OTTAWA – The CRTC should “demand” public accountability from Canada’s broadcasters, the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada (CEP) said Wednesday.
In reference to this week’s over-the-air hearings before the CRTC, CEP’s vice president of media Peter Murdoch, expressed alarm that the Commission may close the public hearing to the public when it addresses broadcasters’ financial statements.
"How can broadcasters’ claims be challenged when the financials that are key to this entire hearing aren’t available for review?", Murdoch questioned in a statement.
"Broadcasting accountants are experts in shifting revenues, hiding profits and highlighting losses – but instead of an…
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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 – 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 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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