporation who maneuvers his way around insurance scams and the criminal underworld while trying to escape his past and make a better life for himself on the gritty streets of Hamilton. Luke Kirby and Emmy-nominated…
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OTTAWA – MTS Allstream is gearing up to provide some direct competition to Westman Communications in Brandon, Manitoba.
The CRTC on Monday approved an application by MTS to extend its licensed area, currently serving Winnipeg and surrounding areas under a Class 1 regional broadcasting licence, to include Brandon.
The Commission also relieved MTS from the requirement of section 17 of the Broadcasting Distribution Regulations to distribute CKX (CBC) Brandon, provided that the signal is distributed in Brandon, and allowed it to tweak its community programming requirements for its video-on-demand service.
Westman Communications, who operates a Class 1 cable BDU…
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OTTAWA – Peter Menzies has been appointed as a full-time member of the CRTC, representing the Alberta/Northwest Territories region.
"Mr. Menzies’ talent and experience in leading teams and managing high levels of performance make him an ideal candidate for the responsibilities entrusted to him," said James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, in the announcement.
Menzies is the president of Menzies Strategies, a company specializing in media consulting and strategic planning, and has been a part-time member of the CRTC since 2007. He spent his career in the newspaper business, serving as general manager of the Calgary…
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TORONTO – As the CRTC gears up to begin licence renewals hearings for Canada’s private conventional broadcasters, ACTRA is asking the Commission not to “give in to private broadcaster threats” and “punish Canadian programming”.
Urging the CRTC to resist any calls from broadcasters for deregulation or “watering down” of Canadian content regulations, the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) proposed that broadcasters be required to maintain their level of spending on Canadian drama to at least the level they spent this year.
“Don’t punish Canadian programming. Canadian content regulations didn’t cause the current challenges in our broadcasting system,”…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC has given the green light to four new broadcasting licences for category two specialty television services.
The Family Channel received approval for ‘Family Extreme’, a national, English-language service that will offer programming from around the world devoted to entertainment, humour, travel, games, science and technology and targeted toward children aged 6 to 17 years and their families.
Fairchild Television was granted licences for ‘Fairchild Television II’ and ‘Talentvision II’, two national, third-language general interest ethnic services which promise to offer information and entertainment in the Cantonese and Mandarin language, respectively.
‘Music India 2 Television’ also received Commission approval. The…
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OTTAWA – Two new regional video-on-demand (VOD) services in Ontario have received CRTC approval.
Independent telco Mornington Communications Co-operative applied for a VOD license to serve the villages and surrounding rural areas of Milverton, Gadshill, Newton, Millbank, Hesson and portions of Listowel, Ontario.
In its application, Mornington said that the VOD service would consist primarily of feature films but may also include other types of programming such as children’s videos, short films and television shows. The service will be predominantly in the English language though the company said that it may offer second- or third-language programs in accordance with demand.
Zurich-based telco…
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THERE IS SO MUCH left to do in order to make the transition to digital television happen in Canada that it’s impossible to see how we’re going to make the deadline despite the fact there’s still 28 months to go before the August 31, 2011 date set by the CRTC.
That thought struck me yet again, but harder, during the DTV transition session the National Association of Broadcasters held for international broadcasters here in Las Vegas. The association helpfully hosted the session, complete with panel representation from the FCC, cable, consumer electronics, the telecom industry and a social group representative….
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OTTAWA and GATINEAU – The Canadian broadcasting distribution sector recorded revenues in excess of $10 billion in 2008, the CRTC has tabulated.
The Commission released its annual report summarizing the statistical and financial summaries for Canadian BDUs Thursday, noting that the revenues in this sector “have climbed steadily over the past five years”.
Total revenues for cable companies rose 16.1% from $7.10 billion in 2007 to reach $8.24 billion in 2008, while the number of Canadian households that obtained basic-television service from a cable company totaled 7.9 million subscribers, an increase of 2.9% from the previous year.
During the…
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OTTAWA – In its appearance Wednesday before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, CTV called for “swift federal action” to address “the crisis” in local Canadian television, and offered a few ideas of its own.
CTV outlined a three point reform plan that it said will “provide a viable new framework for local television”.
Not surprisingly, the first point in the presentation called for the immediate implementation of fee-for-carriage.
"Fee-for-carriage does not need to impact the consumer nor will it invoke undue harm to the cable and satellite industry," said CTVglobemedia president and CEO Ivan Fecan,…
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