OTTAWA – In a speech today at an Economic Club of Canada event, Minister of Canadian Heritage Melanie Joly officially unveiled the federal government’s long awaited digital content strategy. Dubbed 'Creative Canada', the plan has angered some and sated others and calls for increased investments to support both domestic production as well as the promotion of Canadian content abroad.
The release of the strategy comes a day after news leaked that the federal government had inked an agreement with Netflix that would see the online broadcaster and distributor invest a minimum of $500 million in Canadian productions over the next…
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CBC/Radio-Canada explores credibility, democracy and public values at Annual General Meeting
OTTAWA – Despite “serious financial challenges, a fragmented ecosystem, the appearance of the global Facebooks and Netflixes of the world who have absolutely weakened the broadcasting model that used to support our industry,” CBC/Radio-Canada remains relevant and is thriving in a digital world, according to Hubert Lacroix, president and CEO.
In a presentation to the corporation’s Annual General Meeting on Tuesday, the chief executive, who’s nearing the end of his term, noted that when he took the reins in November 2007, digital mainstays like the iPad and Netflix didn’t exist,…
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Like, will broadcaster rules now apply to the streamer?
REPORTS LATE MONDAY said that the centrepiece of Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly’s 17-months-in-the-making strategy to energize, or backstop, the production of Canadian content in our always-on-and-everywhere digital age is that she has secured a commitment from Netflix to spend $500 million over five years “on the production and distribution” of Canadian content.
On the face of it, this is welcome news. Who in the creative industries wouldn’t like to see another $100 million spent annually on Cancon?
However, I hope this plan, which Minister Joly will officially announce in Ottawa today, has a…
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TORONTO – The Canadian music industry has lost a major source of funding after Bell Media confirmed that it has pulled the plug on its MuchFACT program.
MuchFACT has supported the Canadian music community through funding and promotion of music videos and related music content for media platforms since 1984. The company has also dropped BravoFACT, a similar fund for short-form scripted projects.
A CBC report says that MuchFACT spent approximately $2 million a year, funding videos by Arcade Fire, Carly Rae Jepsen and emerging acts like Halifax psych rock band Walrus and Mississauga rapper John River. It also quotes Bell Media president…
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VANCOUVER – Telus hit wireless speeds of nearly 1 Gbps in its downtown Vancouver 5G Living Lab last week, the company announced Wednesday.
Telus said that it successfully completed the first test of Licensed Assisted Access (LAA) on indoor and outdoor live networks in Canada, delivering download speeds of 970 Mbps indoors and 966 Mbps outdoors using 80 MHz of aggregated spectrum in a live, dynamic production network.
LAA is one of the key LTE Advanced Pro technologies that will enhance the Telus network as it continues to evolve toward next-generation 5G speeds. The technology works by combining licensed wireless spectrum…
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MONTREAL – More than 270 members of Canada’s film and television industry are demanding that U.S. web-based media giants like Google, Facebook, Netflix and Amazon play by the same rules as Canadian media.
In an open letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Heritage Minister Melanie Joly and Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland dated September 26, the groups ask that the multinational media companies be regulated and taxed like their Canadian competitors.
“Unlike regulated Canadian companies, these foreign companies do not provide any information on their activities in Canada as required by CRTC regulations. They do not pay taxes. They do not pay…
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TORONTO and MONTREAL – The Bell Fund is marking its 20th anniversary with the launch of the first of four pilot programs that will provide grants to Canadian media content makers.
The Bell Fund receives annual contributions of approximately $17 million from Bell TV as part of its broadcast distribution undertaking (BDU) contributions to the industry. Since 1997, the Fund has invested over $200 million in 2,000 Canadian digital media projects and television programs, plus offered training, research, professional development and promotion for the Canadian media production industry.
Created in response to the CRTC's update of the Policy Framework for Certified…
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OTTAWA – Canada’s federal private sector privacy law should include order-making powers and the ability to impose fines, like the U.S. and many European countries, says the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.
Its annual report tabled Thursday in Parliament says “urgent change” is needed to restore Canadians’ confidence in technology.
"Canadians' fear that they are losing their privacy is real”, said Commissioner Daniel Therrien, in the report’s news release. “They expect concrete, robust solutions to restore their confidence in technology as something that will serve their interests and not be a threat to their rights.”
The report also included the results of…
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HAMILTON – We all know the world of television has changed in myriad ways, especially with thousands of shows available on multiple channels or platforms. There are just too many to keep track of, whether we’re talking about consumers or industry folks.
There are now so many good shows on so many channels, one of the common questions people ask is “Where’s that show?” Findtv was created to help solve that problem.
Imagine a call centre rep faced with a customer who wants to switch her TV lineup, but remembers her husband likes Vikings, her son enjoys SpongeBob, her daughter is…
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And no, that doesn’t impact Viceland
TORONTO – Starting October 16th, the edgy Vice News Tonight will anchor prime time for Bell Media’s Much channel (it still seems weird not to call it MuchMusic…).
In an exclusive deal announced today, Bell Media and Vice Media have partnered to bring the news show to Canadians this fall. Produced in Brooklyn, NY four times per week, the 30-minute news program is set to anchor Much’s new fall schedule Monday to Thursday at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, beginning October 16. It will also air on HBO Canada Monday to Thursday at 11…
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