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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OTTAWA – The CRTC has released the schedule for the upcoming licence renewal hearings for the country’s private conventional televisions stations.
CTV Television plus Quebecor’s TVA Group and Sun TV Company kick off the hearings beginning April 27, which will continue daily through May 11.
Count on Cartt.ca to be there with regular reports on the proceedings.
To view the Commission’s complete agenda, click here.
www.crtc.gc.ca
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OTTAWA and GATINEAU – Telephone numbers registered on the national Do Not Call List (DNCL) will remain on the list for five years rather than three years, the CRTC has announced.
The new registration period will automatically apply to the more than 6.7 million telephone numbers already registered, plus future registrations, the statement read.
The CRTC also clarified two of its telemarketing rules. Calls from electoral candidates who are not affiliated with a registered political party are exempt from the national DNCL rules, while the second clarification concerns restrictions on calling hours for automatic dialing and announcing devices.
The…
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TORONTO – Canada’s television industry is not in crisis, Rogers told Parliament’s Heritage Committee in Ottawa on Monday.
Encouraging the Committee to evaluate CTV and Canwest’s broadcast assets “as the sum of their parts, not as though each segment were a standalone business”, the cable giant argued strongly against the notion of fee-for-carriage which has been advocated by conventional broadcasters CTV and Canwest.
"Fee for carriage would set up the worst of all public policy solutions, a two tier taxation system,” said Phil Lind, vice chairman of Rogers Communications, in an announcement. “Those who subscribe to cable or…
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MONTREAL – The CRTC has granted adult entertainer Anne-Marie Losique the French and English rights to the new adult programming channel called Vanessa.
The category two digital channel dedicated to adult lifestyle entertainment is scheduled to launch in March 2010, in SD and HD, in both official languages. Sex-Shop Television Inc. received CRTC approval for the channel early last month.
Calling Vanessa “Canada’s answer to the Playboy Channel”, Losique said that the channel’s original programming will be created and produced in Montreal.
"What I love about Quebec is our affinity for local talent, it’s as traditional as it is sexy. Vanessa will…
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