BANFF – The 40th annual Banff World Media Festival crowned this year’s winners of the Rockie Awards Tuesday night at a ceremony hosted by Canadian singer/songwriter, actor, author, radio host, and 2019 Order of Canada recipient Jann Arden.
The Rockie Awards Gala takes place on the third night of the festival and honours outstanding talent and executives from the industry.
This year’s winners include:
– Program Of The Year: Surviving R. Kelly
– The Grand Jury Prize: Sharp Objects
– Award Of Excellence: Paul Feig (Bridesmaids, Freaks and Geeks, Ghostbusters, The Heat)
– Showrunner Of The Year: Jed Mercurio (Bodyguard, Line of Duty)
– A+E Inclusion…
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BANFF – It’s a tradition at the BWMF… CBC/Radio-Canada has a huge presence.
But with Catherine Tait, president and CEO, it’s almost personal. “The impact this festival has on our industry and on Canadian creators is unparalleled… here at Banff, and in the days and months beyond this festival, we look to you, the creators, for inspiration… our new three-year strategic plan ‘Your Stories, Taken to Heart’ – will be the engine of brilliant storytelling from Canada to the world,” she said Monday morning.
And we hadn’t even poured our orange juice yet!
At the CBC breakfast Tait continued. “What I’m selling…
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GATINEAU – The American industry association which represents some of the biggest names in tech and telecom have told the CRTC it wants to see mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) mandated in Canada.
In a short submission to the CRTC’s review of wireless services last month, the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA) told the Commission it believes MVNOs “under the right regulatory circumstances, can promote competition, connectivity, and economic growth.”
MVNOs typically don’t own their own networks and instead lease space on an incumbent’s network and sell service to customers. There are a number of them operating successfully in the…
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Infinite Wireless data plans have no overage charges
TORONTO – Rogers Communications today said it will introduce unlimited wireless data plans with no overage charges starting tomorrow (Thursday), on its main Rogers brand.
Also, said the company, it plans to launch new financing options to give customers more affordable smartphone and device options.
Rogers Infinite Wireless plans with unlimited wireless data will start at $75 for 10GB of high speed data for every line on its fastest LTE network, reads the company release. Service plans of $95 and $125 a month will also be offered for 20 GB and 50 GB, respectively.
What…
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MISSISSAUGA – Is 5G a revolution, or an evolution? That's the question addressed by participants in the 5G panel at the Canadian Telecom Summit.
Moderated by Eric Smith, VP, regulatory affairs at the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA), the panel included Ian Fogg, VP analysis at OpenSignal, Sean Newman, SVP and director PM at Corero Network Security, Alexander Brock, SVP technology strategy, innovation and partnerships at Rogers, and Anoop Kulkarni, global head of 5G NCS at Nokia.
"It's an interesting challenge to have a panel on a subject that comes up in every panel," Smith said. "When I got the assignment,…
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TORONTO – The Canada Media Fund (CMF) has wrapped up its corporate reorganization that included the addition of two new executive positions.
Select existing staffers will also take on new roles and responsibilities including:
– Sandra Collins, previously Chief Financial Officer and vice-president of operations, is taking on the expanded role of Chief Operating Officer, contributing to the oversight of the entire organization’s operations.
– Nathalie Clermont, CMF’s former director, programs management, is taking on the newly created role of vice-president, programs and business development, with a focus on developing alternative funding partnerships to leverage CMF investments in television and digital media content.
-…
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MONTREAL – The production of Twentieth Century Fox / Marvel’s superhero film Dark Phoenix helped to bolster Quebec’s economy by spending over $189 million, says new data released by the Motion Picture Association – Canada.
During more than 22 weeks of filming in Montreal and the surrounding areas, Dark Phoenix spent over $77 million on local wages alone, creating more than 1,670 jobs for local cast, crew, and production office personnel. An additional $40 million was spent creating the film’s innovative special effects at Quebec’s visual effects houses.
The production also supported over 2,800 Quebec businesses from more than 230…
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OTTAWA – Last month, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Minister Navdeep Bains unveiled Canada’s Digital Charter, a document which outlines 10 principles – including “universal access” for consumers and “a level playing field ensure competition ensure fair competition in the online marketplace.”
He also launched the Advisory Council on Artificial Intelligence in which companies operating in this space attracted a $548-million investment in venture capital.
This week, Bains (pictured at last week’s Canadian Telecom Summit) spoke again to Cartt.ca about both initiatives as well as a few other issues, including broadening Canadians’ access to high-speed Internet.
Christopher…
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BANFF – As part of the BWMF Summit Series, Jeffrey Katzenberg one of our industry’s most successful and venerable executives (with a personal fortune in the US$900+ million range), spoke to the assembled masses about his latest endeavour Quibi – the first major entertainment platform purpose-built for high quality, mobile programming – which will debut next year (April 6, 2020 and for $5-$8/month) in Canada and the U.S. simultaneously.
Katzenberg has been feverishly selling this daring vision in old fashioned retail style from Cannes, to Austin, to now Banff.
Randy Lennox, President of Bell Media, did the on-stage interview and Katzenberg…
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BANFF – New to the Banff World Media Fest this year was The Banff Debate.
The inaugural topic was “Media, Creativity & Technology: Thriving Ecosystem or Future Monoculture?” and framing that debate was moderator Jesse Wente, who is director of Canada’s Indigenous Screen Office.
Wente noted the conundrum of international and local players all competing for global audiences and asked:
What does this all mean for creator opportunities and consumer choice?
Will domestic screen cultures get hammered?
Are local-only platforms and business models even viable in a globalize industry?
Or are we all Chicken Littles here, where instead of a plummeting sky, the digital future…
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