OTTAWA – CRTC chairman Konrad von Finckenstein set conference delegates straight on a couple of things today at the Canadian Association of Broadcasters annual convention here at the Westin Hotel in Ottawa before juggling the 2008 regulatory calendar a little bit (See related story).
We’re not an expert judge of people’s overall moods, but he seemed a shade on the grumpy side when addressing the Commission’s need for additional resources as it struggles with regulating broadcasting and all that encompasses nowadays.
First he made it clear that recent comments made during a speech on new media does not…
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EDMONTON – National pay TV service Super Channel today announced the hiring of creative development reps in each Canadian province, a move the company says will let it “stay close to the industry that will give it truly Canadian programming.”
“We are following through on the commitment we made to the CRTC and Canadian independent producers to be in their community and incorporate their views and ideas into our decision-making process,” said Nic Wry, Super Channel’s national creative development representative, in a press release. “With a person based in their province, each producer will have a much closer link…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC today said it is adopting the Canadian Association of Broadcasters’ Best Practices for Diversity in Private Radio.
The Commission has also adopted a modified version of the CAB’s approach to diversity for small commercial radio operators as it pertains to reporting requirements, says the Commission’s release today.
“Specifically, large commercial radio operators – with revenues above $50 million – will be required to report annually on diversity; medium-sized commercial radio operators – with revenues of more than $20 million and up to $50 million – will be required to report on diversity every five years; and…
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WINNIPEG – CanWest Global’s consolidated revenues were $679 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007, ended August 31st, an increase of 11% from $610 million for the same quarter one year ago.
Consolidated EBITDA was $77 million, an 18% increase from the previous year.
Thos numbers included gains on sale of the company’s New Zealand and Canadian radio operations which amounted to $252 million and the gain of $164 million last year on the sale of TV3 Ireland.
Net earnings were $197 million or $1.11 per share, compared to $155 million or $0.87 per share for the same…
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HALIFAX – "Our third quarter results met our expectations and we are on track to achieve our targets for 2007," said Stephen Wetmore, President and CEO of Bell Aliant on the release of the company’s third quarter results today.
"I am also pleased that this quarter marked the beginnings of a more positive regulatory environment for local service. We have already acted on this to bring new offers to our customers and they will continue to benefit from our ability to more quickly and effectively meet their needs within this environment."
As readers will recall, the CRTC eliminated…
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MONTREAL – Quebecor Media’s TVA Group today reported net income of $5.3 million in the third quarter of 2007, much improved over Q3 2006 when it recorded a net loss of $800,000.
The division’s primary asset, broadcast television network TVA saw growth in operating income of $3.9 million or 103.8% in the quarter ended September 30, 2007, compared with the corresponding quarter of 2006, mainly due to the reversal of the Part II licence fees normally payable to the CRTC for the period from September 1, 2006 to September 30, 2007.
The Federal Court of Canada ruled the fees…
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TORONTO – It took eight months, but CTVglobemedia today announced the completion of its purchase of the radio assets of The Beat Broadcasting Corporation in Vancouver.
The company owns and operates Vancouver radio station CFBT-FM (The Beat 94.5 FM). CHUM Ltd., before it’s purchase by CTVglobemedia, initiated the deal back in February. The CRTC approved the transaction in early October.
"CFBT-FM is an important addition to our radio group," said Paul Ski, president, CHUM Radio, a subsidiary of CTVglobemedia, in the release. "The Beat 94.5 has been a great success with both listeners and advertisers and CHUM Radio plans…
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MONTREAL – With the CRTC having indicated in its upcoming review of broadcast distribution undertakings and specialty services that it is prepared to let market forces begin to dictate how the TV industry works here, a group of artist and cultural business groups are demanding something different.
They have asked Canadian Heritage, Josée Verner, “to use her power to issue policy direction to the CRTC so that the Commission gives primary consideration to social and cultural factors, as required by the Broadcasting Act, in all its decisions to do with the broadcasting sector,” says a press release.
The release…
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TORONTO – The $375 million transaction to purchase the five Citytv conventional television stations by Rogers Media closed earlier today. it received CRTC approval last month.
The stations acquired from CTVglobemedia were under the control of Mr. John D. McKellar, C.M., Q.C., trustee under a voting trust agreement in respect of CHUM Limited. The Citytv network includes Citytv Toronto (CITY-TV), Citytv Winnipeg (CHMI-TV), Citytv Edmonton (CKEM-TV), Citytv Calgary (CKAL-TV) and Citytv Vancouver (CKVU-TV).
In light of this announcement, Rogers Broadcasting, a Rogers Media subsidiary, takes immediate control of the Citytv operations under the direction of Leslie Sole, CEO of Television…
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MONTREAL – In an effort to reduce operating costs, Quebec private TV network TQS has abolished 40 jobs across the province, just as 60% owner Cogeco and its minority partner CTVglobemedia are embarking upon a review of their investment in the broadcaster.
Employees learned of the cuts from TQS president and CEO René Guimond.
“It saddens us to make this decision,” Guimond said. “We chose to act now to reduce our operating costs so that we can protect our programming schedule. If we hadn’t, the company could have been forced to take more drastic action.”
He laid part…
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