TV5 Québec Canada’s board of directors on Monday announced the appointment of Yann Paquet as president and CEO, effective April 14.
Paquet will succeed Marie-Philippe Bouchard to the helm of the non-profit media company, which includes French-language specialty channels TV5 and Unis TV as well as the TV5Unis platform.
With more than 25 years of experience in the media industry, Paquet most recently held the position of vice president at Quebecor Content, where he oversaw foreign television program acquisitions and the financing of productions aired on TVA Group’s networks and Videotron’s platforms. He also contributed to the development of Quebec cinema…
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By Connie Thiessen
Mark Carney was sworn in as Canada’s 24th Prime Minister on Friday morning, along with a new, leaner cabinet of 23 ministers.
Among other changes, Steven Guilbeault is out as Environment minister and reassigned as Minister of Canadian Culture and Identity, and Parks Canada, in addition to serving as Carney’s Quebec Lieutenant. Guilbeault previously served as Canadian Heritage minister from Nov. 2019 to Oct. 2021. Quebec MP Pascale St-Onge, who is not reoffering in the coming federal election, had held the portfolio since July 2023.
Canada Media Fund (CMF) President and CEO Valerie Creighton welcomed Guilbeault on his…
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Nearly half of focus group respondents said a program’s country of origin didn’t matter
By Ahmad Hathout
The majority of Canadians can identify Canadian programming when looking for something to watch on cable, satellite or online streaming services, a new survey-based report commissioned by the CRTC found, while a larger majority chooses to watch content based on entertainment value and quality.
The “Perceptions of Canadian Programming and News” study, delivered last month by Ottawa-based Phoenix Strategic Perspectives Inc., found 60 per cent of surveyed Canadians said they could identify Canadian programming, 25 per cent said they could not, and 16 per cent…
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Radio broadcasters outraged at CRTC’s support for airplay quotas
By Howard Law, author of MediaPolicy.ca and Canada vs California: How Ottawa took on Netflix and the streaming giants (2024)
This week, the Canadian Association of Broadcasters let howl a primal scream of protest against the CRTC’s recent notice of consultation on radio broadcasting and audio streaming. In an open letter the CAB says the commission’s notice, full of “preliminary views” on key regulatory points, “absolutely missed the mark” and is so bad it should be rescinded and the CRTC should go back to the…
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By Connie Thiessen
The Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) and 25 of its radio members – including Rogers Sports & Media, Bell Media, Cogeco, Stingray, Pattison Media and Corus Entertainment – have written to the CRTC asking the commission to tear up its recent notice of consultation on updated rules for the radio and audio sector and start over.
Released on Feb. 20, the consultation will inform work to update the definition of what constitutes Canadian content on radio and audio streaming services. It also outlines a financial contribution framework for broadcasters that the CAB says suggests that…
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The Canadian government last week announced the construction of a new Telesat campus in Gatineau that is expected to open in the fourth quarter of 2025 and bring 300 new high-skilled jobs to the area.
The $25-million facility is part of the larger $6.5-billion Telesat Lightspeed initiative, which is being supported by a $2.14-billion federal loan and a $400-million provincial loan from Quebec to build and operate Telesat’s Lightspeed low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite network.
“The new campus will host Telesat’s network operations centre, satellite control centre and…
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Bell and Nokia announced last week an expansion of their 5G network infrastructure partnership that will modernize Bell’s network with Cloud and Open RAN capabilities, thereby improving agility, scalability and efficiency, according to a joint press release.
“Bell’s deployment of Cloud RAN infrastructure is a strategic stepping stone toward Bell’s broader Open RAN vision,” the release said. “Nokia’s anyRAN approach offers Bell flexible RAN evolution options — purpose-built, hybrid, or Cloud RAN solutions — enabling network monetization, interoperability, vendor diversity, and reduced vendor lock-in.”
This multi-year contract extension will see Bell leverage Nokia’s energy-efficient…
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By Connie Thiessen
Paul Bronfman, the founder of film and television production supplier and financier Comweb, and founding shareholder of Pinewood Toronto Studios, has passed away.
Bronfman, who was 67, had been battling multiple sclerosis since the mid-1990s.
The son of Canadian business giant Edward Bronfman, Paul got his start in the entertainment industry working with rock acts like Supertramp and April Wine in the 1970s. He transitioned into film and television by the end of the decade, joining Astral Media’s Astral Bellevue Pathe in Toronto.
Bronfman went on to launch the Comweb Corporation in 1988, providing production services, studio facilities, and equipment to film and television productions worldwide. The company’s first major venture was…
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Ahead of its March 31 public hearing on modernizing its definition of Canadian content, the CRTC has added a public opinion research report to the public record and is setting out the key issues it will focus on during the hearing.
The research report prepared for the CRTC by Phoenix Strategy Perspectives Inc. is based on an online survey of 1,226 Canadians aged 16 years and older and eight online focus groups (four in English and four in French) conducted with Canadians aged 18 and older. The online survey took place from Nov….
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Ottawa-based satellite operator Telesat announced Tuesday it is now accepting applications for its fifth annual National Women in Technology and Engineering scholarship program and its third annual National Fellowship for Indigenous Youth program.
Through the Women in Technology and Engineering scholarship, Telesat will award $10,000 scholarships to eight female full-time undergraduate students pursuing studies in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Their STEM program must be aligned with Telesat’s operations, according to the eligibility criteria listed on Telesat’s website.
Under the Fellowship for Indigenous Youth program, Telesat will provide $5,000 scholarships…
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