OTTAWA-GATINEAU – While the Canadian TV world was concentrated on the portion of CTVglobemedia’s deal to purchase CHUM that was denied, the Commission also used Friday to announce decisions on Alberta’s new TV choices.
The CRTC approved Rogers Communications application for another OMNI multicultural station serving Calgary and Edmonton. It also denied an application by MVBC Holdings (owners of Vancouver’s Channel M) for an ethnic over-the-air license in the same cities.
"We are delighted with today’s decision. Since 1979, OMNI Television has been a prolific producer and purchaser of Canadian television in over 40 languages," said Leslie…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA-GATINEAU – It was an application that asked for the insertion of a new middleman in the Canadian television scheme and the CRTC said a definitive “no” to the concept on Friday.
Former Craig Media CEO Drew Craig created Only Imagine Inc as a company which would sell the two minutes per hour of so-called local avail ad time American cable channels provide to cable companies to sell.
Of the millions OI said could be brought in, most of it would go to fund Canadian content. Cable companies, broadasters and commissioners were opposed to the idea, as…
Continue Reading
BANFF and TORONTO – While Canada’s telecommunications leaders debate the future of telecom in Toronto at the Canadian Telecom Summit next week, the world’s leaders in digital media and television will be making headlines at NextMedia and the Banff World Television Festival.
Cartt.ca will be on the ground at all three, of course, providing regular reports.
First out of the gate is NextMedia, beginning tomorrow in Banff. Organized by Achilles Media, the same company that puts on the BWTF (not to mention NATPE Mobile++ and the World Congress of History Producers), NextMedia features cutting-edge speakers and session topics.
For example,…
Continue Reading
TORONTO – Canadian actors used CanWest Global’s upfront presentation today to protest the purchase of American programming for airing on prime time on Canadian broadcasters.
CTV and Global each revealed their fall broadcast schedules to advertisers, the media and others this week, much of which is focused on popular American fare, purchased recently in Los Angeles for hundreds of millions of dollars (although with our dollar approaching 95-cents U.S., the price may seem less steep this year).
"These private shindigs the broadcasters threw for themselves are disgraceful. And so was their latest junket to Hollywood to sell out their…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA-GATINEAU – Citing the "questionable business practices" of independent cable co-op Campbell River TV Association, Shaw Communications declined earlier this year to renew the contract of its Shaw Pay-Per-View service with the small cable company.
When Shaw made it known to CRTV that the contract would not be renewed, the co-op filed a complaint with the CRTC under section 6.1(1) of the Pay Television Regulations, 1990, which prohibits a licensee from giving an undue preference to any person, including itself, or subjecting any person to an undue disadvantage.
While CRTV said the PPV or VOD options available to it…
Continue Reading
CALGARY – Proposed changes to bylaws coming at next week’s annual general meeting of the Canadian Television Fund "seems to fly in the face of common sense," says a tersely-worded letter sent Friday by Shaw Communications CEO Jim Shaw to the fund’s chair Douglas Barrett.
Shaw noted that while Star Choice received notice of the meeting, Shaw Communications did not and that after looking at what the organization has planned for the June 12 meeting during the Banff World Television Festival, "(w)e were surprised that you and the board of the CTF have decided to pursue an aggressive and…
Continue Reading
TORONTO – Larche Communications and Rogers Communications today announced a swap of two Ontario radio stations.
Larche, which already operates another station in central Ontario, agreed to acquire CICX FM Orillia (105.9 Jack FM), from Rogers while RCI bought Larche’s 50% ownership of CIKZ FM (The Beat 91.5) in Kitchener. (CanWest owns the other half of the station, but announced in October it was selling its two Canadian radio assets to Corus Entertainment. The Commission has not yet made a determination on that sale.)
Financial terms of today’s deals were not disclosed.
"This swap makes great strategic sense for…
Continue Reading
CALGARY – At a VIP luncheon at the Palliser Fairmont Hotel in Calgary, Canada’s Telecom Hall of Fame revealed the names of the four 2007 Telecom Laureates who have been nominated and selected for induction later this year into the industry’s Hall of Fame.
The Class of 2007 Telecom Laureates are: Michael Kedar, Toronto (Champion of Telecom Services Competition), Robert W. (Bob) Jones, Ottawa and Kelowna (Canada’s Radio Spectrum Ambassador), Frederic Newton Gisborne, St. John’s, (Colonial Telegraph Trailblazer), and C.R.O. (Bob) Munro, Montreal (Patron of Federally Regulated Telecom). In addition, the Hall of Fame’s coveted Special Recognition Award for…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – The foreign-owned, Hindi-language movie channel Sony Max is being considered for digital distribution in Canada. In Broadcasting Public Notice CRTC 2007-58, issued Thursday, the CRTC states it will “rely primarily” on comments filed on the application to determine if the channel is totally or partially competitive with existing Canadian TV channels.
The commission wants parties arguing the service is competitive to name the specific pay or specialty service with which they consider the channel would compete, and to provide details to support their views, such as comparisons of programming schedules.
The CRTC also notes that in assessing…
Continue Reading
TORONTO — Telehop Communications Inc. recorded a net profit of $196,315 on revenues of almost $5 million in the first quarter ended March 31, 2007, according to financial results released Wednesday. Profits were down from the net income of $262,903 recorded in the same quarter a year earlier and from $253,762 made in the fourth quarter of 2006.
“Our margins are strong due to effective control of telecom costs and our marketing costs are in line with our plan. We continue to build our subscriber base and look forward to increasing revenues while maintaining profitability,” said Telehop president and…
Continue Reading
