Search Results for: industry canada

Radio / Television News

Bell Media’s Harold Greenberg Fund offers script development support for 33 Canadian film projects

TORONTO – Bell Media’s Harold Greenberg Fund will support 33 Canadian film projects through its Script Development Program, representing an investment of almost $500,000. The Fund’s Script Development program supports Canadian films through all stages, from story optioning and first and second drafts, to third drafts, and polish and packaging.  Click here for the full list of projects supported by the program for 2018/19. “We’re excited to kick off the New Year with a strong collection of projects underway from Canada’s emerging and established filmmakers,” said John Galway, president of the Fund’s English-language program, in the news release.  “This latest… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

Prime Time: Fox exec tells Cancon makers to tap global formats and partners to survive

OTTAWA – Fox Network Group’s Prentiss Fraser on Thursday told anxious producers looking for a map into the global content market they must seize on local formats which they can adapt beyond the Canadian market. And vice versa, for that matter. Content is an international game, after all. "Use your Canadian passports to grow your business here," she told the Canadian Media Producers Association Prime Time conference in Ottawa Thursday morning. Fraser (pictured), who left Entertainment One Television International in 2014 to become first senior vice president of global entertainment sales at Fox International Channels, based in London, pointed Canadian content creators… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News, Radio / Television News

Altering the Acts: Few surprises in the Bell Canada BTLR submission

MOST OF THE arguments we found in the Bell Canada Enterprises submission to the Broadcast and Telecom Legislative Review panel we’ve heard before, which is not surprising since the largest telecom and media company has of course been front and centre when it comes to the issues at play under the Acts. That said, it wants fee for carriage back, too. Telecom The 1993 Telecommunications Act was drafted to move from almost a century of near-monopoly provision of traditional wireline home phone telephony to competitive markets, reminds the Bell document. So the company has asked the panel to implement measures to illustrate that… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Huawei’s future in Canada remains uncertain as Ottawa hands Nokia research funds for next-gen networks

OTTAWA – The U.S. Justice Department’s announcement Monday that 23 criminal charges have been laid against Huawei Technologies, its affiliates and its chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou – who is currently facing extradition from Canada to the U.S. – will likely make it more difficult for China’s telecommunications titan to play any significant role in developing Canada’s 5G wireless networks. But federal Innovation, Science and Economic Development Minister Navdeep Bains, who oversees the spectrum portion of the 5G file, is awaiting the results of a national security review of potential partners in Canada’s 5G… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News, Radio / Television News

While Netflix dominates and Cancon consumption slides, keep an eye on the apps

TORONTO – "Viewing of Canadian content by anyone under 50 is just nose-diving,” due to the growth of Netflix which is now the top channel for prime time viewing according to researcher Peter Lyman, senior partner at Nordicity Group. That means the federal government and CRTC must respond now to the disruptive impacts of OTT providers if the creation of Canadian content is to rebound. Lyman made the comments at the DM@X conference on digital media held at the University of Toronto where he presented his findings on the state of digital media in Canada. The report, The Digital Media Universe… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

IATSE joins ‘Fairness in Factual’ campaign

TORONTO – Two of Canada's media and entertainment unions are joining forces in an effort to improve working conditions and organize workers in factual/reality television. Entertainment union International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) is teaming up with media union CWA Canada in its Fairness in Factual TV campaign, a five year old initiative that seeks to improve health and safety, and establish fairness in pay and working conditions in the industry. According to Tuesday’s announcement, independent contractors and employees often work side by side in the factual TV industry and misclassification is common, which robs workers of legal rights… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

CMPA’s PTiO to stream four sessions Thursday

OTTAWA – Four sessions from the Canadian Media Producers Association’s Prime Time in Ottawa conference this week will be available for livestream. No advanced registration is required, just click on the links available here when the events begin as follows: – Opening address by CMPA president and CEO Reynolds Mastin: January 31 at 9:00 AM ET; – Beyond Disruption: Crafting a Framework for the Future of the Industry: January 31 at 9:15 AM ET; – Keynote: The Honourable Pablo Rodriguez, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Multiculturalism: January 31 at 12:35 PM ET; – The Battle for Talent: Overcoming Scarcity to Build a Winning Team: January… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News, Radio / Television News

Altering the Acts: Netflix rebuffs the Canadian consensus

TWO WEEKS AFTER THE DEADLINE for filing comments with the Broadcast and Telecom Legislative Review panel – and on the eve of this week’s CMPA Prime Time conference in Ottawa, Netflix made its submission public. Stephane Cardin, Netflix’s director of public policy, Canada, told the Canadian Press that since he was going to be on a panel with other stakeholders which had made their positions public, it was appropriate to do so. Bell Media, Corus Entertainment, CBC, CMPA and BTLR panel chair Janet Yale will be with him on the panel on the first day. (That said, neither Bell nor… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

OTT and Cancon: What happens when we tumble down from the top of peak TV?

TORONTO – Over-the-top video providers like Netflix offer many benefits to countries outside the United States, but they are also a threat to film and TV makers, a digital media conference has been told. “If we don't do something about bringing the OTTs into the domestic regulatory sphere, the disparity in treatment between domestic and international services will grow” in countries that have local content or spending rules, warned Stuart Cunningham, a professor of media and communications at Queensland University of Technology in Australia. At the same time, he added, the pressure from local content creators to eliminate those minimum rules… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

WFN rebrands to Sportsman Channel Canada

VANCOUVER – Sportsman Channel Canada has replaced World Fishing Network on TV lineups in Canada. Sportsman Channel Canada, like its U.S. cousins Outdoor Channel, Sportsman Channel and World Fishing Network, will feature “the most trustworthy and reputable Canadian experts in the outdoor industry” through programming that  includes entertaining and educational hunting, fishing and shooting programs, according to the news release. The channel is a partnership with Canada's Outdoor Group Media and Outdoor Sportsman Group Networks. “The launch of Sportsman Channel Canada will undoubtedly prove to be a viewer favorite throughout Canada,” said Outdoor Group Media president Mark Yelic, in the release.  “We… Continue Reading