By Laurel Hyatt OTTAWA – Rising copyright fees, onerous content regulations, declining youth listenership, and competition from the Internet and other digital media are just some of the things that may be keeping Canadian radio executives up at night. But there are a few positive developments, a group of top leaders said on Tuesday.
At a session of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters convention in Ottawa, radio leaders in a united front lamented the challenges the industry faces, including the “exploding copyright issues,” in the words of Elmer Hildebrand, president and CEO of Manitoba-based Golden West Broadcasting Ltd., who…
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GATINEAU – The CRTC today called for new radio station license applications for Winnipeg.
It received an application for a broadcasting license to provide a commercial radio service to serve the Manitoba capital and it is standard policy to ask for additional applications.
The deadline to apply is January 16, 2008.
Click here for the call.
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OTTAWA – Fee-for-carriage is back and it’s not just on broadcasters’ wish lists in panel discussion here at the CAB Convention: the CRTC has announced it will re-consider the issue in its forthcoming review of policies for BDUs and specialty services, which has been pushed back from Feb. 4 to Apr. 7.
Just an hour before CRTC chair Konrad von Finckenstein reopened the matter, broadcasters raised it in a panel discussion on the future of television in Canada.
While the chairman did not specify what factors encouraged the Commission to reconsider FFC, given the regulator’s refusal to allow…
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TORONTO – Rogers Media announced today it will sell two multi-faith stations, commonly known as OMNI 10 and 11 to S-VOX, the owner of multi-faith and multicultural broadcaster VisionTV.
The deal provides that S-VOX Trust will purchase all of the assets of the CHNU-TV and CIIT-TV stations, operating in Vancouver and Winnipeg respectively. Rogers had agreed to sell the stations as part of its purchase of five CityTV stations. The transaction is subject to CRTC approval.
“This is a momentous event in our 20-year history as a Canadian independent broadcaster,” said S-VOX President and CEO Bill Roberts. “The addition…
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TORONTO – Emily Bellavy of Tecumseh, Ont. is this year’s recipient of the Alliance Atlantis Diversity in Broadcasting Internship, awarded in partnership with Women in Film and Television – Toronto (WIFT-T).
Bellavy begins her three-month internship this month, and will assist in the co-ordination of CRTC documents and research information on regulatory affairs and Government policy. She’ll also meet government broadcasting regulatory leaders in Ottawa.
The award will be presented to Bellavy at the Crystal Awards Gala Luncheon on Dec. 3, 2007 in Toronto.
The internship program offers an entry-level visible minority or aboriginal woman the opportunity to gain…
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OTTAWA – In his speech to the Canadian Association of Broadcasters convention today at lunch, CRTC chairman Konrad von Finckenstein said he has heard the complaints from the industry (after first making some complaints of his own, see related story) and made a few significant changes to the 2008 calendar.
First, the policy review hearings on broadcast distribution undertakings (cable, satellite, telco TV and others) and specialty services has been pushed back to April 7. They had been scheduled to begin February 4th (after having previously been set for January).
Also new is the broadcasters’ demands that fee for…
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OTTAWA – Canada’s private broadcasters were told Monday to stop “signing over primetime to a different country” and “put more Canada on TV”.
At a demonstration outside the Canadian Association of Broadcasters’ convention here Monday, Canadian TV stars and hundreds of ACTRA members and supporters criticized the industry for feeding Hollywood and starving Canada’s home-grown talent.
“Those people call themselves Canadian broadcasters. I say that’s a name you have to earn, and you don’t earn it by producing zero one-hour dramatic shows and signing over Canada’s primetime to a different country,” said Corner Gas star Eric Peterson.
The demonstration…
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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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