QUEBEC – Genex Communications, owners of Quebec City radio station CHOI-FM, once considered a synonym for trash radio, has found a potentially profitable way out of its battle royal with the CRTC.
It has reached an agreement with Radio Nord Communications, a growing player in the Quebec radio and TV market, to sell the station for an undisclosed price.
The one obstacle in their path, however, is that the CRTC must give its approval to a licence transfer, and that’s by no means a sure thing.
As Genex President Patrice Demers acknowledged, CHOI has no operating licence. The CRTC…
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TORONTO – Corus Entertainment and the CBC announced today that the public broadcaster will purchase Corus’ 53% ownership in The Documentary Channel.
As CBC/Radio-Canada currently owns 29% of The Documentary Channel, this agreement will give it majority interest and control of this digital service, currently available in approximately 950,000 Canadian homes. The National Film Board of Canada (14%) and four Canadian production companies – Omni Film (1%), Cinenova Productions (1%), Barna-Alper Productions (1%) and a numbered company (1%) – also have minority positions in the service.
"This is excellent news for CBC/Radio-Canada. Documentary programming is a core part of…
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OTTAWA – Told by Cabinet on Friday, Public Notice on Wednesday.
The CRTC issued the required public notice today on the rethink it’s been told to do on last May’s voice over IP decision. The new federal government told the Commission on Friday that it was to reconsider last year’s decision, in light of the current telecom market conditions and the Telecom Policy Review Report filed in March.
The CRTC’s decision determined that VOIP is voice and that existing regulations covering telecom would stand. That largely means that the incumbent telcos still had to file for…
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WE ALL KNOW SUN TV (formerly Toronto 1) has had a terribly rough go of it since its launch in September of 2003.
Maybe the CRTC shouldn’t have granted a license for this one. Craig Media got it, went deep into debt to launch it – so deep it had to sell the whole company to get out of it. So, CHUM Ltd. bought Craig, keeping the A-Channels and selling off the new Toronto stick to Quebecor Media – owners of the super-popular broadcaster TVA in Quebec – and a company which has been looking for a way into…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC today announced a public proceeding which will establish the new price cap regime for 2007.
The new price cap framework covers telecom pricing in all ILEC territories – Aliant, Bell Canada, Telus, MTS, and Sasktel.
The Commission designed the price cap regime to achieve the following objectives
* To render reliable and affordable services of high quality, accessible to both urban and rural area customers
* To balance the interests of the three main stakeholders in telecommunications markets, i.e., customers, competitors and incumbent telephone companies
* To foster facilities-based competition in Canadian telecommunications markets
*…
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DARTMOUTH – Thanks to new stations – from acquisitions and launches – radio broadcaster Newfoundland Capital Corporation saw a big jump in revenue in the first quarter of 2006, ended March 31st.
Revenue grew by 18% compared to Q1 2005 to $18.6 million. EBITDA increased to $3.2 million from $3.1 million and net income of $1.2 million was $300,000 lower than last year primarily due to higher depreciation and interest costs related to recent acquisitions, says the press release.
The company recently received CRTC approval to add three new FM radio licences to its portfolio, the right to convert…
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QUISPAMSIS, N.B. – Canada’s smaller independent cable companies lost their voice in Ottawa this year with the closure of the Canadian Cable Telecommunications Association in February.
Because its 94 member companies still want to be heard by government and the CRTC, the Canadian Cable Systems Alliance decided at a board meeting on Thursday it will re-enter the regulatory arena, albeit on a far smaller scale than what the CCTA offered.
The CCSA has retained Harris Boyd as its new regulatory advisor. Boyd was a long-time executive with the CCTA and was its senior vice-president, industry relations, when the association…
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OTTAWA – On Wednesday, the industry’s movers and shakers gathered at the Chateau Laurier in Ottawa to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters.
The event honoured the legacy of private broadcasters in Canada. The Honourable Maxime Beriner, Minister of Industry, and CRTC Chair Charles Dalfen both spoke at the event, which was attended by Members of Parliament, Senators and CRTC Commissioners, and other senior decision makers, as well as by members of the Broadcasting Hall of Fame and the CAB’s Board of Directors.
The evening was capped off with a performance by rising Quebec musician…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC on Friday approved an application by Aliant Telecom for a regional cable license spanning the larger centres in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland & Labrador.
Until now, Aliant had licenses for Halifax, Saint John and Moncton. It currently offers a DSL-delivered digital TV option in Halifax and was a pioneer in DSL TV, offering an earlier version of the technology (ADSL) in the two New Brunswick towns between 1999 and 2001.
Aliant’s new regional Class 1 license is for: Halifax, Dartmouth, Bedford and Sackville, Nova Scotia; Saint John and Moncton, New Brunswick; and St….
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OTTAWA – Rogers Cable has asked the CRTC for permission to offer satellite radio services Sirius Canada and XM Canada to its digital cable customers.
Rogers requires a license amendment to add the new audio products to its channel lineups in all of its systems in Canada.
"The licensee proposes to amend its licences to authorize these cable systems to distribute one or both of the audio programming services offered by Canada’s two satellite subscription radio undertakings," says the Rogers application.
"Rogers also considered that the addition of one or both of these services to its digital offering would…
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