TORONTO – With none of the three major parties articulating much about their plans for the cultural sector (not even the NDP), ACTRA’s performers tried Wednesday to inject themselves into the election news cycle.
Among the members of ACTRA, the Canadian actors union, taking part in a Toronto press conference were Wendy Crewson, Richard Hardacre, Dan Lett, Miriam McDonald, Colin Mochrie, Cara Pifko, Karl Pruner, Fiona Reid, Wayne Robson, Sonja Smits, Julie Stewart, and R.H. Thomson.
As usual, they were raising “the alarm during this election about the threat to Canada’s cultural sovereignty,” says the press release.
"It is…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC Thursday agreed to allow TV Ontario to cut its level of Canadian content by five more percentage points.
In August, the Ontario public broadcaster told the Commission that production funding changes have made it difficult to hit the 65% Cancon level required by its condition of license and asked that it be reduced to 60%.
In 2001, the Commission allowed TVO/TFO to cuts its Cancon level from 70% to 65% but 60% is the level contained in the licenses of fellow provincial educational broadcasters: B.C.’s Knowledge Network, Alberta’s Access Communications the Saskatchewan Communications Network….
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CHUM WILL BE SOLD. Shaw, too. Telus will buy Bell. Foreign ownership rules will be abolished. CRTC regs, too.
Now those are some seriously fearless predictions for the new year. They’re all poppycock, too. Made ’em up (although a couple could happen).
The slowdown time during the 14 days or so around Christmas and New Years (and Hanukkah, too), coupled with the fact that a new year is beginning, spawns all sorts of lists and predictions and reviews in the media. I didn’t want to be left out, but I didn’t want to try to add to the M&A…
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WINNIPEG – Rogers Media Television will launch its recently acquired broadcast license, a faith-based service to be named, of course, OMNI TV Manitoba – on Monday, February 6th.
OMNI TV Manitoba is the newly branded, newly licensed television station resulting from Rogers’ 2005 purchase of NOW TV from the Thiessen family and the subsequent approval by the CRTC (Decision Public Notion 2005-207).
It had been scheduled to launch in November but was put off until the new year.
"This is an exciting time for the Rogers OMNI Television family as well as the Canadian broadcasting industry," said Leslie Sole,…
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QUEBEC CITY – In its last decision before the holidays, the CRTC approved the sale of CKNU-FM Donnacona and CKNU-FM-1 Sainte Croix-de-Lotbinière to Radio Nord Communications on December 23rd.
As first reported by www.cartt.ca in October, Genex Communications, also owners of controversial CHOI-FM in Quebec City, decided to sell the unprofitable CKNU and concentrate on its court appeal to hang on to CHOI’s license, which was revoked by the CRTC.
While Genex had originally applied to alter CKNU’s license so that it can broadcast into the Quebec City market (Donnacona is about 45 kms west of the Quebec…
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MONTREAL – Just before Christmas, the CRTC halved the wholesale tariffs incumbent telephone companies can charge for providing DSL capability to independent ISPs.
The Commission made the cut “after determining that these proposed rates result in Bell Canada’s double recovery of actual costs for the fiber portion of the local loop facilities,” says a press release from the Quebec Coalition of ISPs.
In addition, the CRTC ordered Bell to extend the naked DSL offering to business customers.
Click here for the decision.
"We hoped for much lower rates but now at least we can consider offering the service at…
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TORONTO – Primus Communications president Ted Chislett told www.cartt.ca it denies “slamming” Bell Canada customers.
As first reported by www.cartt.ca on Tuesday, Bell Canada filed a complaint with the CRTC demanding sanctions be placed on VOIP provider Primus for “slamming” Bell customers. Slamming means changing a customer’s phone company without their permission and the CRTC has strict guidelines governing how such a switch must happen.
“There is no slamming,” said Chislett, who added he was confused as to why Bell chose to pursue a CRTC response rather than go through normal processes for resolving such disputes.
In its December…
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OTTAWA – The cable industry has asked that 15 more new ethnic services be added to the eligible satellite list.
The Canadian Cable Telecommunications association has asked for 11 of them. Videotron has asked for four.
Here are the channels and their thumbnail descriptions, from the Commission’s call. The first 11 are the CCTA’s requests.
ATV Home Channel (America) is a 24-hour, general interest service from Hong Kong offering programming primarily in the Cantonese language with a small amount of programming in Mandarin. The mix of programming on ATV Home Channel (America) includes news, documentaries, infotainment, drama, variety and…
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OTTAWA – There are 19 new applications for radio station licenses in Alberta before the CRTC.
The Commission announced yesterday it will hear those apps beginning February 20th in Calgary.
There are 10 applications for new Calgary stations, three for the Airdrie/Cochrane region and five for Lethbridge. There’s one for High River/Okotoks, too.
Click here for more.
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OTTAWA – Eastern telco Aliant has applied to the CRTC to expand its TV territory.
While it holds individual licenses for Halifax, Dartmouth, Bedford and Sackville, Nova Scotia; Saint John and Moncton New Brunswick, it wants the Commission to revoke those and give it one for Region 5, which includes all of the eastern provinces.
The move would allow Aliant to compete with cable using its digital television service in Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland & Labrador, too. Aliant currently offers TV delivered via DSL technology in parts of Halifax
Click here for more.
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