LAVAL — After a day of pushing major French-language television broadcasters to justify their demands for fewer regulatory burdens, the CRTC pushed the other way on Wednesday, for interest groups to justify the need for regulatory intervention as Canadians increasingly get their audiovisual content from unlicensed sources.
“I see a representation of a corporate interest, but not necessarily from the person that the CRTC must serve, the TV viewer,” chairman Jean-Pierre Blais told the Association québécoise de la production médiatique, one of many production groups to present at the licence renewal hearing in Laval, north of…
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Bains didn’t say last week
WHEN IT COMES TO auctioning off our 600 MHz broadcast spectrum (expected to begin sometime in 2017), Canada may not, in fact, want to copy what the Americans have done.
That's because the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has run into some frustrating delays in trying to sell off large chunks of surplus 600 MHz spectrum from TV broadcasters currently using the airwaves to wireless carriers in the U.S. this year. As a result, the complicated auction process, which started early last spring, is now expected to drag on until at least through early next year.
Unlike the…
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OTTAWA – The disruption of the traditional broadcast TV model – the one-to-many into a one-to-one relationship – means that data has become critically important to the future of broadcasting.
Kelly Steen, partnership strategy lead at Wattpad, highlighted how data from its storytelling application is leading to the creation of new types of programming during a session at last week’s International Institute of Communications Canadian chapter conference in Ottawa. For reference, Wattpad has 45 million monthly visitors, adds 103,000 new users every day and has an average viewing time of 30 minutes. All this from a large millennial audience.
She noted…
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OTTAWA – Some of Canada’s most successful content creators are concerned the federal government’s rules around Canadian content may not be in the best interests of the industry. They say regulations might actually inhibit broadcasters from taking risks on innovative content.
The last session of IIC Canada’s conference in Ottawa last week delved into some of the key issues affecting the development of successful Canadian content. As Raja Khanna, CEO of television and digital at Blue Ant Media, pointed out “we’re tackling the future of Canadian content” and the role of government of involvement.
What are the key ingredients of a…
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MONTREAL – Bell Media’s Mary Deacon, Wendy Freeman and Lainey Lui have been recognized by the Women’s Executive Network (WXN) with Canada’s Most Powerful Women Top 100 Awards.
The Top 100 Awards recognize the professional achievements of talented leaders in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors. Deacon, Freeman and Lui will be honoured, along with their fellow award recipients, Thursday at a gala event in Toronto.
A passionate advocate and leader in the mental health community, Deacon (pictured) assumed her role as chair of Bell Let’s Talk, the largest-ever corporate initiative of its kind in Canada, after a 25-year career…
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LAVAL – “There’s so much discussion of flexibility that you’d think we were at a yoga club,” cracked CRTC chairman Jean-Pierre Blais during day one of the license renewal hearing for Canada’s French-language TV broadcasters.
The broadcasters, as is their wont, called for more flexibility and reduced quotas for Canadian programming – and both Quebecor Media and Groupe V Média took shots at the national public broadcaster, even though it’s not part of the hearing.
“We’re worried about the fact that Radio-Canada continues to stray from its mandate to adopt a resolutely commercial approach,” said TVA president Julie Tremblay (pictured), in…
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TORONTO – Tickets are now on sale for next month’s CTAM Canada Broadcaster Forum.
Scheduled for December 1 starting at 1:00 PM at the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto, the fourth annual event will focus on Innovation in the Pay TV ecosystem and offer five distinct sessions including exclusive, Canadian-specific market research, two moderated panels of industry leaders, and a Q&A between Cartt.ca editor and publisher Greg O’Brien and CBC’s EVP English Services Heather Conway. A networking reception will follow the event.
Session #1: Technology & Television Innovation – “The requirement to stay relevant”
Industry professional Norm Lem…
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PHOENIX – Israel “Sruki” Switzer will be laid to rest on Monday, November 21 in Calgary after passing away at his home in Phoenix earlier this week at the age of 87.
As Cartt.ca reported Wednesday, Switzer was a pioneer in the Canadian cable television industry and widely regarded as one of Canada's most knowledgeable cable technology engineers.
Below is Switzer’s obituary from his family as well as details of his funeral.
Israel “Sruki” Switzer, 87, passed away unexpectedly on Wednesday November 16, 2016 at his winter home in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Born June 29, 1929 in Calgary, Alberta, Switzer was a pioneer in…
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AFTER HIS SPEECH TO IIC Canada Wednesday afternoon in Ottawa, we sat down with CRTC chairman Jean-Pierre Blais for a quick chat about his talk – and a few other things.
What follows is an edited transcript, lightly edited for clarity
Greg O’Brien: That was an aggressive speech, from my point of view. Was that a goodbye?
Jean-Pierre Blais: No, I don’t think it’s a goodbye. I said what we would be doing and I was taking stock of where we were at, four years later.
GOB: Are you looking to be renewed (as CRTC chairman)?
JPB: That’s not my…
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CRTC chair looks back, and ahead, and finds industry is lagging
OTTAWA – “We as a nation have to stop spinning our wheels on legacy issues and embrace where we’re heading,” CRTC chairman Jean-Pierre Blais said Wednesday in a strongly worded speech to delegates at the International Institute of Communications Canadian chapter conference.
“We have to get ahead of the curve. I repeat, we have to get ahead of the curve,” he said in a 30-minute address that was, more or less, a self-assessment on his nearly four-and-a-half years at the helm of the Commission. Blais said at this same conference four…
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