Shortliffe to become ED, broadcasting
GATINEAU – CRTC chair Ian Scott announced today it has filled a newly created position with Scott Hutton, who will leave his long-time post as executive director, broadcasting, to become the Commission’s new chief of consumer, research and communications.
Hutton “brings to the role 27 years of experience at the CRTC and has extensive experience in both the broadcasting and telecommunications sectors. He is a seasoned expert of the communications industry and the regulatory environment,” reads the chair’s memo.
“Scott will lead the CRTC’s work as we engage in a conversation with Canadians, key stakeholders and industry…
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TORONTO – Production of New Line / DC’s feature film Shazam! helped to supercharge the Ontario economy by spending over $55 million in the Greater Toronto Area, says new data released by the Motion Picture Association – Canada.
The production spent more than $23.9 million on local goods and services at over 750 Ontario businesses, including $1.8 million on catering, baked goods and food items; $1.7 million on lumber and construction supplies; $360,000 on wardrobe; and $1.2 million on location fees, paid to households, businesses and community venues where the production was filmed, as well as for city, county…
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TORONTO – Former CFL Commissioner and CBC exec Jeffery Orridge has been named chairman of Canadian esports company Tiidal Gaming.
Wednesday’s announcement said that Orridge will play a pivotal role in stewarding Tiidal Gaming by bringing the best practices of traditional sports and entertainment into the gaming and esports space while providing strategic and analytical guidance to the company.
“As the esports industry continues to develop, being able to attract and retain top talent remains crucial to our success both in competitive gaming as well as at the corporate level,” said Tiidal Gaming CEO Charlie Watson, in the announcement….
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OTTAWA – Telus played host to a vital workshop last week called Tomorrow Is Now: A Workshop on 5G Technology, Operations, and Regulation.
Organized by the International Telecommunications Society (ITS) and featuring a strong roster of international speakers providing the perspectives from all angles including operators, regulators, technologists and academics, the workshop set out the current global 5G marketplace.
The race
Michael Murphy, Nokia’s head of technology for North America, provided a local 5G outlook. He reviewed operator launch plans, noting that soft launches began in the U.S. in 2018. He anticipates that all of the U.S. operators will offer 5G mobile…
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MONTREAL – Quebecor Media’s TVA Group closed its previously announced $19.5 million acquisition of the Incendo Group, a Montreal-based producer and distributor of TV shows for international markets.
“This acquisition will help us step up our international development and expand our footprint, especially in English-language markets,” said France Lauzière, president and CEO of TVA Group and chief content officer of Quebecor Content, “while enabling Incendo to further develop its already thriving production and export activities.
Incendo produces high-quality television programs and distributes them internationally. Since its inception in 2001, Incendo has produced…
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TORONTO – The Canada Media Fund (CMF) is adding new programs and tweaking others to keep pace with market developments, it said Friday while laying out its $353 million program budget for 2019-2020.
The CMF said that the changes to its program guidelines include revisions to its Convergent Stream and Experimental Stream, which were influenced by policy direction from the Department of Canadian Heritage through the Creative Canada Policy Framework as well as feedback received from stakeholders during its consultation.
“The CMF is aware of the impact program changes have on the industry and strives to offer some stability in the…
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MONTREAL – Bell said Friday that it will be shutting down its code division multiple access (CDMA) wireless network next month now that its 4G LTE network covers more than 99% of the national population.
Customers in remaining CDMA coverage areas in Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and the Atlantic provinces have been notified that they will transition to Bell LTE by April 30.
Bell began winding down its CDMA network in 2017 as its national LTE coverage accelerated.
"Bell is proud to welcome our CDMA customers to Canada's best national mobile network," said Chief Technology Officer Stephen Howe, in the news release. "Our…
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OTTAWA – Canadian film and television production continues to thrive, setting a record $8.92 billion in production volume last year and creating 179,000 jobs, according to the latest annual economic report from the Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA).
Profile 2018: Economic Report on the Screen-Based Media Production Industry in Canada says that Canada’s screen-based media production industry generated $12.8 billion in GDP, up 6.3% over the previous year, and $5.6 billion in foreign investment production, an 18.7% increase, during the period from April 1, 2017 to March 31, 2018.
“These impressive numbers illustrate that our incredibly skilled workforce, underpinned by strong…
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OTTAWA – With the global Internet of Things market predicted to swell to US$1.1 trillion by 2021, more complex applications and the need for greater security are driving innovation within the industry
This is a trend which a new tech accelerator announced today will attempt to address.
L-SPARK, a Canadian software-as-a-service (SaaS) accelerator, and Telus have partnered to launch the “Secure IoT Accelerator” program in collaboration with BlackBerry and data analytics company Solace. The Secure IoT Accelerator program is intended to enable Canadian Internet of Things (IoT) ventures by providing them global market reach capability with a secure by design…
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OTTAWA – Canada’s wireless industry contributed $27.5 billion to the Canadian GDP in 2017, a 9.1% jump from the $25.21 billion recorded in 2016, says a new report by Nordicity.
Commissioned by the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA), the report says that the major contributor to this overall lift was a $1.22 billion increase in contributions from wireless network operators.
The industry’s impact on the GDP includes direct contribution of $14.57 billion, generated through the sale of wireless services, devices and content to end users by network operators, dealers, and distributors; a $6.27 billion indirect impact, which represents procurements…
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