WHAT A DIFFERENCE a day makes.
Or so they say in politics. Perhaps in the broadcast and cable regulatory environment it takes a little longer than a day, but the world has most definitely changed since last spring’s broadcast distribution undertaking and specialty & pay policy framework hearing in Ottawa. A quick look today at the headlines tells us in no uncertain terms that “Canada heading for recession, say economists” (CBC.ca), and that “Investors panic, markets plunge as crisis spreads in Europe, Asia” (Globe and Mail).
As the credit crunch deepens and consumers begin to rein in their spending,…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – The CRTC on Wednesday issued a call for radio licence applications for Halifax, NS.
Licence applications must be submitted to the Commission and all technical documentation should be sent to Industry Canada no later than December 8.
The CRTC noted in its call that it has not decided if any radio licences will be granted for the market.
Applicants are being asked to provide evidence that there is market demand for the proposed stations.
The CRTC also wants applicants to illustrate how their proposed radio stations will contribute to the objectives of the Broadcasting Act, to show…
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TORONTO – The 2nd annual Insight Entertainment Industries Summit will run October 22-23 at St. Andrew’s Club and Conference Centre in Toronto.
The event is aimed at senior executives and counsels from the film, television, new media, gaming, music and print media industries who are involved in content creation, development or distribution.
The keynote luncheon address will be given by Namir Anani, executive director of Policy Development and Research at the CRTC.
The conference program co-chairs are Alan Sawyer, principal consultant, Two Solitudes Consulting, and Susan Abramovitch, partner, Gowling Lafleur Henderson, LLP.
Topics include issues facing each content genre,…
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TORONTO – With digital channels only beginning to report positive EBITDA in 2007, and analog subscription revenue growth intact, the much anticipated mass exodus to digital channels still is more a dream than a reality, according to a report by Genuity Capital.
The report by Genuity Capital’s Carl Bayard also found based on last year’s numbers that:
– CRTC channel-by-channel data reveals that while the industry is no undergoing change, the pace of change is less dramatic than might be assumed.
– The most lucrative areas of sports and children’s programming continue to outperform on an absolute revenue basis and…
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TORONTO – Former CHUM Ltd Vice Chair and COO Fred Sherratt will be honoured at the Ontario Association of Broadcasters’ Community Service Awards Luncheon 2008 on October 7 at 11:30 at the Boulevard Club in Toronto.
The event will also feature a keynote by CRTC Vice-Chair, Broadcasting Michel Arpin.
The OAB Community Service Award for Radio – Small Market will be presented to CKTB/HTZ-FM/ EZROCK Astral Media Radio Niagara. General manger Madelyn Hamilton will accept the award.
An honourable mention goes to The Rock, Durham Radio Oshawa. Craig Robertson, morning show host; Steve Kassay, general manager; and Adrianne Vogel,…
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THIS YEAR’S CANADIAN Association of Broadcasters convention may be themed "The World View", but it will be a policy release that is decidedly Canadian in flavour that will likely dominate discussion at this year’s gathering in Ottawa from November 2 to 4.
The two keynote speakers who will certainly expound on the show’s theme and are bound to be rather interesting this year are author Dr. Daniel Franklin, executive editor of The Economist and Jeremy Gutsche, founder of Trendhunter.com.
Monday’s after-lunch plenary will also take a global look around – this time at the regulatory field – as the…
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QUEBEC CITY – The CRTC has issued a call for commercial radio applications for Quebec City. The call was issued after the commission received one such application.
The deadline for application is December 2, 2008. Applications must also include all technical information.
The CRTC notes that it may not license any new radio stations due to “weak growth in radio advertising in Quebec City from 2003 to 2007.” The average annual compound radio advertising revenue growth for the city was just 1.8% compared with 3.5% for the province of Quebec and 5.8% for Canada.
The application must therefore, states…
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OTTAWA – With many Canadians concerned about the economy, environment, and our troops overseas, you’d think culture would not be on the radar in the federal election, but the parties have made promises that could affect broadcasting.
The Conservatives have vowed to change the make-up of the CRTC commissioners to better reflect the regions and francophones. Leader Stephen Harper said the chair position would alternate between English speakers and French speakers, the vice-chair positions (in broadcasting and telecom) would be split with one anglophone and one francophone, at least one-quarter of the commissioners would be French-speaking and would be…
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MONT TREMBLANT – Seven CRTC commissioners made the trip to Mont Tremblant this week to attend the Canadian Cable Systems Alliance annual general meeting and conference.
Besides keynote speaker Michel Arpin, who is vice-chair, broadcasting, and telecom vice-chair Leonard Katz, commissioners Rita Cugini, Timothy Denton, Suzanne Lamarre, Marc Patrone and Louise Poirier were all on hand – as was executive director, broadcasting, Scott Hutton.
“As a matter of fact we have quorum to make decisions,” joked Arpin in his speech to delegates.
He addressed a number of issues but didn’t say too much that was new in his 20-plus…
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OTTAWA/GATINEAU – Tickets for the October 29th Telecom Laureate Awards Gala at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Ottawa/Gatineau are now on sale.
The 2008 Telecom laureates who will be honoured are: Jim Balsillie (RIM); Mike Lazaridis (RIM); Carol Stephenson (Stentor, Lucent, Richard Ivey School of Business); David Golden (Telesat Canada); The late David Simmonds and his sons, Robert Simmonds, Gordon Simmonds and Donald Simmonds (Clearnet, Lenbrook Communications).
The 2008 Special Recognition Award winner is the Western government telephone companies and their successor companies for 100 years of service: Manitoba Telephone System (MTS Allstream) – Pierre Blouin, CEO; Alberta…
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