TORONTO – Can we blame the snowy weather for cutting into our internet surfing time? While it’s unproven whether we’ve traded shovelling snow for surfing the internet, Canadians’ overall internet usage dropped in the last quarter of 2012, according to a new report from comScore.
The average Canadian Internet user was online for 41.3 hours per month in the fourth quarter of last year, dropping us to the #2 spot in terms of worldwide usage, reports the Toronto Star. Canadians spent an average of 45.3 hours per month online during the same period in 2011.
Canadians…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – It’s all in the CRTC’s hands now.
Following a review of BCE’s second $3.38 billion proposal to purchase Astral Media inside of 12 months, the Competition Bureau said late Monday it had reached an agreement with Bell “that preserves competition in the supply of English and French pay and specialty television programming services in Canada,” according to the Bureau’s press release.
Under the terms of the Consent Agreement filed with the Competition Tribunal Monday, Bell must divest itself of Astral Media’s ownership interests in Family Channel, Teletoon, Teletoon Retro, Disney XD, the Cartoon Network, Disney Jr. (English and French),…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – Telecommunications carriers have agreed for the first time to notify municipalities of all antennas being installed before their construction, regardless of height, and to undertake full public consultation for towers under 15 meters – whenever deemed necessary by the municipality.
The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) and the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA) have announced a joint protocol on the siting process of wireless antenna systems. The Joint Antenna System Siting Protocol establishes a more comprehensive notification and consultation process than current regulations,…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – Competing in a universe of “limitless competitive content,” producers are finding that making Canadian content “discoverable” online is becoming a critical component to success. While Canadian producers are now creating a broad range of digital content and products they must also adopt techniques and tools for reaching, engaging and holding on to audiences.
That’s one finding from a new survey released by The Canadian Media Production Association (CMPA) that examines the critical role of social media and online marketing tools to enhance the ability of audiences to find, or discover video content online. Continue Reading
INDUSTRY MINISTER CHRISTIAN PARADIS’ head is spinning. After a couple of days on the ground at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, the Minister had talked to so many people and seen so much interesting new technology, he pronounced himself overwhelmed, impressed and excited by it all, in an interview with Cartt.ca on Tuesday.
MWC is one of the largest wireless industry conferences in the world with about 70,000 attendees – and it is known as the get-together where you’ll find the highest number of CEOs and other senior wireless executives. Thousands of vendors, app developers, handset makers and…
Continue Reading
TORONTO – Peace Point Entertainment has appointed Fiorella Grossi as the new Head of Development. Overseeing Peace Point’s Toronto based development team as well as the company’s development executives in Los Angeles and New York, Grossi will be responsible for assessing channel needs in Canada and the USA and grow the company’s already extensive slate of quality, award-winning content. She will also work closely with Peace Points Digital Team and international distribution division Peace Point Rights.
“Fiorella’s ‘perfect storm’ of experience as an award-winning producer and development executive for some of the industry’s top broadcasters…
Continue Reading
TORONTO – If you’re in the broadcast, recording, retail or live concert arms of the music industry; it’s time to vote for the 2013 Canadian Music & Broadcast Industry Awards at Canadian Music Week (CMW). Make yourself heard and register to vote today. Voting deadline is Friday, March 1.
CMW has also announced that Amanda Logan, radio announcer and assistant music director at CHUM FM in Toronto, is the recipient of the 2013 Allan Waters Young Broadcaster of the Year Award in Memory of Steve Young. The award will be presented during the Radio Consultants…
Continue Reading
TORONTO – In about 30 minutes, Omnicom Canada CEO Fred Forster put a good scare into a room of broadcasters and ad folks Monday afternoon when describing the impending near future for the TV advertising business.
In a speech to the Broadcast Executives Society lunch Forster, the head of Omnicom in Canada (Omnicom is a $14.5 billion global ad agency) painted a picture of how Big Data is taking over the media buying world, rendering the old metrics of CPMs (cost per thousand) and GRPs (gross ratings points) useless to agencies and their clients
“GRPs and the currency we see today…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – Christian Paradis, Minister of Industry, is heading to Barcelona to spread the word at the Mobile World Congress 2013 that Canada is the digital destination of choice. Paradis will focus on how Canada is an attractive destination for foreign investment, champion the world-class capabilities of Canadian companies and “underscore the concrete actions that the Harper Government has taken to position Canada as a leading digital economy.”
Minister Paradis will be joined by Canadian companies and representatives from the provincial governments of Alberta, Ontario, Quebec and those in the Atlantic region in opening the…
Continue Reading
TORONTO – IBM has unveiled IBM MobileFirst, which it claims is the industry’s most comprehensive mobile portfolio that combines new solutions in mobile security, analytics, and application development software, with cloud-based services and mobile services expertise.
IBM says that with MobileFirst, businesses can now streamline everything from the management of employee mobile devices, to the creation of a new mobile commerce app that will transform their entire business model.
Today’s move says IBM builds off its experience…
Continue Reading