TORONTO – If Canadians want their MTV, they’ll be getting it in spades starting this evening.
CTV is bringing the long-entrenched American brand back to the Great White North on six platforms, delivering MTV content “with a distinctly Canadian attitude.”
Calling it “the single-biggest multi-platform launch in the history of Canadian television,” CTV will flip on the MTV switch at 6 p.m. ET Tuesday in six ways.
First, it will change the talktv analog specialty service into MTV, featuring lifestyle, talk, and documentary programming, along with “distinct and interactive Canadian series.” It’s subscribed to by some 6 million Canadian…
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ON FRIDAY, ONE YEAR TO THE DAY after his last morning show on Quebec City’s top-rated CHOI-FM, controversial host Jean-Francois "Jeff" Fillion opened his microphone again, letting a few thousand listeners back into “le monde parallèle de Jeff”.
But this time, they weren’t listening to him on CHOI, the rebel station without a cause anymore and reduced to fighting legal battles to keep its licence, they were listening on RadioPirate.com, his own pay-radio web site.
His inaugural show wasn’t vintage Jeff Fillion. With his loft-like studio, located in a new commercial strip mall in suburban…
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OTTAWA – The $650 million should go back to consumers, says the Public Interest Advocacy Centre.
The group today filed a motion for leave to appeal CRTC Decision 2006-9 Deferral Account in the Federal Court of Appeal.
The decision, reported on here and here, allows incumbent telcos to take approximately $650 million they overcharged customers, on Commission direction, and direct it to rural broadband development.
This is wrong, says PIAC.
"Since the February 16 CRTC decision to enrich the rural broadband programs of the major telephone companies with the money from overcharges for residential local service, PIAC has…
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OTTAWA – In opposing a recent application by a low-power FM station in B.C. to relocate its transmitter, the Canadian Association of Broadcasters asked the CRTC to take a close look at such licensees and what they’re doing in their markets.
CKFU-FM of Fort St-John, B.C. (Moose FM), applied to the CRTC for permission to change the authorized contours by increasing the antenna height and by relocating the transmitter, a non-directional antenna\antenna height of 45 meters). It wants to move the antenna to a new site to allow for generator backup to power the transmitter if hydro power…
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DARTMOUTH, NS – Small market radio station owner Newfoundland Capital Corporation, said Friday that its consolidated revenue of $24.6 million in the fourth quarter showed a 29% improvement over the last three months of 2004, with year-to-date revenue of $80.6 million being 21% better than last year.
Organic, or same-station growth of 8% contributed to the increase in revenue in the quarter, while new stations and acquisitions accounted for 21%. For the year, organic growth of 9% contributed to the revenue increase while 12% came from new launches and acquisitions.
However, EBITDA (earning before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization)…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC announced Friday that Multivan Broadcast Corp. (which owns Channel M in Vancouver) has been granted a transitional digital television license for its territory.
The decision means the multicultural channel now has regulatory approval to go ahead and broadcast in HD, if it wishes.
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GATINEAU – On Friday, the CRTC granted Newcap Broadcasting a license for a new FM station serving Bonnyville, Alberta.
The station (at 101.3MHz) will be a pop format aimed at 18 to 45 year olds, says the license decision.
Bonnyville is a market of about 10,000 people near the Saskatchewan border, about 280 kms northeast of Edmonton.
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GATINEAU – After a short hiatus, Denis Carmel has returned to the CRTC.
A familiar face and voice, Carmel left the CRTC in 2005 after spending a number of years in the communications branch. He returned to the Commission full-time as director of public affairs in February.
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QUEBEC – Quebec City radio station CHOI-FM has asked the Supreme Court of Canada to delay its moment of truth for an extra 60 days.
The station’s owner, Genex Communications, has filed the request because of “serious discussions” with third parties that “could lead to the settlement of the current legal dispute."
The unusual request comes as the Supreme Court is about to rule on whether or not it will hear Genex’s appeal of the CRTC’s decision in July 2004 to revoke CHOI-FM’s licence. It was granted the right to hook itself back up to the “judicial respirator” last…
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TORONTO – CBC president and CEO Robert Rabinovitch said Thursday that if we, as Canadians, want to have a good public broadcaster, it needs better a better, stable funding model.
In a speech to the Empire Club in Toronto, Rabinovitch said he welcomed any governmental review of the CBC’s mandate (as has been alluded to by the new Conservative government) and said one is coming anyway by the end of 2006 when the Corp. faces the CRTC during its license renewal hearing.
The CEO says the broadcaster’s vision is to be "(t)he undisputed champion of compelling Canadian programming," and…
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