OTTAWA – If the transition to digital television is going to work here, Canadian consumers are going to need digital set top boxes – and help paying for them – says prospective satellite company FreeHD Canada.
In its early submission to the CRTC on Broadcasting Notices of Consultation 2009-411 and 411-3, the company (which just asked the CRTC for BDU and SRDU licenses last month, as first reported by Cartt.ca) notes the substantial issues facing the Canadian broadcast industry with less than two years until analog TV is set to be switched off forever.
BNC 2009-411 and 411-3 are of…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – Over-the-air broadcasters serving markets of less than 1 million people can now apply for a share of approximately $100 million from the new Local Programming Improvement Fund (LPIF) which came in to effect Tuesday.
Both private broadcasters and CBC/Radio-Canada television stations can access the LPIF, which is funded by cable and satellite companies who must contribute 1.5% of their gross broadcasting-related revenues from the 2008-2009 broadcast year.
The Fund, administrated by McCay, Duff and Company Management Ltd., will be disbursed over the 2009-2010 broadcast year. One-third of the total funding will be divided equally amongst stations in specific Francophone…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA-GATINEAU – The CRTC says that the CBC breached provisions of the TV regulations and a condition of licence when it broadcast controversial New Year’s Eve special Bye Bye 2008 on its French-language network.
The Commission said it concurs with the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council’s (CBSC) analysis of the complaints and its conclusions, and determined that certain segments of the program violated the television broadcasting regulations, which prohibit the broadcast of abusive comments; breached the Canadian Association of Broadcasters’ Equitable Portrayal Code concerning the portrayal of visible minorities; and failed to meet the high-standard provision of the Broadcasting Act…
Continue Reading
HAMILTON and MONTREAL – Monday marked the start of a new era at the five former E!-branded television stations across the country.
Gone are the remnants of the ill-fated ‘E!’ design and glitzy American entertainment shows left over from the Canwest Global age. In its place in Hamilton, viewers welcomed the return of the station’s historic call letters as its new name -‘CHCH News and Movies’ – flashed up on TV screens before dawn.
New owner Channel Zero (CZ), cut all remaining ties to Canwest over the weekend, and the station’s first news show of the day opened at 5:30 AM…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – The CRTC has turned down a request from Bell Canada and Bell Aliant to revoke telephone service providers’ (TSP) authority to cancel local and long-distance services with their existing provider during the customer transfer process.
The Bell companies filed the application on February 11, 2009, proposing a new process that would require customers to contact their existing TSP to cancel services prior to moving to a new TSP.
In its decision released Friday, the CRTC noted that the current customer transfer process, which was developed by the telecom industry, is “competitively neutral” and benefits all competitors equally “by…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – Channel Zero has received CRTC approval to assume ownership of former Canwest E! stations CHCH TV Hamilton and CJNT TV Montreal.
The independent specialty service operator, which owns short film specialty Movieola, classic movie channel Silver Screen Classics, film distributor Ouat Media and a majority stake in the AOV adult channel brands, agreed to purchase the stations from Canwest Global on June 30.
The Commission also renewed the broadcasting licences for CHCH-TV and CJNT TV through August 31, 2016, and for the transitional digital television station CHCH-DT Hamilton until August 31, 2011.
In its decision on the CHCH…
Continue Reading
MONTREAL – Astral’s French-language music channel MusiquePlus will now allocate its annual contributions in support of music video development and production to MaxFACT.
MusiquePlus’ annual contributions match 3.4% of the previous broadcast fiscal year’s gross revenues. The funds were previously directed to VidéoFACT, but the CRTC approved Astral’s request to direct the contributions to MaxFACT last month.
"This new additional source of financing for MaxFACT, along with a new category for young adults, will help us better respond to the imposing volume of promising and well-thought-out projects that we receive each year and reach a wider audience for our…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA-GATINEAU – Three telemarketers have been fined by the CRTC for violating the National Do Not Call List (DNCL) rules.
The Commission has issued a $4,000 fine to Rob Sugar, a $10,000 fine to Roofing by Peerless Mason Ltd. and an additional $10,000 fine to Waterproofing by Peerless Mason Inc.
The telemarketers were given opportunities to come into compliance with the National DNCL Rules, but “failed to change their business practices”, the CRTC said in a press release.
After violation notices were issued in July, the companies were given 30 days to either pay the fine or to contest it before a CRTC panel….
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – According to Telus, wireless newcomer Globalive should be declared ineligible to operate as a telecommunications common carrier in Canada, as it is controlled by persons who are not Canadians.
The BC-based telecom giant made that assertion again this week as it filed comments for the CRTC’s upcoming review into Globalive’s ownership structure.
Globalive is co-owned by Orascom, a global wireless player based in Egypt with over 79 million wireless subscribers. Orascom holds a 65% indirect equity ownership, but less than 50% of voting control in Globealive Holdings, the parent company of Globalive Wireless.
But Telus alleges that Orascom’s ownership…
Continue Reading
WHILE WE WAIT for the CRTC to decide whether or not Al Jazeera English can be distributed in Canada by cable, satellite and telco TV companies, I already have it in my office.
Actually, I have both the English and Arabic versions, right now, on my television. (No Canadian BDU offers the Arabic version because even though it’s on the eligible satellite list, the regs around it say that BDUs must employ Arabic language censors to monitor it 24/7, if they want to launch.)
And yet, here they both are, in standard definition, full-screen quality, on my 30-inch LCD television thanks…
Continue Reading
