OTTAWA – The CFTPA has added one of the architects of the Canada-U.S. free trade agreement, Gordon Ritchie, to its negotiating team, just prior to beginning talks on program rights deals with the major private over-the-air television networks, as well as CBC.
“Gordon’s wealth of experience and sound judgment will be invaluable to us as we sit down with CTV, Canwest Global, Rogers and CBC to negotiate more equitable trading terms with our broadcaster partners that reflect the realities facing independent Canadian producers,” said Canadian Film and Television Producers Association chair Sandra Cunningham, in a release.
According to the…
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TORONTO – Richard Gray, head of news at the A-Channel network, has been appointed vice-president of Ottawa Radio and A-Channel Ottawa, parent company CTVglobemedia announced this morning.
Gray takes over from Chris Gordon, who was appointed president of CTV’s CHUM Radio division in April. Gray begins his new position on Sept. 1.
In his new role, Gray will continue as head of A-Channel News, while assuming responsibility for A-Channel Ottawa, and CHUM Radio Stations Majic 100 FM, 93.9 BOB FM, CFRA 580 AM and The Team 1200 AM. He leaves his current role as vice-president and general manager of…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – Saying it is adapting to the current communications environment, the CRTC has realigned its organizational structure, the federal broadcast and telecom regulator announced today.
This realignment will allow the CRTC to respond more effectively to the convergence that has taken place between different technologies, as well as between the broadcasting and telecommunications industries, according to a memo circulated today.
Effective July 21, 2008, activities that are common to both broadcasting and telecommunications will be grouped in the Policy Development and Research sector. This includes social policy and dispute resolution. The functions of accessibility currently within the Telecommunications…
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TORONTO – It was one of the key topics under discussion during the CRTC hearing into new policies to govern broadcast distribution undertakings and CTAM Canada is about to hit the topic again for its members.
Advanced advertising, or targeted advertising, advertising within the VOD stream, or on PVRs, or split demographically, whatever you call it, it will all be on the table July 15th in Toronto.
The morning will begin with a presentation from David Downey, president and CEO of Invidi, a leader in the advanced cable advertising whose platform is being deployed by major American MSOs right…
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OTTAWA – A review of broadcasting in new media is utterly unnecessary, says an unprecedented joint submission to the CRTC by Canada’s largest Internet service providers.
Friday was the deadline for submissions on PN 2008-44, which only asked for comments on what the scope of any future proceeding on Canadian broadcasting in new media might be. The Commission wants advice on what questions it might ask when it decides to undertake a review of what new media is doing to broadcasting and what Canadian regulations might have to say about it. At this point, it doesn’t want to…
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MONTREAL – Bell Aliant CEO Stephen Wetmore and Bell Canada chief corporate officer and EVP Lawson Hunter are the next two executives leaving the company.
Long-time Bell executive Wetmore was the first CEO of Bell Aliant, having led the company from its formation in July 2006. "Stephen has made a tremendous contribution to Bell Aliant. As a result of his work, the company has strong foundations for the future," said Michael Sabia, chair of the Bell Aliant boards and outgoing CEO of Bell Canada.
"With Bell Aliant now on the firm footing we had anticipated at its formation, and…
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CAMPBELL RIVER, B.C. – A few locals banded together with some employees worried about losing their jobs in an attempt to have a vote on the proposed $46 million sale of independent cable co-operative Campbell River TV to Shaw Communications quashed.
The company announced today it will reconvene a meeting on July 29th to attempt to complete the voting process and count the ballots.
As a co-operative, CRTV is required to attain 75% approval for any sale – as well as to change the bylaws of the entity in order to allow for such an ownership change.
However, on…
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OTTAWA – Anybody in the industry who’s been paying attention to what’s going on around them — or who had even a passing interest in April’s CRTC hearing into specialty services and broadcast distribution undertaking policies, read no further.
For those of you who like to re-hash mature statistics, here goes. Statistics Canada released its compiled revenue figures for the Canadian TV industry, saying: “While conventional television revenues declined for the first time in a decade in 2007, revenues for pay and specialty television continued to climb.”
“Private conventional television experienced a slight recovery after stagnating in 2006,” continued…
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OTTAWA – The Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada (CEP) is calling on the Canadian Heritage minister to force the CRTC to re-examine its decision to allow TQS to cut its local news.
The decision illustrates the regulator is not serving the public interest and something must be done, the media union said in a statement.
The CEP is asking the Canadian Heritage minister to send the decision back to the CRTC for reconsideration.
“Having laid off more than half the staff of the TQS network in April, the network’s new owners have told the CRTC they…
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SHERBROOKE – Liberal Heritage Critic Denis Coderre called on the ruling Conservative Party to review the CRTC’s decision allowing the new TQS owner to lower the amount of local news it produces.
“The Conservative government has remained virtually silent on this issue since TQS first announced plans to reduce its local news content,” said Coderre in a statement. “The government must send a clear signal that conventional television networks must produce a certain amount of traditional news coverage.”
The news requirements for TQS’s competitors remain unaltered.
Coderre stressed the government has to review the decision, particularly given the…
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