OTTAWA – In a decision issued today, the Supreme Court of Canada determined that An Internet service provider can recoup its costs from copyright owners who ask the ISP to help track down internet users suspected of stealing video content to which they don’t own the rights.
As the Court determined, “An ISP can recover its costs of compliance with a Norwich order, but it is not entitled to be compensated for every cost that it incurs in complying with such an order. Recoverable costs must be reasonable and must arise from compliance…
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TORONTO – More than CAD$162.7 million has been pledged collectively so far in connection with Friday’s star-studded Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) "roadblock" fundraising telecast in Canada and the United States, organizers said Monday.
The live show was SU2C's sixth biennial fundraising telecast since the organization was launched in 2008 and marks ten years of impact in the fight against cancer. The telecast, which also streamed live in Toronto's Yonge-Dundas Square on Bell Media's Astral large-format digital screens and the Citytv Big Screen, featured a cast of celebrated figures from the worlds of entertainment, music, sports, and science, as…
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TORONTO – The Canada Media Fund (CMF), in partnership with the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), will host and participate in an industry session this Saturday during the industry track of the festival dedicated to “Engaging Today’s Consumers: Building a National Brand for Film, TV, and Digital”.
CMF president and CEO Valerie Creighton will moderate a panel discussion on why now is the time to think outside the box and build a consumer-facing brand for the Canadian audiovisual industry that has the power to inspire audiences; to change the way Canadians and the world perceive Canadian content; and to shine…
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APTN, TV5/UNIS TV and Weather Networks all renewed
GATINEAU – On the day before the expiry of their licences, the CRTC renewed the must-carry status of the Aboriginal People Television Network (APTN), TV5/UNIS TV and Pelmorex’s The Weather Network/MétéoMédia (TWN/MM) channels.
APTN had requested to lower the obligation of Canadian content from 75% to 70% to showcase more non-Canadian aboriginal content and lowering obligation to purchase less content from independent producers from 80% to 75%, in line with other broadcasters but was denied by the CRTC. However, the Commission granted it a four-cent monthly rate increase to bring it to $0.35…
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CMF adds new industry, market trends director
MONTREAL and TORONTO – Netflix has tapped Stéphane Cardin as its new director of public policy for Canada where he will lead its regulatory affairs and industry relations.
According to a La Presse report, Cardin (pictured) will be based in Montreal and report to the streaming giant’s global government relations team in Washington. He will begin his new role in mid-September.
Cardin has been VP of industry and public affairs at Canada Media Fund (CMF) since 2006, and held a senior role with the Société de development des enterprises culturales du Québec (SODEC)…
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Feds told CRTC to take another look
GATINEAU – In decisions issued today, the CRTC determined that increases in Canadian production spending are required to preserve a Canadian presence in a changing viewing environment, but did not mandate an increase in local content, as the CRTC limited its examinations to issues listed in the Government order. That is, for PNI: short films and short-form documentaries in English – and levels of original programming in French – and music programming for both languages.
For the French-language market, the CRTC now requires each broadcsting group to make adequate investments in the creation of French-language programs, representing…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC has renewed the broadcast licence for the national discretionary services known as Cable Public Affairs Channel (CPAC), as well as their mandatory distribution order.
A federally incorporated, not-for-profit company owned by companies in the cable television industry, CPAC Inc. operates licensed public affairs programming services in English and in French. These services are complementary to the exempt programming services it also operates, which provide coverage of the proceedings of the House of Commons and of the committees of the House and Senate.
The Commission also agreed to CPAC’s request to increase its regulated per subscriber monthly…
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Women filled over 40% of key leadership roles in TV productions
TORONTO – Every one dollar invested by the Canada Media Fund (CMF) to support Canada’s audiovisual industry generated $4.14 in production activity, the highest leverage ratio since the CMF was created in 2010, according to the CMF’s bilingual annual report for the 2017-2018 fiscal year.
In the context of a declining program budget, the CMF’s funding programs contributed $342.3M to financing the development, production and promotion of 1,176 television and digital media projects in 2017-2018. This high level of production activity is a testament to the CMF’s contribution to…
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TORONTO – Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) has named Lisa Blanchette as its new public policy and communications director.
Blanchette (pictured) previously worked for ACTRA Toronto as an organizer from June 2012 to June 2015 and, most recently, as a government relations specialist. She also served as chief of staff for the Minister of Culture and Tourism for the province of Alberta from June 2015 to January 2018.
She replaces Elliott Anderson who has taken on a new government sector role.
“We are happy to welcome Lisa Blanchette as our new Director of Public Policy and Communications,” said ACTRA…
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EDINBURGH, UK – The Canadian arts and television industries were part of a Canadian presence this week at the Edinburgh Television Festival in an effort to deepen their connections in the U.K. market.
Sean Casey, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage, led the Canadian delegation as part of the Feds’ nascent Creative Export Strategy to expand Canada's presence in important global markets, create business opportunities and grow exports.
Almost 30 Canadian companies and organizations attended various activities in Edinburgh. Minister Casey also took part in the Commonwealth Culture Ministers' meeting on international cooperation in protecting and preserving cultural heritage, as well…
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