MONTREAL — Telefilm Canada released its new 2020-2023 corporate plan last week and followed it up today with a new equity and representation action plan.
Rooted in an inclusive approach involving the film funder’s executive leadership team, managers and employees, the 2020-2023 Corporate Plan includes four strategic priorities:
Attract additional funding and investment
Evolve Telefilm Canada’s funding allocation approach
Optimize its operational capability
Enhance the values of the “Canada” and “Telefilm” brands
“The end of the process for this corporate plan was marked by the onset of a global crisis triggered by the outbreak of Covid-19. In this context, the…
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By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – The Competition Bureau is investigating whether Videotron employees artificially inflated online reviews of the Helix IPTV platform – and potentially other company products – in public forums, according to new court files asking the court to compel the Montreal-based company to hand over documents to advance the inquiry.
The watchdog said it’s of the preliminary view that the company’s employees may have violated competition law by “promoting, directly or indirectly, the supply or use of its products” and business interests through “deceptive” means. As the investigation is ongoing, the Bureau said it has not concluded any…
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TORONTO – SiriusXM Canada announced today the Just For Laughs Virtual Comedy Festival, which will air across numerous SiriusXM comedy channels from July 20-25 – the dates which the annual festival was originally scheduled to take place in Montreal (and is hopefully going to happen in the fall instead).
Two one-hour specials will air every day on five SiriusXM comedy channels, hosted with fresh commentary from the likes of Kevin Hart, Howie Mandel, Ronny Chieng, Caroline Rhea, Jim Norton, Alonzo Bodden, and others.
In addition, the best stand-up tracks from previous Just For Laughs shows will highlight some of the most…
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“Scare tactic,” says CNOC
By Linda Stuart
OTTAWA — If the CRTC mandates mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) access to wireless incumbents’ networks, Canada’s gross domestic product would be reduced by an estimated $10 billion within five years, according to a new PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) study released today by the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA).
In addition, other negative impacts on the Canadian economy would include an estimated $2.5 billion reduction in government tax revenue, approximately 94,000 jobs lost across the supply chain, and a widened digital divide between rural and urban communities in Canada, says the PwC report, which was commissioned by…
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MONTREAL – Cogeco Inc. reported solid third quarter results late on Wednesday, recording a 1.4% increase in revenue to $626 million and adjusted EBITDA of $298.4 million, an increase of 2.9% compared to the same quarter of 2019.
While the company did take a hit on the radio side as advertising has plummeted during the Covid-19 crisis, its press release said “the situation had various impacts on our business during the last quarter. However, these Covid-related impacts did not have a material effect on our results.” Cogeco’s cable, ISP and telecom businesses in southern Ontario and Quebec and in the…
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TORONTO — Adara Technologies has promoted Alesio Cicchelli (pictured) to the newly created position of vice-president of global operations and Canadian sales, the company announced this week.
Previously, Cicchelli was senior director of global operations and Canadian sales. His promotion to Adara’s management team comes at a time when interest in the company’s solutions, “in particular Adara’s signature SIPV Bandwidth Reclamation Solution,” is growing, says the news release.
“This very well-deserved promotion recognizes the significant contributions Alesio has already made in taking ownership of our global operations, effectively building and motivating our teams and relationships internally and,…
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By Rob McCann
FOR THE LAST TWO decades, there have been varying degrees of interest in the concept of an open access network. What is open access? Some party, usually a local government, chooses to build a physical broadband network and then leases access to service providers who wish to connect subscribers.
The model is compelling because the municipality builds a physical network that de-risks service providers, who might otherwise not recognize a reasonable return on investment across the community. This promotes competition in services to the benefit of subscribers. Those economics led to the emergence of several successful open access…
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TORONTO — Canadian telecom providers spend about 5.3 percentage points more on capital expenditures (as a percentage of revenue) compared to telcos in other countries, due to higher factors of production largely driven by geography, scale and spectrum costs, according to a new study from PricewaterhouseCoopers Canada.
PwC’s The importance of a healthy telecommunications industry to Canada’s high-tech success report is a follow-up to its study earlier this year, Understanding affordability of consumer mobile wireless services in Canada, which we reported on here.
According to the new study, these higher factors of production (cost drivers) require Canadian telcos to…
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OTTAWA — Several broadcasts on Super Channel’s suite of channels violated the pay-TV codes for airing violence, sexuality and coarse language before 9 p.m., said the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC) in a decision released today.
A complaint from a viewer dating back to November 2019 identified numerous broadcasts on Super Channel Vault, Super Channel Fuse and GINX eSports TV Canada which the complainant said contained violence, sexuality or coarse language before 9 p.m. The broadcasts included the horror movies Friday the 13th: Part VII – The New Blood, Saw 3D: The Final Chapter, Pet Sematary (1989 version) and A…
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OTTAWA — The final components of the federal government’s $500-million Covid-19 relief fund for the cultural and sports industries were announced Tuesday by Canadian Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault.
The cultural industry has been waiting on the announcement, which helps to address some of the gaps identified since the fund was first implemented. Phase one of the funding included $88.8 million for the Canada Media Fund and $27 million for Telefilm Canada. Some phase two components were announced in June, but they did not include additional details of funding for broadcasters and the audiovisual sector, for example.
With yesterday’s…
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