AS LONG AS BROADCASTERS continue to get 98% of their revenue from the tried-and-true way of doing things – selling ads on TV in and around popular TV shows – it’s very hard for them to think about brand new trends and inserting them into the business model.
But getting them to think that way and move down that road will be Jeremy Gutsche’s job when he gives his keynote address during the Canadian Association of Broadcasters annual convention in Ottawa on November 4.
An “innovation expert” Gutsche launched Trendhunter Magazine in 2005 and it has rapidly emerged…
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MONTREAL – With a CRTC decision on Bell Canada’s network management practices due out soon, and a new public proceeding on new media under way at the Commission, Montreal telecom and technology consultancy Seaboard Group wants the romance and rhetoric to cool.
In a new paper dubbed, “It’s Just a Tool. Reason, Not Romance: A Better Internet in the Balance”, Seaboard Group says net neutrality advocates (who believe all data should be treated equally, no matter what) “romanticize the Internet, bringing in emotional and even sensationalist rhetoric to their portrayal of its history and future. Treating the Internet as…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC today denied a request by Shaw Communications to add American cable specialty The Sportsman Channel to the eligible satellite list.
Shaw made the request back in January and the Commission denied it today, siding with those who intervened (WildTV, World Fishing Network, CTVglobemedia, CFTPA, the CAB) saying The Sportsman Channel’s programming overlapped far too much with Wild and WFN. Canadian channels are generally protected from the entry of foreign channels in their genres thanks to CRTC policy promoting Canadian broadcasting.
(Ed note: With 10 days to the delivery of the new BDU and specialty regulations…
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THUNDER BAY, Ont. – Municipally-owned telco Thunder Bay Telecom was granted cable TV and video on demand licenses by the CRTC today.
The small telco becomes the latest in a line of traditional Canadian telephone companies, large or small, to be granted such a license.
While it’s not known when the new service will launch, TBayTel will go up against incumbent MSO Shaw Communications in its northwestern Ontario properties, which include Thunder Bay and the surrounding area, as well as some other smaller communities.
www.crtc.gc.ca www.tbaytel.net
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OTTAWA – "Community radio in Canada punches far above its weight. Despite being under-resourced, the sector makes unique and vital contributions to culture and pluralism," says Ian Pringle, a member of the first ever board of directors for the Community Radio Fund of Canada.
"The establishment of the Community Radio Fund will translate into a stronger, more vibrant broadcast system in Canada. It is long overdue and much needed."
The CRFC recently held its first annual general membership meeting and board elections in Ottawa. The members of the first CRFC board of directors are: Jean-Francois Côté, Victoria Fenner, Jean…
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GATINEAU – The CRTC will take another look at three requirements associated with its Unsolicited Telecommunications Rules.
The Commission taking another look at the three scenarios below: “to ensure that these rules, which include the National Do Not Call List (DNCL) Rules and the Automatic Dialing and Announcing Devices Rules, are applied in a fair and efficient manner,” says the release.
* First, certain telemarketing calls and faxes are, by statute, exempt from the National DNCL Rules, including those made by or on behalf of electoral candidates that are members of registered political parties. However, some candidates in municipal,…
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GATINEAU – The CRTC today granted eight new radio station licenses in Alberta, five in Edmonton and three in Red Deer. Harvard Broadcasting was granted two of the new licenses.
In Edmonton, the Commission approved applications by CTV, Harvard Broadcasting, Rawlco Radio and John Charles Yerxa (although CTV and Harvard have to submit new frequencies in 90 days).
In Red Deer, approvals went to Harvard, Touch Broadcasting and L.A. radio.
In the decision, the Commission noted that Yerxa “will be a new player both in the Edmonton market and in the Canadian radio industry. As such, approval of its…
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GATINEAU – Following up on a federal government request made this summer, the CRTC said today it will look into broadcasting services offered to French- and English-language communities in a minority situation.
The Commission will hold a public hearing on this matter starting on January 13, 2009.
In its public call for comments today, the CRTC is asking Canadians to share their views on a number of specific questions relating to:
* The availability and quality of French- and English-language broadcasting services in French and English linguistic minority communities * The challenge of providing, in those communities, broadcasting services…
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TORONTO – "Without a doubt culture played a central role in this election,” said Richard Hardacre, ACTRA’s national president, in summing up Tuesday’s election.
“We hope that Prime Minister Harper heard the concerns of the thousands of Canadians who spoke up during the campaign and will make culture a priority in the coming months… We welcome the Conservatives’ campaign commitment to scrap their plans to give bureaucrats arbitrary powers to withdraw or withhold tax credits from Canadian films and television productions. And now the Prime Minister has an opportunity to re-consider his $50 million dollars in cuts to arts…
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GATINEAU – The much talked-about CRTC hearing into new media has been scheduled for February 17th, the Commission announced this morning.
While commissioner Michel Arpin recently said the Regulator does not want to regulate new media, the proceeding, according to the Commission is being undertaken “to gain a better understanding of broadcasting in the new media environment.”
In 1999, the Commission exempted from regulation services that distribute broadcasting content over the Internet because 11 years ago, broadcasting on the Internet was nearly non-existent.
In 2007, it also exempted broadcasting services that are received through cell phones and other mobile…
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