OTTAWA – On Friday, the CRTC assigned the number 511 for weather and traveller information services. The decision paves the way for a cross-Canada, 24-hour telephone service providing Canadians and others with vital weather and traveller information. The goal of Canada’s 511 service is to provide up-to-date information about weather and travel conditions so that callers can make informed choices for their travel plans. A similar service is already available in more than half the states in the U.S.
Once Canada’s 511 service is in place, Environment Canada, one of the partners in the Canada 511 Consortium, will…
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QUISPAMSIS, N.B. – Without the CCTA tagging along this year, the Canadian Cable Systems Alliance gathering in Muskoka in September is scheduled and formatted a bit differently.
Set for September 17 to 19 at the Taboo Resort in Gravenhurst, Ont., it begins on a Sunday this year with a president’s reception. This year’s theme is "Small: The New Big."
Monday is the busiest day with a technical vendor tabletop trade show from 8 a.m. to noon, followed by the annual awards lunch. "There’s a lot of demand for the trade show," said the CCSA’s director of member services, Connie…
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MONTREAL – Canadian communication policy has shifted. New media are no longer new. Convergence has come and gone and even come again. Policy makers are chipping away at facet after facet of the emerging networked mediascape.
But what role should Canadian communication researchers play in this policy environment? How can their work inform, influence, and shift the agendas of policymakers in Canadian jurisdictions? Should it at all? And just whose work is at issue, as a new generation of communications researchers, activists, and decision-makers begins to take its place in Canadian institutions?
Questions like these are a growing part…
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OTTAWA – With several video distributors now asking to add the satellite radio channels from XM Canada or Sirius Canada to their respective channel lineups, the Canadian Association of Broadcasters has asked the CRTC to take a close look at the applications.
Responding to a request made by Bell Canada earlier this year to add the satellite radio signals to its terrestrial TV channel lineups, the CAB said "the application focuses attention on one of the fundamental principles of the Canadian broadcasting system, i.e. the requirement for a predominance of Canadian services, and that therefore a number of matters…
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TORONTO – A query about shifting CRTC regulations got Rogers Communications founder Ted Rogers to take a few swings at government and his telco competition this morning.
During the company’s second quarter conference call with financial analysts, one asked about the potential for changing CRTC regs and what that might do to Rogers’ business plan. While no one mentioned the VOIP decision (and the Cabinet demand that the CRTC reconsider it) or the local forbearance decision (and the appeal filed by the traditional telcos, plus Industry Canada’s demand the CRTC let market forces rule),…
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FOR SEVERAL YEARS, CANADA’S TV launch season has followed a logical path, with the odd new bit added here or there to spice up the mix. This year, the industry expected broadcasters to introduce new shows, dangle tasty bits of multi-platform potential, parade the talent, wow the buyers and let the 2006 upfront selling frenzy begin.
Observers could then cue the standard questions: will Global build its list of Top-20 gains at CTV’s expense? Will CBC’s new-look programming represent an alternative or even an addition to hockey as a must-buy? Will specialties and digi-channels continue to grow? And will…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – Canadian cable companies hold a slight lead in the broadband race among consumers.
According to CRTC figures released today, 51% of Canadian homes are wired to a broadband Internet connection and of those homes 54% are served by cable companies (a total of 64% of Canadian homes subscribe to some kind of Internet connection, which shows the continued decline in dialup, not to mention the fact that well over one-third of Canadians still don’t have an Internet connection at all in their homes).
The Commission’s sixth annual Telecom Monitoring Report reveals that the growing impact from the…
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CHARLOTTETOWN – Newcap Broadcasting launched its newest station Tuesday afternoon.
Called K-Rock 105.5 FM, the company’s application for the new station was approved back in March, along with a couple of others. K-Rock is aimed at 25-44 year old men and plays classic rock.
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OTTAWA – Given the impending TV Policy Review and broadcast technology report the CRTC must pen for the Heritage Minister, the CRTC made official Monday what it had told the CBC months ago – it would get an administrative license renewal until these things are sorted out.
The CBC’s TV licenses were renewed until August 31, 2008.
www.crtc.gc.ca
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OTTAWA – Videotron has asked the Commission to add five more third language channels to the list of eligible satellite services.
The Quebecor-owned MSO has asked for:
* Caracol Television International, a 24-hour-a-day/7-day-a-week channel from Columbia that broadcasts entirely in Spanish. It is considered a general interest channel, although its programming consists primarily of soap operas, as well as news and public affairs, informal educational, sports and drama programs. None of the programs are subtitled.
* HTV is a 24-hour-a-day/7-day-a-week specialty channel. It offers programming focused on Latin American music, including pop, rock, ballads, salsa, merengue, cumbia and the…
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