OTTAWA – Telus, Cogeco, Eastlink and MTS Allstream have all told the CRTC that they are opposed to BCE and Rogers’ proposal to take control of sports channels Leafs TV, NBA TV Canada and Gol TV Canada from parent Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE).
The interventions filed by the independent distributors claim that the move, which comes as part of the BCE/Rogers $1.32 billion bid for a majority stake in MLSE, “are bad for the Canadian broadcasting industry, further extending the control exerted by these large vertically integrated conglomerates”.
“Increasing the already extensive market power enjoyed by vertically integrated programming…
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OTTAWA – Rémi Racine has been appointed as chairperson of the CBC/Radio-Canada board of directors for a five year term.
Racine, who was first appointed as a member of the CBC/Radio-Canada board of directors in 2007, was re-appointed for a second four-year term last December. He also holds the role of chairperson of the board, president and executive producer of independent video game developer Behaviour Interactive (formerly A2M).
"I am pleased that Mr. Racine has accepted to serve as Chairperson of the Board of Directors," said Industry Minister James Moore, in Tuesday’s announcement. "His service as a member of this board…
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GATINEAU – In what could be described as a case of “turnabout is fair play”, Globalive has formally questioned the Canadian bona fides of Telus and has asked the CRTC to hold a public hearing on the matter.
Globalive (which, of course, does business under the Wind brand) says that Telus’s recent aborted attempt to convert to a single share structure blew the lid off of the Vancouver-based telco’s non-compliance with the country’s telecom ownership rules and that it may well be in breach of the Telecom Act. So, a full public hearing must be held…
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OTTAWA – The passage of Bill C-11 in the House of Commons trumpeted by the government Tuesday was met with trepidation by some industry stakeholders.
The Bill, known as the Copyright Modernization Act, seeks to bring Canada’s antiquated copyrights law in line with current international standards by implementing provisions of the World Intellectual Property Protection Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty.
Industry Minister Christian Paradis and Heritage Minister James Moore said in a joint announcement that the legislation balances the everyday activities of Canadians while “giving creators and copyright owners the tools they need to protect…
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PETERBOROUGH, ON – Capella Telecommunications has bought ESA Communication Systems, the voice, video and data systems distributor announced Monday. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Oshawa-based ESA Communication Systems sells, leases and installs satellite, terrestrial microwave, radar and HF antennas for the broadcast industry. The company will continue to operate under that name and serve its value added reseller network, though the shop will relocate to Capella’s head office in Peterborough.
“Our past work together on projects in Canada and the Caribbean confirmed for us ESA’s well-deserved reputation”, said Capella president Norm Slater, in the announcement. “Wayne Soules’ experience…
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OTTAWA – The Internet is running out of space to handle a rapidly growing number of connected devices such as smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles, refrigerators, security cameras and other electronics.
The situation is so dire that regions such as the Asia Pacific have already run out of Internet addresses. Others such as Europe will see the “full” sign this fall. Even North America is expected to hit capacity next year with Canada anticipated to deplete all available Internet addresses in June 2013.
The only solution, according to speakers at an industry technical conference last week, is to adopt IPv6, a newer…
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TORONTO – Despite the prevalence of the Internet, amateur radio still has a role to play, especially in times of crisis, according to the Central Toronto Amateur Radio Club (CenTor).
Amateur radio, a.k.a. 'ham radio', is a non-commercial radio service which allows licensed operators to use various types of radio communications equipment to communicate with one another for public service and recreational purposes. Amateur radio operators, often referred to as ‘hams’, are federally licensed by Industry Canada and are allowed to use specially allocated radio frequencies to carry out their operations.
To demonstrate its emergency preparedness, the organization will participate in an annual event called…
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BANFF – The Canada Media Fund (CMF) has released two new publications that it says provide new perspectives on the convergence of television and connected platforms and the state of financing of the interactive media sector in Canada.
Unveiled at the Banff World Media Festival, the first research project, New Directions for the Financing of Interactive Digital Media, examines the state of financing of digital media in Canada and the effectiveness of financial mechanisms, including those from the private sector. Published by the Canadian Interactive ALLIANCE interactive canadienne (CIAIC) with research by MDR, the research is the result of a…
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OTTAWA – The “tsunami of traffic” resulting from very high levels of social media over wireless devices and the connectivity of an increasingly large number of those devices is forcing mobile operators to deal with growing congestion.
This was one of the key messages from Eros Spadotto, executive vice-president of technology and operations at Telus during a keynote presentation to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) International Conference on Communications on Tuesday in Ottawa. He said the possible connection of 20 to 200 billion devices to the Internet using wireless networks could create headaches…
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TORONTO and BANFF – Thanks to higher spending on Internet access and TV subscriptions, the Canadian entertainment and media market is on pace to grow faster than the American market, says a new report from PwC which will be officially unveiled today at the Banff World Media Festival.
The Global Entertainment and Media Outlook 2012-2016 shows Canada's E&M market growing at a 6.5% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) compared to 5.2% in the U.S through 2016.
But growth of Internet advertising in both countries will continue to be significant, highlighting mobile advertising opportunities. In Canada, mobile advertising will grow at a 42.6%…
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