Search Results for: crtc

Radio / Television News

Bridges burns: Rogers “ignoring Muslim community”

TORONTO – The owners of Bridges TV took their fight for carriage on Rogers Cable to the media late on Wednesday. An incendiary press release from the English-language Muslim specialty service obviously meant as an unvarnished public attempt to bully the cable company into capitulation, says that by not letting Bridges TV into its channel lineup Rogers is ignoring and discriminating against the Muslim community, is censoring Islam and disrupting dialog between the Muslim community and all Canadians. By not adding American-owned Bridges TV, Rogers may even be at fault for the fact Muslims in Canada "continue to bear… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Rogers Sr. and Jr., Wightman, among Telecom Hall inductees

TORONTO – Six people were inducted into the Canadian Telecom Hall of Fame at a gala dinner at The Carlu in Toronto Monday evening. The event drew a large number of senior telecom folks and other key industry figures such as Industry Canada’s Michael Binder, the CRTC’s Len Katz, Nortel board member and former Industry Canada Minister John Manley, Persona Communications president and CEO Dean MacDonald, former New Brunswick premier Frank McKenna, and assorted others. Inducted were Rogers Communications CEO Edward S. "Ted" Rogers (accepting on-screen in the photo below) and his pioneering father E.S. Rogers Sr., telecom lawyer… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

The TUESDAY INTERVIEW: CBC CEO Robert Rabinovitch, Part I

I’VE GOT A BIT OF A SOFT spot for the CBC because when you grew up where I did, the CBC was it. Apologies to CTV’s Northern Ontario precursor, MCTV, but when I think of old shows from my youth, it’s most often the CBC that springs to mind. Like sooo many of my fellow Canadians, when I think of the Ceeb, I invariably recall many frigid Saturday evenings inside watching Hockey Night in Canada: Me and my father sitting down with a big bowl of warm, greasy, salted popcorn. I usually fell asleep right after Peter Puck during the… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

Oda an “absentee landlord” on culture, says NDP

TORONTO – The New Democratic weighed in on the CRTC’s TV Policy Review on Monday. According to a press release from the party, Heritage Critic Charlie Angus (Timmins-James Bay) and MP Peggy Nash (Parkdale High Park) held meetings with key players in Toronto’s film and television industry, although it did not say whom they met with. "The message from industry is clear: the Federal Conservatives need to step forward with firm commitments and targets to stop the bleed off of jobs from English Canada’s television and film industry," says the press release. Angus and Nash held meetings in Toronto… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Wrong organization

Dear Editor, The purpose of this letter is to clarify and correct certain references made in recent articles published by Cartt.ca summarizing the CFTPA’s submission to the CRTC’s review of its regulatory framework for over-the-air television (Broadcasting Notice of Public Hearing CRTC 2006-5). Specifically, the October 5 article titled “TV POLICY REVIEW: Dropping the 12-minute limit as TV reaches a tipping point” states that the CFTPA is in favour of fee-for-carriage of over-the-air television signals. In fact, we took a neutral stance on the fee-for-carriage issue. To clarify, we neither endorse nor oppose the concept of fee-for-carriage. We do,… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

COMMENTARY: First impressions

AFTER READING THROUGH a number of submissions to the CRTC’s conventional television policy review, I’ve got a few first impressions where I think the new policy will go. Remember though, first impressions can be very, very wrong and really, I’m just guessing for fun, so here we go. Impression #1: I think fee-for carriage for OTA broadcasters has a shot to win approval. Probably not at the 50-cent a sub per month level that CanWest has asked for and certainly not the $2 level the Canadian Media Guild wants (an earlier version of this story said CFTPA but was… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

Nine to be inducted into CAB Broadcast Hall of Fame

OTTAWA – Next month in Vancouver, nine broadcasting veterans will be inducted into the Canadian Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame. A special luncheon ceremony on Monday, November 6, 2006 will honour: * Doug Allen, Broadcast engineer, Winnipeg * Vicki Gabereau, Radio and Television talk show host, Vancouver * Alain Gourd, Broadcast executive, Gatineau * Frank Lewis, Broadcast executive, Charlottetown * Gary Miles, Broadcast executive, Toronto * Pierre Morrissette, Broadcast executive, Montreal * Bill Stephenson, Sportscaster, Toronto * Sophie Thibault, News Anchor, Montreal * Philip (Pip) Wedge, Broadcast executive, Toronto “This year’s inductees are innovators and leaders in the… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

CWC calling for Sauvé applicants

TORONTO – The Canadian Women in Communications Jeanne Sauvé Professional Development Program provides women in the Canadian communications field with opportunities to gain first-hand knowledge of federal communications policy, the role of the government and its impact on industry as well as the dynamics of the relationship between public and private sectors. In addition, the program strengthens the relationship between government and industry, and encourages dialogue on issues of common interest, says the association. CWC supports and promotes the advancement of women in the communications industry through the CWC Jeanne Sauvé Convergence Program which focuses on broadcast and communications… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

TV POLICY REVIEW: Young Canadians turn off their TVs, radios

IN 1998, A YEAR BEFORE THE CRTC set its last conventional television policy, people of all ages would have thought you a kook if you asked them about "downloading a video", "IM-ing" your friend, charting your MP3s or buying the latest season of Seinfeld on DVD. Just eight short years ago, instant messaging didn’t exist, there was no online video, nobody had a digital camera, only 1% of Canadians had a DVD player and just 8% knew what broadband was. These are some of the findings published in a Trend Analysis for the CRTC by Solutions Research Group. The… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

TV POLICY REVIEW: Dropping the 12-minute limit as TV reaches a “tipping point”

CANADIANS NEED TO PAY MORE for their TV, according to additional submissions to the CRTC on its conventional television policy review. Filed last Wednesday three months ahead of the November 27th hearing, we could only plough through a few submissions at first, but having had a bit more time to read some more, it’s clear that TV distributors are in tough against many players who want to see wholesale subscriber fees paid to conventional broadcasters. CTV, Quebecor Media (owners of TVA and Videotron), the Canadian Media Guild, ACTRA, and the Canadian Coalition of Audio-visual Unions all said they were… Continue Reading