Search Results for: crtc

Radio / Television News

Joy10 team named

VANCOUVER – S-VOX officially named the senior management team of Christian broadcast station Joytv 10, which launched Sept. 1 in Vancouver, B.C. Before S-VOX bought it earlier this year, the broadcaster was a Rogers OMNI station and prior to that was an independent broadcaster called NowTV. Rogers had to commit to the CRTC to sell the Christian station when it acquired Citytv from CTVglobemedia in 2007. It’s always been a religious station. And, since Rogers purchase of Vancouver’s Channel M last year, OMNI in Vancouver is now a multicultural station. Amid the changes, Terry Mahoney remains. Mahoney,… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

Commission half-agrees with CBC, producers

GATINEAU – The CRTC will put off a review of its benefits policy until after the federal government renders its views on the Canadian Television Fund. The Commission issued a public notice in July, asking for comments on altering its benefits policy so that some money could be directed to new media initiatives. Currently, when one broadcast company buys another, a certain percentage of the transaction (10% in the case of television companies) must be set aside for public benefits, which are mostly for the production of Canadian content. However, a number of recent transactions (such as Goldman Sachs’… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

Arpin to speak at OAB

TORONTO – CRTC vice-chairman, broadcasting, Michel Arpin, will be the keynote speaker at the Ontario Association of Broadcasters (OAB) Awards luncheon in Toronto. At the event, the first-ever Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to former CHUM Limited, vice-chair and CEO – and broadcasting pioneer Fred Sherratt. “We are thrilled that Mr. Arpin has agreed to be our keynote speaker. Prior to becoming vice-chair of the CRTC Mr. Arpin has had a distinguished career in broadcasting and so has valuable firsthand knowledge of the significant issues and challenges facing our radio and television members. We very much look forward… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

New brands at Rogers Media

TORONTO – Rogers Media Television will officially take over OLN as of August 31st, 2008. This follows the purchase of the specialty channel which took place August 1st, 2008. As previously reported by Cartt.ca, Rogers had owned a third of the channel, with the rest owned by CTVglobemedia and Comcast. Rogers agreed to buy out the other partners in 2007. "We are thrilled to welcome OLN into our broadcast family and are pleased to be able to reach more viewers with the exciting and innovative programming OLN has to offer" Alain Strati, vice-president, specialty TV and development, Rogers Media… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

No more reminders to dial them all out west

VANCOUVER – The recorded reminders to dial all 10 digits when making local calls will end in British Columbia and Alberta between September 8 and 12, but they are doing their job, says the Telecommunications Alliance. The telecom company group said in a release that nearly all local calls are now being made using 10 digits “Last week, 96% of local phone calls placed in the affected areas were made using 10 digits. It’s possible the remaining four per cent of calls are being made on auto-dialers, computers, fax machines and speed dials that have not been re-programmed. Those… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

Morin gets the blues over station selection in nation’s capital

GATINEAU – The Ottawa radio market is already well-served musically and would have been better off adding another news/talk station, according to CRTC commissioner Michel Morin. On Tuesday, the Commission granted licenses to Astral Media and to Frank Torres (Captain Frank of the Toronto-based Skywords Traffic service) for new English FM radio stations serving the Ottawa-Gatineau region. According to the applications, Astral’s station is to be a soft A/C format while the Torres station will be a blues/blues-rock station. The Ottawa application is one of several Torres has made in a number of Canadian centres for blues station licenses…. Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

Two new FM radio stations to serve Winnipeg market

OTTAWA – The CRTC has approved a new English and Aboriginal-language Native Type B FM station and a new English-language commercial FM station to serve the Winnipeg area. Evanov Communications will air an adult contemporary (35%) and new easy listening (65%) music format targeted to those aged 45 years and over. The frequency of the new FM station is still to be determined. The music offering will focus on soft melodic selections with less instrumental, a minimum of blues and no jazz selections. “The proposed format will add to the programming diversity in the Winnipeg radio market by complementing the musical offering currently provided… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

CBC/independent producers call for halt to new media funding debate

OTTAWA – With the very future of the Canadian Television Fund in question, the CBC along with the independent production community are urging the CRTC to postpone its plans to review funding for new media in September. The CRTC has put out a call for comments (Broadcasting Public Notice CRTC 2008-62) regarding its proposed changes to its public benefits policy that would create new funding streams for new media within the CTF. In just the last few weeks, the Harper government has cut tens of millions in funding to arts program and has so far given no indication if… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

MTS TV to expand west of Winnipeg

BRANDON – Canada’s largest Internet Protocol television (IPTV) service provider, MTS Allstream, says it will be taking its next generation digital television services to Portage la Prairie. It received CRTC approval to amend its existing BDU licence and can now offer MTS TV service to the area. MTS Allstream also confirmed its intention to apply shortly to the CRTC to obtain a BDU license for the community of Brandon, Manitoba. "We are very pleased with the CRTC’s decision, and we look forward to offering new services to the residents of Portage la Prairie," says Kelvin Shepherd, president consumer markets,… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

New French specialty channels tackle extreme sports and entertaining

OTTAWA – French language viewers will soon be able to combine the thrills of wakeboarding with learning how to make the perfect omelette. The CRTC today approved two national Category 2 specialty services, Radical Télé, a channel dedicated to extreme sports and Cuisine, a food and nutrition channel. RDL Média inc. says Radical Télé will be devoted to extreme sports such as snowboarding, surfing, skateboarding, wakeboarding and FMX (freestyle motocross) and to the lifestyle associated with these extreme sports (fashion, social events and places where these sports are practised). “The purpose of the service would be to allow Canadians to experience… Continue Reading