The CRTC in a decision last week rejected an application by Truth Broadcasting Network to take ownership and effective control of CJJC-FM (The Rock 98.5), a Christian music radio station in Yorkton, Saskatchewan.
In doing so, the commission also denied Truth’s request for a new broadcasting licence to continue the operation of the station, which is currently operated by 101056012 Saskatchewan Ltd., owned by station manager Dennis Dyck along with Scott Fitzsimmons, Dave Giesbrecht and Dwayne Kruger.
In its decision, the CRTC said Truth had communicated to the commission on several occasions that…
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By Connie Thiessen
WildBrain has announced it’s ending its broadcast channel business, including Family Channel, Family Jr., WildBrainTV and Télémagino.
The kids’ and family entertainment purveyor said it has been unable to negotiate a new carriage agreement with Rogers to carry the aforementioned channels after the CRTC found the cable giant wasn’t subjecting them to an undue disadvantage. WildBrain says Rogers has subsequently told it that it intends to remove the channels from its distribution service in the coming months. Together with its failure to secure a similar deal with Bell following a similar CRTC decision, WildBrain’s Continue Reading
A consortium of federal creative organizations is partnering to prioritize and harmonize the measurement and collection of audience data to better understand and amplify Canadian stories.
Telefilm, the Canada Media Fund (CMF), the Indigenous Screen Office (ISO) and the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) said Thursday that the new audience data initiative is a “concerted audience-centred approach” that will “inform more effective strategies for reaching audiences, increasing the impact of the richness and diversity of Canadian and Indigenous stories —whether in feature films, television, documentaries, or animated films— and ensuring its discoverability across digital platforms and cinemas,” a press…
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By Ahmad Hathout
A broadband consulting firm wants the CRTC to clarify that internet networks built using public dollars in southwestern Ontario are subject to the commission’s new wholesale internet framework.
Ontario-based Broadlytics Inc. filed a Part 1 application with the CRTC this week asking it to rule that networks built under the Southwestern Integrated Fibre Technology Inc. (SWIFT) project be made to comply with the commission’s ruling on access to the aggregated fibre regime – meaning third-party access to the builds’ middle- and last-mile fibre networks. Otherwise, it says, those builds cannot uphold an obligation to open access.
“The Applicant requests…
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The CRTC has approved an application by the Chetwynd Communications Society (CCS) for a broadcasting licence to operate an English-language low-power community TV station in Chetwynd, B.C.
The CCS, a not-for-profit organization, had continuously held a licence to operate the station, CHET-DT, from 1997 to 2020, at which point the licence expired and was not renewed due to an administrative error. The new licence approved Monday by the CRTC will expire Aug. 31, 2030.
CHET-DT will continue to operate on channel 28 with an effective radiated power (ERP) of 21 watts (a directional…
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The CRTC has asked the Canadian Telecommunications Contribution Consortium (CTCC) — which oversees the operations of the commission’s National Contribution Fund (NCF) — to provide information on whether or not the proposed changes to the NCF’s collection practices put forward by Rogers in a Part 1 application are administratively viable.
In its June application, Rogers asked that the CRTC direct the Central Fund Administrator (CFA) to suspend requests for new contributions that support the commission’s $750-million Broadband Fund while instead drawing down contributors’ uncalled funds — amounts telecommunication service providers (TSPs) must be ready…
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The CRTC via an Aug. 12 letter is asking telecommunication service providers (TSPs), as well as intervenors, for their input on a potential increase to the $10-million revenue threshold for participation in the commission’s National Contribution Fund (NCF) and payment of annual telecom fees.
An April 2024 application by the Independent Telecommunications Providers Association (ITPA) had requested the revenue threshold be increased from $10 million to $25 million. Large telecoms, including Bell, Quebecor, Telus and Rogers, have argued against the increase, while the Canadian Communication Systems Alliance (CCSA) and the…
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By Ahmad Hathout
The Shaw Rocket Fund is asking the CRTC to rule that Rogers must continue funding the Certified Independent Production Fund (CIPF) through to the next licence renewal period or hold a public consultation on its intention to cut off payments at the end of this month.
The fund, which bankrolls children’s programming, has been receiving $2.2 million in tangible benefits spread over seven years (around $300,000 annually) from the cable giant as a condition of its purchase of Shaw’s broadcasting assets, which was approved by the CRTC in 2022. At issue is the approximately $4.7…
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The CRTC is looking to hire a contractor to gather data about telecom and TV retail sales practices using secret shoppers as part of the regulator’s ongoing assessment of misleading or aggressive sales practices in the communications services sector.
This new secret shopper project is to continue the work already undertaken on behalf of the CRTC in 2019-2020 and 2021-2022. The commission’s primary research objective is to gain a better understanding of how front-line employees of service providers sell communications services and how consumers experience the sales process.
The CRTC’s…
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By Monica Auer, executive director of the Forum for Research and Policy in Communications (FRPC)
Parliament established the CRTC in 1968 to implement a new Broadcasting Policy for Canada and added telecommunications to its responsibilities in 1975. The CRTC must follow this and other legislation, such as the Accessible Canada Act and other requirements of other federal departments. In 2024, for example, the Treasury Board issued a Trust and Transparency Strategy setting out three strategic objectives for government departments and agencies such as the commission: transparency, accountability and public participation.
The Treasury Board describes “transparency” as the availability…
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