Search Results for: industry canada

Radio / Television News

Prime Time in Ottawa: A strong CBC and a light regulatory touch is a must, if Cancon industry is to survive say TV execs

OTTAWA – More flexible deal making, predictable and long-term funding for CBC/Radio-Canada and a light hand from the broadcast regulator are key to ensure Canadian content can be successful, achieve scale and make it on the international market, according to a panel of broadcast industry executives at the Canadian Media Production Association’s annual Prime Time conference. In the opening panel session called Getting Ahead of Change, Bell Media president Kevin Crull noted that getting international success for Canadian content and the financing of big expensive projects will only come from having a solid domestic market, which is being destabilized by… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Huawei offers education program to engineering students at seven Canadian universities

BARCELONA – Huawei is bringing its funded education program to Canada, which will provide 20 third-year engineering students from seven Canadian universities an opportunity to visit Beijing and work out of the company's headquarters in Shenzhen, China. Designed to help bridge the gap between school and work, the company said that 'Seeds for the Future' will help develop ICT talent in Canada, promote a greater understanding of the telecommunications sector, and encourage participation in the international ICT community. The program will offer students from Polytechnique Montréal, Carleton University, the University of Saskatchewan, the University of Waterloo, the University of British Columbia,… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

Why aren’t regulators helping AM radio and forcing carriers to turn on the FM chips in smartphones?

TORONTO – While radio stations in general face many of the same issues thanks to burgeoning competition from streaming audio services, the separate AM and FM bands have their own unique challenges to overcome, as was apparent during the North American Broadcasters Association’s Future of Radio & Audio Symposium, held last week at the Glenn Gould Studio in downtown Toronto. In his keynote address to the symposium held 10 days ago, Ajit Pai, commissioner of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, outlined two issues for AM/FM radio: the revitalization of the AM band and the activation of FM chips in smartphones. In… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

Sportsnet, TVA Sports score Canadian rights to 2016 World Cup of Hockey

TORONTO and MONTREAL – Sportsnet has acquired the exclusive Canadian English-language multimedia rights for the 2016 World Cup of Hockey which will take at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto in September and October of 2016. TVA Sports, Sportsnet’s French-language partner, has in turn acquired the Canadian French-language multimedia rights, and will be the exclusive Francophone broadcaster of the tournament. The international tournament, a joint effort of the NHLPA and the NHL, in cooperation with the International Ice Hockey Federation, will feature teams from Canada, the United States, Russia, Sweden, Finland and the Czech Republic, as well as Team North American Young… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

CTAM U deadline is March 27

TORONTO – CTAM Canada is again inviting its members to apply for a scholarship to attend the prestigious CTAM-U Executive Management Program at Harvard in June. One successful applicant will be selected to attend the program at Harvard in Boston that this year runs from June 7 – 12, 2015.  The scholarship, valued at approximately $10,000, covers the participant’s tuition, accommodation, meals, books, and materials. For one week, a group of industry executives are immersed in this intensive and intimate learning program.  They study with the top Harvard Business School professors and selected key industry luminaries, and the curriculum is built… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

NABA: Is “live, local, personal” enough for radio?

TORONTO – Broadcast radio’s primary sustainable advantages over streaming audio services will continue to be its live and local content for the foreseeable future, according to industry experts who spoke at last week’s Future of Radio & Audio Symposium, held by the North American Broadcasters Association (NABA) at the Glenn Gould Studio in downtown Toronto. “If we look to the future, how can radio best sustain its competitive advantage — and it still has a huge one — it’s really around ‘local’, and ‘live’, and ‘personal’,” said Jeff Vidler, president of market research firm Audience Insights in Toronto,… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

NABA: Radio must embrace the connected car

TORONTO – Faced with an increasing number of streaming audio services and mobile radio apps competing for space on the dashboards of modern cars (not like the one on the right!), traditional radio broadcasters need to aggressively promote their AM/FM stations as the first choice for their listeners’ in-car entertainment. That was the advice of digital radio experts and one automotive technology planner who spoke about the opportunity that the connected car has for radio broadcasters at last week’s Future of Radio & Audio Symposium, organized by the North American Broadcasters Association and held in downtown Toronto’s Glenn… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News, Radio / Television News

Bell appealing CRTC’s Super Bowl simsub decision; advertisers petition minister, regulator, too

TORONTO and OTTAWA – The XLIX Super Bowl may have been decided over a month ago, but the matter of American Super Bowl ads coming to Canadian television is still front and centre for Bell Media, the current Canadian rightsholder of the big game. On Monday, the broadcaster filed a motion with the Federal Court of Appeal seeking to appeal BRP CRTC 2015-25, the CRTC’s January 29th decision prohibiting the practice of simultaneous substitution in Super Bowl games starting in 2017.  Bell Media spokesperson Scott Henderson said in a statement that in making that decision, “the CRTC erred in… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News, Radio / Television News

SaskTel CEO Styles on roaming caps, auctions, wireline, TV and 25 Mbps broadband

TORONTO – As part of a media tour in Toronto last week, SaskTel president and CEO Ron Styles sat down with Cartt.ca to discuss the telecom company’s most recent financial year and its upcoming projects. However, he declined to comment on this spring’s upcoming AWS-3 spectrum auction, of which SaskTel is one of the applicants planning to bid on licences in Saskatchewan. “We’re prohibited by the federal government to discuss that, while the auction is getting ready to kick off,” Styles (pictured) explained. “I can’t really comment on AWS-3 at all, otherwise I’ll be getting a call.” As… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News, Radio / Television News

Rogers, Ryerson team up on competition to offer startups a sporting chance

TORONTO – Rogers is partnering with Toronto’s Ryerson University on a national competition designed to give Canadian startups an opportunity to develop innovative technology solutions for the sport industry. The Next Big Idea in Sport competition will provide up to 10 selected startups with four months of incubation at the Digital Media Zone at Ryerson University (DMZ) and the chance to win cash prizes totaling $100,000.  Startups are encouraged to explore innovation opportunities within the sports industry spanning analytics, athletic performance technologies, analysis of business management, fan engagement, consumer experiences and social innovation. Applications are due… Continue Reading