OTTAWA and GATINEAU – The Canadian specialty, pay, pay-per-view television and video-on-demand (VOD) services sector saw its total yearly revenues grow 7.6% to $2.9 billion, up from $2.7 billion in the previous year, the CRTC reported.
The Commission released its annual report on the statistical and financial summaries from the specialty, pay and VOD industry Thursday, saying the sector “enjoyed a solid financial performance” for the broadcast year ending August 31, 2008.
While profits before interest and taxes (PBIT) rose by 5.9% to $686.1 million, the PBIT margin "remained consistent", going from 23.7% in 2007 to 23.4% in 2008, the report…
Continue Reading
TORONTO – In two submissions on separate files, independent broadcaster High Fidelity HDTV has asked the CRTC to allow more open competition among Canadian specialty service operators, or to perhaps clamp down harder on the foreign channels permitted to be carried here.
A letter filed by the company on March 13th supports Rogers Broadcasting’s application to expand what sorts of programming Outdoor Life Network may carry. Rogers has asked the CRTC to let it add some pro sports and other shows, such as comedy, to its license terms.
Even though a changed OLN might compete somewhat with HiFi’s…
Continue Reading
TORONTO – Sports and entertainment company Insight Sports staged a “management buyout” of some of its assets, plus undertook a corporate restructuring of its event, web and broadcast properties.
Kevin Albrecht, Insight’s president and CEO for the past three years, is leading the management buyout of “several” of the non-broadcasting assets of Insight Sports.
The company announcement says that the reorganization will result in “a renewed focus on the company’s core broadcasting assets”, particularly the international growth of sports television channel WFN: World Fishing Network.
“The Board has decided that it should focus on the international expansion of its…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – Independent broadcaster Stornoway Communications, owner of diginets iChannel, The Pet Network and bpm:tv, have asked the CRTC to amend its broadcasting license for dance channel bpm:tv.
It has proposed changing the nature of the service by adding program category 14 (infomercials, promotional and corporate videos), to the list of categories from which it may draw its programming.
Comments are due by April 27, 2009.
www.crtc.gc.ca www.stornoway.com
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – CTV, on behalf of its radio division Chum, and Harvard Broadcasting both resubmitted their bids for a new radio station in Edmonton to the CRTC Monday, and both requested the same channel frequency – again.
The CRTC granted partial approved the two applications last October in Broadcasting Decision 2008-288, but asked the companies to amend their respective applications within 90 days by proposing an FM frequency other than 107.1 MHz (which it awarded to John Charles Yerxa).
So, both CTV and Harvard re-submitted their proposals, and both requested the frequency 95.7 MHz (channel 239C1).
After determining that the…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – CBC has received approval from the CRTC to use a subsidiary communications multiplex operation (SCMO) channel in Vancouver to launch a Fijian-language radio service called Radio Fiji Mirchi. The Commission said that it is satisfied that approval of CBC’s application, received December 9, 2008, will not have “an undue negative impact on existing local conventional ethnic radio stations”.
It reminded the CBC that approval will be effective when the Department of Industry notifies the Commission that its technical requirements have been met, and that the licensee’s broadcasting certificate has been amended.
Programming broadcast using an SCMO channel…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – While acknowledging that it is still in “a transition and adaptation period”, the streamlined Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) highlighted its goal to focus on policy and copyright matters in an internal memo to members this week.
The private broadcasters’ lobbying group stressed that it will provide members with strategic analysis, research and information on CRTC and government proceedings in order to assist with members’ respective filings with the CRTC and/or government, rather than spend “Association and member resources discussing and preparing detailed written submissions and appearances in dozens of public proceedings each year.”
“As an illustration…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – The Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) has submitted its plan for the administration of the new local programming improvement fund (LPIF) to the CRTC, but the Commission is asking for public input on the fund’s allocation formula.
The CRTC said that while the CAB proposal recommends “a simple, objective allocation formula” for the LPIF, it did not provide enough specific details as to what that formula should be. In Broadcasting Notice of Consultation CRTC 2009-113-1, the Commission has proposed its own formula.
The LPIF was established to improve the quality of local programming provided by conventional…
Continue Reading
MORE AND MORE, we’re beginning to realize that to provide the quickest, most robust broadband experience, fibre optics must penetrate far more deeply than most CFOs and others in charge of capex at telecom and cable companies are hoping.
Fibre to the neighbourhood, or to the node? That works great now and will continue to be satisfactory for the near and mid-term future. But not so long from now, consumers will be demanding more – far more – especially when they begin to access ever more bandwidth-hungry services like high definition TV over the web.
North American cable and…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – Add Telus to the list of telco’s appealing to the Federal government over CRTC decisions.
The B.C.-based telco filed a petition to the Governor in Council late last week over Telecom Decision CRTC 2008-117 and calling for the rescission of Telecom Order CRTC 2009-111, expressing many of the same concerns as BCE.
Citing its capital program for 2009 which planned to invest $2.05 billion dollars in its networks, Telus’ petition said that rather than encourage investment risks in the current economy, “the CRTC has declared that we will be required to share this new investment…
Continue Reading
