OTTAWA – As the CRTC considers how the scope of April’s OTA licence renewal hearings might be “significantly narrowed or reduced”, given the severe economic fallout on broadcasters’ balance sheets, panelists at the annual film and TV producers’ conference presented their own suggestions at a session during the Canadian Film and Television Producers Association Prime Time conference last week.
The panel took place after the regulator had issued a February 13 notice of consultation outlining economic and other issues to be resolved or better understood before it can issue long-term renewals, and requiring licensees to answer a series…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC is asking for comments as it considers revising the current exemption order regarding terrestrial relay distribution network undertakings (TRDUs).
In the hopes of encouraging greater competition in the signal transport sector, the Commission is considering eliminating the requirement that undertakings must be “local or regional” and have an affiliation agreement with the broadcasting distribution undertakings (BDUs) to which they provide services.
In related news, the CRTC is also considering eliminating comparable requirements from the conditions that apply to the distribution of programming services on the eligible lists. Specifically, the requirement that certain programming signals can only…
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TORONTO – Tony Burman, managing director of Al-Jazeera’s English language channel – and former head of CBC News – was in Toronto this week to say that Canadians should be allowed to choose whether or not to get his channel in their homes.
Al-Jazeera the news organization has been a hot potato of a media outlet in the past. It’s Arabic language channels have aired some incredibly objectionable content in the past where virulently anti-Semitic viewpoints have made it to broadcast.
Because of that history and the resultant lobbying in Canada earlier this decade, the Arabic channel can’t really…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC’s Atlantic region commissioner, Elizabeth Duncan, has been re-appointed to her post for a new five-year term.
The former SVP and CFO of Dartmouth’s Access Cable, Duncan has been the Commission’s Atlantic rep since 2005. Her term was due to expire in May.
“She has made a valuable contribution since her appointment to the CRTC in 2005, and I look forward to working with her in the coming years. Please join me in wishing her well in her new mandate,” said chairman Konrad von Finckenstein in a note to staff on Friday.
www.crtc.gc.ca
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OTTAWA – Gordon Ritchie had a lot more success negotiating the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement than he has had trying to inch Canada’s broadcasters toward a Terms of Trade agreement with producers.
Ritchie, the Canadian Film and Television Production Association’s (CFTPA) principal advisor as it seeks an agreement on the terms under which producers sell content to broadcasters, was a panelist discussing the state of the negotiations at the CFTPA’s annual conference this week in the nation’s capital. He says he’s been “surprised and disappointed” by the months of stagnant talks. “Absolutely nothing has been agreed at the bargaining…
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OTTAWA – While stopping short of calling for a wholesale policy overhaul, CRTC chairman Konrad von Finckenstein opened the annual conference of Canada’s film and TV producers with a wide-ranging speech repeatedly acknowledging that the conventional broadcasting industry is “in crisis.”
Von Finckenstein has often recognized the financial stress on the over-the-air (OTA) broadcasting sector in the past, however, in his address at the CFTPA’s Prime Time conference, the chair emphasized that a “systemic solution to the problem” is in order.
The CRTC, he says, is rethinking the system “in light of technological, economic and industrial reality. This requires…
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TORONTO – Middle East-based news and current affairs channel Al Jazeera English (AJE) is asking the CRTC to add it to the list of eligible satellite services in Canada.
The channel, which is already seen in more than 100 countries and 130 million households worldwide, said it is committed to opening a Canadian news bureau if it is authorized for distribution here.
Ethnic Channels Group (ECG) will present the application to the CRTC, acting in their capacity as "the channel’s sponsor", the press release said. ECG is a Canadian multi-ethnic broadcaster which currently offers 12 television channels in Canada.
AJE…
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WE KNOW NOT everyone will have Monday off, but those of us at Cartt.ca will be taking advantage of the Family Day holiday that day.
That means our regular Tuesday newsletter will not appear in your in-boxes on February 17th. We will still be posting news as it happens, of course – from both the broadcasting in new media CRTC hearing and the CFTPA Prime Time Conference (both in Ottawa-Gatineau) and will resume our regular newsletter service on Thursday, February 19th.
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TORONTO – Corus Entertainment is selling its pay audio service Max Trax to Stingray Digital Group Inc. for approximately $16 million dollars.
“To ensure our focus remains on driving our core business, we have made the strategic decision to discontinue the operation of Max Trax,” said Paul Robertson, president of Corus’ television division, in the press release. “Stingray Digital is a pioneer in the digital music service business and we are confident that they have the expertise to enhance the pay audio offering. We have agreed to provide services to Stingray in the short-term to ensure a smooth transition for…
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TORONTO – ACTRA says it’s optimistic about Friday’s CRTC’s decision, saying it “offers a glimmer of hope” that the Commission has heard its pleas that private TV broadcasters in Canada do more to support Canadian programming.
“Today, performers have reason to believe that the CRTC is finally listening to Canadians’ desire to see more Canadian content. Especially on the heels of a record-spending year buying Hollywood shows, it’s good to hear the CRTC suggest that it’s now time for private broadcasters to invest equally in Canadian content as they do on foreign programming,” said Stephen Waddell, ACTRA’s national executive director, in a…
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