By Ahmad Hathout
A paper petition calling on the federal government to prop up local radio and television news after a string of layoffs in the industry has been presented to the House of Commons on Wednesday.
The petition, which was carried by Kingston Liberal MP Mark Gerretsen, is asking that government to extend the Canadian Journalism Labour Tax Credit to include radio and television; dedicate 70 per cent of federal government advertising dollars on local radio, TV, print and digital media; and eliminate tax-deductions for advertising purchased on foreign-owned, internet-delivered media sites and services.
“The abrupt departures of radio and television…
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The Canadian Communication Systems Alliance (CCSA), a rep for independent telecom service providers, announced Wednesday that Alice Bernier is the organization’s director of partner relations.
Bernier will “lead negotiations, finalize and administer master agreements with Canadian and international media and entertainment companies, and oversee group purchasing activities on behalf of the CCSA’s membership,” a press release said.
“With over 20 years of experience in the media and entertainment industry, Bernier brings a wealth of expertise from her leadership role at Rogers and her contributions to the growth of various media companies in recent years,” the release added.
Bernier was a former senior…
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Competitors claim similar treatment by Rogers
By Ahmad Hathout
Rogers has responded to an allegation of undue preference with respect to a distant interconnection point it wants a small telecom to use for wholesale internet, saying it is up to the network builder, per its tariff, to determine where that traffic handoff will happen and that the CRTC has approved and affirmed the meet-me point in question.
Fibernetics filed a Part 1 last month alleging that Rogers is giving itself an undue preference by forcing the Cambridge, Ont.-based telecom to hook up to an interconnection office half a kilometre…
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Bell Media announced Tuesday that it is partnering with StackAdapt, an AI-powered ad placement platform for brands to reach Bell’s audiences.
The StackAdapt platform allows Canadian brands to customize their ads and ensure that their campaigns are targeted to the precise audience across Bell’s inventory, including connected TV (CTV), display, video, audio and digital out-of-home channels, according to a press release.
“This partnership with StackAdapt marks a strategic step forward in aligning Bell Media’s premium CTV and digital inventory with the evolving needs of advertisers in Canada and beyond,” Sabrina Segal, director of Advanced Advertising and National Sales at Bell Media,…
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By Ahmad Hathout
TekSavvy is the latest telecom to submit a review-and-vary application since cabinet’s recommendation to revisit a part of the CRTC’s decision on the wholesale internet framework, with the independent last week asking for clarity on access to new fibre builds inside the telcos’ footprint as well as when wholesalers will be able to access the cable companies’ last-mile fibre builds on an aggregated basis.
The CRTC made two exemptions in its August decision: that Bell and Telus will be shielded from the aggregated last-mile fibre regime for five years to allow them to recoup their…
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By Connie Thiessen
A coalition of eight major unions and guilds – representing over 87,000 screenwriters, directors, performers, artists, and crew in Canadian film & television – is calling on Telefilm Canada to stop funding productions that refuse to sign collective agreements or abide by minimum standards, leaving creative industry professionals unprotected.
The organizations, which include Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA), Association des Réalisateurs et Réalisatrices du Québec (ARRQ), Directors Guild of Canada (DGC), International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (Canada) (IATSE), NABET 700-M UNIFOR Société des auteurs de radio, télévision et cinéma (SARTEC), Union des artistes (UDA), and Writers Guild of Canada (WGC), are urging the Crown agency to adopt the same…
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Ericsson announced Thursday it is expanding a funding agreement with the Canadian government and now plowing more than $630 million in research and development of advanced mobile, artificial intelligence and quantum technologies.
The Swedish telecom equipment manufacturer last year committed $470 million in R&D centres in a five-year commitment with the federal government.
Thursday’s announcement adds additional money that will go toward research facilities in Ottawa and Montreal, “creating and upskilling hundreds of jobs and internships and strengthening these sites as global leaders in 5G Advanced, 6G, AI, Cloud RAN, quantum, and network API technologies,” a press release…
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By Ahmad Hathout
Telus executives on Friday pointed to competitor aggression for dampening its average revenue per user (ARPU) on wireless, but the company said it is keeping firm on its retention strategy as it heads into the hottest quarter of the year.
The Vancouver-based telecom reported a mobile wireless ARPU of $58.85 in the third quarter, a decline of roughly $2 compared to the same period last year. The company that prides itself on customer loyalty and its historically low churn saw that rate of defection increase to 1.09 per cent from 1.03 over the same period.
The telco said this…
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By Ahmad Hathout
On federal cabinet urging, the CRTC is “working quickly” to launch a public consultation on whether Rogers, Bell and Telus should be banned from using the aggregated last-mile fibre regime in Ontario and Quebec, the regulator said in a statement to Cartt, a move that is being welcomed by competitors.
The minister of Industry, Francois Philippe-Champagne, made the recommendation to the CRTC on Wednesday. It was a partial win for Bell, which requested in its February petition for the cabinet to rescind or vary the regulator’s decision last year that mandated competitor access to its bundled middle- and…
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By Ahmad Hathout
Rogers filed a confidential application in May requesting the CRTC lift a standstill and allow it to remove several undisclosed Corus specialty channels primarily related to children’s programming from its television rotation due to underperformance, according to court documents on which Cartt can now report.
The documents in the Ontario Superior Court show that the CRTC had previously ordered a standstill in September 2023, indicating a carriage dispute between the two, and then reaffirmed it on May 30 and August 5, 2024. That means Rogers must continue carrying the channels until either the issue is resolved by the…
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