By Christopher Guly
OTTAWA — The federal government might have scored a win by getting agreement from the world’s most popular search engine to compensate news publishers and broadcasters for posting their online content, but it now has to address the impact of artificial intelligence on what Canadians read, see and hear, according to panelists discussing the balancing act of safeguarding national interests while promoting growth amid the challenges of digital and AI technology at the Canadian Media Producers Association’s (CMPA’s) annual Prime Time conference in Ottawa on Feb. 1.
As Meta blocked Canadian news from Canadian users of its Facebook…
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Producing for the Planet, a first-of-its-kind Canadian climate change initiative for the motion picture and screen-based industries, was announced last Friday at the Canadian Media Producers Association’s Prime Time conference in Ottawa.
More than 40 Canadian independent media producers have come together to form a coalition to support the industry initiative, which “will empower producers in taking measurable action against climate change through collaboration, resource and knowledge sharing, formal commitments, and annual reporting,” a press release says.
“The producer-led coalition will focus on accelerating the adoption of sustainable production practices as well as…
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By Christopher Guly
OTTAWA — Canadian Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge expects that a “growing sector” will emerge from the regulatory broadcasting framework the CRTC plans to release later this year in implementing the federal Online Streaming Act, Bill C-11.
“The reason why we created the CRTC and legislation around the Broadcasting Act was to make sure that Canadian content was easily found and accessible to Canadians, so could tell and watch their own stories,” she said Thursday at the Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA) annual conference in Ottawa.
“The other part was making sure that…
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By Brad Danks
Many of us are former Blackberry owners and have probably heard of former Co-CEO of BlackBerry, Jim Balsillie. More recently you may have learned even more about him through Glenn Howerton’s outstanding portrayal of him in the Canadian Content film, “Blackberry.” Apparently Balsillie called the performance “brilliant” although he said it was, in his view, 5% true and 95% fictional. However, you probably did not know that Balsillie has something important to say that is relevant to the current debate on the definition of Canadian Content.
Balsillie is now the Chairman of the Council of Canadian Innovators. This group…
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By Christopher Guly
OTTAWA-The federal government will provide Telefilm Canada with $100 million in funding for two years, beginning in the upcoming fiscal year 2024-25, Canadian Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge announced on Parliament Hill on Wednesday.
Telefilm previously received $105 million over three years from the 2021 federal budget that St-Onge said resulted in such feature films as BlackBerry, about Research in Motion’s signature mobile device, and Bones of Crows, about Canada’s residential school system.
The new funding, she added, would support between 40 and 60 productions annually and “put food in our minds – in our thoughts and in our hearts…
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Opponents say spectrum leasing serves the same purpose
By Ahmad Hathout
In an effort to maximize the use of a finite resource, Innovation Canada introduced Tuesday a long-expected policy for spectrum called access licensing, which would facilitate the migration of licenses not in use by holders toward other providers who will use them in smaller remote and indigenous territories.
The hotly debated policy will impact smaller Tier 5 areas and immediately target the 800 MHz (cellular) band, the Personal Communications Services band (1850-1910 MHz and 1930-1990 MHz), and the 900 MHz Land Mobile Radio (LMR) band. ISED said it will evaluate on…
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The Canada Media Fund (CMF) on Wednesday published a new report detailing the results of the federal government’s $60-million investment in 2021 in the CMF for equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) initiatives.
The CMF’s Creating Change report demonstrates the funding — announced as part of the 2021 federal budget and allocated in $20-million installments over the past three years — “has been a key driver in advancing EDI across Canada’s audiovisual sector,” according to a CMF press release, which notes “this pivotal funding, which has underpinned significant sectoral growth, will come…
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By Connie Thiessen
Canada’s place in the global content industry and government oversight in the face of huge technological change, including Artificial Intelligence (AI), are just a few of the topics Prime Time will tackle this year, the annual media production summit hosted by the Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA), slated to take place Jan. 31 – Feb. 2, in Ottawa.
Andrew Addison, CMPA’s vice president, communications, marketing and membership, says this year’s gathering of content industry professionals will be the biggest to date, with the most vast lineup of concurrent sessions the event has ever staged.
“I think we’re really looking…
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Amazon MGM Studios announced Wednesday it has signed a deal with Pinewood Group for exclusive use of new production facilities at Pinewood Toronto Studios for future productions.
The new studio space, located in downtown Toronto, was officially opened during a ribbon-cutting event attended by Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow.
“The deal is the first multi-year commitment by Amazon MGM Studios to Canadian studio space and includes exclusive use of five new state-of-the-art sound stages, accompanying workshops and office accommodation, totalling approximately 160,000 square feet,” reads an Amazon press release.
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The Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA) announced Wednesday it has joined with 19 other media production organizations from around the world to release a shared set of foundational principles that call on local governments to regulate global streaming platforms, safeguard national media production sectors and promote a vibrant global screen industry.
The group, representing tens of thousands of companies working across the global screen sector, includes CMPA, Alliance des producteurs francophones du Canada (APFC) and Association québécoise de la production médiatique (AQPM) in Canada, and 13 associations in Europe, as well as organizations in Ireland, Australia,…
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