DARTMOUTH, NS – The CRTC has approved Newcap’s purchase of CKJS Limited, which owns the licence for CKJS-AM radio in Winnipeg, the company announced today.
It will be the broadcaster’s second station in Winnipeg. Last December, Newcap launched CKFE FM as Café 100.7, playing adult album alternative.
CKJS is a 30-year-old multicultural and multilingual station, airing programming in 19 languages. Its operations will be combined in the CKFE studios. The advertising and promotional activities will also be combined.
The sale is expected to close within 60 days. The company announced its intention to buy CKJS last fall for $1.8…
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CALGARY and FT. LAUDERDALE – American voice over IP provider Zingotel has filed a $1.2 million civil suit in Alberta against Shaw Communications.
Zingo, Inc. warned in January it would file a lawsuit, which it did late last week. It also said the CRTC can expect to hear from it as well. Zingo alleges that Shaw Communications CEO Jim Shaw personally told Corus Entertainment executives not to run ads for Zingotel’s service on any Corus channels, after Zingotel had booked the ads. The statement does not say which channels had the ads booked. Shaw and Corus are owned and…
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OTTAWA – In a submission which generally backs a cable company’s request to use the local avail ad time to market its telephony and high speed Internet products along with programming services, the Canadian Association of Broadcasters has also asked the CRTC for more cost clarity.
An intervention filed with the Commission last week mostly supports an application made by Halifax-based MSO EastLink to expand what the broadcast distribution regulations say can be promoted during the so-called "local availability" time on American cable channels. Those channels (like CNN, A&E and The Golf Channel) make two minutes per hour of…
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OTTAWA – Reaction to Wednesday’s report of the federal government’s telecom policy review panel was mixed, including polar opposite opinions from two incumbent phone companies.
MTS Allstream said the recommendations were “hopelessly complicated and impractical,” while Bell Canada called the document “a detailed blueprint for change.”
The CRTC, apparently befuddled by a report that, at 400 pages, is even longer than one of its own policy review documents, said virtually nothing at all.
“The recommendations in this report do not bode well for the pace of competition or innovation in Canada’s telecom sector,” said Chris Peirce, Chief Regulatory Officer…
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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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