TORONTO – The general consensus has long been that in times of economic distress, staying home to watch TV takes precedence over heading to the mall or a movie, so a recession isn’t quite as hard on cable companies and channels, for example, as it is on companies in other sectors.
While this is the first painful recession of the new media age (when home entertainment options are now far more diverse), that cocooning reflex we seem to exhibit when under financial duress seems so far to be holding true and helping according to High Fidelity HDTV co-founder Ken…
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TORONTO – There were a spasm of news stories just after the holidays that highlighted the need for better emergency 911 service for wireless phones in Canada.
There have been a few accidents, and in one case, a fatality, that might have been averted if emergency personnel had been better able to pinpoint where a wireless caller was at the time they called.
And there is no doubt that better 911 service for wireless phones is, of course, a necessity here in Canada.
However, the stories in the consumer press centred on how the wireless industry in Canada hasn’t…
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DARTMOUTH, N.S. – Newcap won’t bag Ontario’s Moose after all.
Newfoundland Capital Corp. and Haliburton Broadcasting announced today they will not be proceeding the previously announced sale of 12 FM radio stations owned by Haliburton (its mid and northern Ontario-based Moose FM franchise) to Newcap.
The $19 million acquisition announced in July 2008 was still subject to CRTC approval but “both parties have mutually agreed not to proceed with the application,” said a press release issued after the close of trading Monday afternoon.
"While we view these radio stations as very attractive and assets we would like to own…
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MONTREAL – Radio-Canada issued “a full apology” Wednesday “to anyone who felt offended” by its controversial New Year’s Eve special ‘Bye Bye 2008’.
The network issued the apology at the request of the Black Coalition of Quebec, the statement read.
As reported by Cartt.ca, Radio-Canada and the CRTC received a flood of complaints from viewers about the satirical variety show. The Globe and Mail also published a column critical of the program, saying the content “seems to have gone far over the line, even by Quebec’s forgiving standards” in skits “featuring gags on the assassination of U.S. president-elect Barack Obama,…
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TORONTO – Look Communication’s shareholders voted “overwhelmingly” in support of a plan to sell some or all of its key assets.
Approximately 94% of voters approved the sales process and arrangement resolutions, the press release said. The resolutions required the support of 66 2/3 per cent of Look’s shareholders. As reported by Cartt.ca, Look received Court approval last month to hold a “special meeting of shareholders” to seek approval of the sale.
"We believe our assets should be broken up to realize their maximum value. Through the sales process, it is possible that we could see a series of…
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I’LL CUT RIGHT TO the chase. When CanWest Global’s interim television division president Peter Viner was asked Wednesday afternoon, point-blank, by one of the financial analysts who cover the media industry in Canada if the money-losing E! network might be altogether shut down, he said:
“Maybe. That’s an option we have to think very hard about.”
To me, that’s a blockbuster comment. A “wow” moment. That shows that it is so bad in the conventional TV market right now – and inside CanWest in particular – that the broadcaster is thinking about shuttering a TV network serving millions in…
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MONTREAL – Radio-Canada received so many complaints about a show called ‘Bye Bye 2008’ that aired on New Years Eve, including a critical column in Tuesday’s Globe and Mail, that its executive vice president felt compelled to issue a public statement late on Wednesday.
“The Bye Bye is a year-end comedy special renowned for its brashness and irreverence,” read the network’s statement from Sylvain Lafrance. “There is generally some degree of controversy attached to it, and some audience members occasionally deem that certain skits go too far. Though the writers, stars and producers of the show do not aim…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC has granted VidéOptique Inc. a broadcasting licence to operate a regional video-on-demand (VOD) service in parts of Quebec.
But support for the service, at least in its current form, was not unanimous. Commissioner Michel Morin filed a dissenting opinion against the decision and accused the CRTC of “beating around the bush and displaying a flagrant lack of leadership” on the issue of community programming.
In its application, the yet unnamed service said that it would consist primarily of feature films, non-live events, children’s programming, archival television programming and adult programming, predominantly in French.
But the Fédération…
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OTTAWA – The Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) said it "welcomed" the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision on Thursday to hear its appeal regarding the Part II licence fee issue.
As reported by Cartt.ca, the Federal Court Trial Division ruled in December 2006 that the CRTC Part II Licence Fees collected by the federal government from broadcasters and broadcast distributors are an illegal tax. The government appealed that decision to the Federal Court of Appeal (FCA), which ruled that the fees are valid regulatory charges and not a tax. On June 27, 2008, the CAB filed an application…
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WHILE WE WILL STILL be covering the news as it happens at Cartt.ca, our newsletters are taking a little holiday break. Today’s newsletter will be the final regular one until January 6th as those of us at Cartt.ca celebrate Christmas and the New Year.
We will be back strong as usual in January with daily coverage from the very important Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, as well as the digital broadcasting conference put on by the CSUA in Toronto later in the month and then the SCTE Canadian Summit in early February. Then, don’t forget about the CRTC’s new media in broadcasting…
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