TWO OF CANADA’S BIGGEST media conglomerates have announced cuts as fallout from the bursting financial bubble spreads. Last week, Canwest announced it was cutting 560 jobs in its TV and newspaper operations; this week, CTVglobemedia warned of looming layoffs.
The economic crisis makes the announcements seem reasonable and prudent, but the cuts are unfortunately part of a longer trend. Why invest in local programming and reporting when the real money is in newspaper monopolies, cable specialty channels and prime-time simulcasting of American hit shows?
In the midst of the debacle, the CRTC – which approved media mergers as the…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC will make public its decision on whether or not Bell Canada was unfairly capping the bandwidth of third party ISPs.
The Canadian Association of Internet Providers made a formal complaint to the Commission earlier this year saying that Bell’s traffic shaping practices were hindering the speeds being delivered by its members who lease Bell’s network to provide Internet service. CAIP said the big telco was choking – or throttling – the Internet bandwidth its members could offer to customers and that new oversight was required.
Bell says that what it does is simply necessary network traffic management, that no…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – It’ll be hot in Gatineau this July as network neutrality advocates will finally get to face off against the big Canadian ISPs over the corporations’ network traffic management practices.
While the CRTC today announced that it has denied the Canadian Association of Internet Providers’ (CAIP) request that Bell Canada cease the traffic-shaping it has adopted for its wholesale Gateway Access Service (In the future, however, Bell Canada will be required to notify its wholesale customers at least 30 days in advance of making changes that impact on the performance of its Gateway Access Service), the Commission has…
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OTTAWA – Shaw Communications’ DTH company Star Choice must distribute French news channel Le Réseau de l’information (RDI) to all digital subscribers living in Anglophone markets as part of its digital basic service, the CRTC has ruled.
The CBC filed a complaint with the Commission in May, alleging that Star Choice refused to offer RDI as part of its ‘English Essentials’ basic service package in Anglophone markets, despite “repeated efforts” on its part to secure carriage. The CBC argued that this is contrary to objectives in the Commission’s Distribution Order 2007-3, set out as appendix 4 to Broadcasting Decision…
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TORONTO – Saying the global financial situation is “causing sharp decreases in advertising spending and even the potential bankruptcy of some of our single biggest customers,” CTV told employees yesterday that the company is tightening its belt.
A memo from CEO Ivan Fecan announced a country-wide hiring freeze as well as a halt to travel and entertainment spending. “New projects, unspent capital plans will be revised, delayed or halted,” said the memo.
The company hosted a town hall meeting this afternoon to address employee concerns. Layoffs are coming, said Fecan’s memo, but it has yet to be decided where….
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OTTAWA – Bluewater TV Cable must stop providing telephone service to customers in neighbouring Tuckersmith Co-operative’s operating territory, the CRTC has ruled.
After receiving a complaint from independent telco Tuckersmith in September, the Commission investigated allegations that Bluewater was providing local exchange service in Tuckersmith’s Bayfield 565 exchange, using numbers assigned to the neighbouring Bell Canada Clinton 482 exchange, and was not registered as a competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC) for the area.
Bluewater argued it had not actively marketed its telephone service outside of its authorized CLEC area, but agreed to supply telephone service using its cable television…
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TORONTO – Canwest Global CEO Leonard Asper said today that the changes in the media world and the slumping overall economy means that his company has only just begun the fight for structural changes on the regulatory front.
In leading off his comments this morning in a conference call with financial analysts over his company’s quarterly results – including a billion-dollar write down – Asper sounded angry about the new policies on specialty channels and broadcast distribution undertakings released October 30th by the CRTC. Specifically, the part of the decision that denied his company’s request for a…
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TORONTO – After reading the internal memo sent to the employees of Canwest’s broadcasting division on Wednesday – which explained the job cuts – a few times, one thing is certain: The company has only just begun its battle with the CRTC.
The memo – from the desk of imminently departing Canwest Broadcasting president Kathy Dore – adds much more color to the announcement that 210 people will be let go from the division (part of 560 being terminated by the company as a whole). It’s worth noting that this is in addition to 200 who were terminated Continue Reading
TORONTO – Radio and TV broadcasters in Toronto need to dig into digital – in a hurry – because we’re falling behind the rest of the world, CRTC vice-chair, broadcasting, Michel Arpin said in a speech to the Broadcast Executives Society on Monday.
As most will already be aware, U.S. television broadcasters must give up their analog over-the-air spectrum on February 17th. In Canada, the deadline is August 31, 2011, a scant three years away.
Arpin also referenced progress being made in the conversion to digital TV in the U.K. and France, two countries with later deadlines – but…
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GATINEAU – A total of 15 applications have been submitted to the CRTC for new radio stations serving the Ontario cottage country communities of Orillia, Gravenhurst and Bracebridge.
A number of independents, as well as established radio companies like Newcap, Larche, Evanov and Bayshore, are all looking for licenses.
Formats run the gamut from a Classic Rock/Country combo, to Soft AC, to tourist information, oldies and even one all-Canadian application.
Click here for the full list. The hearing is scheduled for January 26th at the Orillia Best Western.
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