OTTAWA – Canada’s television broadcasting sector reported its lowest year-over-year increase in 12 years in 2009, according to data from Statistics Canada.
The figures, released Monday, showed that 2009 industry-wide operating revenues totaled $6.5 billion, an increase of 0.6% from 2008. However, the financial picture varies widely across the various segments of the industry.
Revenues of public and private conventional television broadcasters fell 3.9% from 2008 to $3.4 billion in 2009, the steepest decline in 10 years. Compared with 2008, the operating revenues of this segment dropped 7.7% last year, the largest annual decrease in more than 30 years. …
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OTTAWA – Commercial radio music royalties are rising by an estimated $13 million a year under new tariffs announced today by the Copyright Board of Canada.
Previously, radio stations paid a total of 7.3% of revenues (for gross income above $1.25 million) to a number of collectives representing musicians, songwriters, publishers, and other industry creators — to the tune of almost $70 million a year. The new rate will total 8.92%, due mostly to tariffs now going to two additional collectives. The Copyright Board estimates that the royalties to be paid by all commercial stations will amount to about $85…
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THUNDER BAY, ON – Three additional projects in Ontario have been conditionally approved for funding under the ‘Broadband Canada: Connecting Rural Canadians’ program.
Friday’s announcement said that the projects will bring broadband to 4,000 additional households in the areas of Beaucage, Chisholm, Rutherglen, Nipissing, West Nipissing, Sundrige, Strong, Markstay, Warren, Estair, Wahnapitei, Skerryvore, Shawanaga, Bell Lake, Bonfield, McDougall, McMurrich, Armour, Cochrane District, Oliver-Paipoonge, Fort William, Neebing, and Township of Shuniah.
Galaxy Broadband Communications, Spectrum Telecom Group Ltd. / Blue Sky Economic Growth Corp. and TBay Tel / Northwestern Ontario Innovation Centre were named to share in the $5.5 million…
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OTTAWA – While ruling that Internet Service Providers are not, in fact, broadcasters and therefore not subject to Canadian content exhibition or contribution requirements, the Federal Court of Appeal today also issued a bit of a caution on the issue of net neutrality.
When the CRTC issued its broadcasting in new media report in June of 2009, it also decided to ask the Federal Court of Appeal to decide whether the act of providing a pipe through which customers can bore into the Internet and draw programming to their various devices makes ISPs broadcasting entities – and therefore subject…
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WINNIPEG – Craig Wireless has received a Tier 3 broadband radio service (BRS) license from Industry Canada covering southwestern Manitoba, including the Brandon and Dauphin regions.
The company said Wednesday that the issuance of the Western Manitoba BRS license represents the satisfaction of another condition to the completion of the sale of Craig’s Canadian spectrum assets to Inukshuk Wireless Partnership.
Upon the filing of an application to Industry Canada to transfer the license to Inukshuk, the portion of sale proceeds payable to Craig by Inukshuk is $3.2 million of the aggregate sale proceeds of $80 million, $60 million of…
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TORONTO – Canadian Women in Communications (CWC) has created podcasts of its popular webinar series from the past year and added them to its website.
First up is A Conversation with Leona Hobbs, Social Media Group which covers how to manage a ‘personal brand’ on-line, how to monitor business and personal on-line disclosure, and how to ensure that your on-line reputation is in-line with your overall personal branding message.
The following three podcasts will be added over the next few months: – Customer Service & Social Media: A Conversation with Saul Colt, Thoora; – Privacy 2.0: A Conversation with Sacha Fraser,…
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OTTAWA – Canada’s Telecommunications Hall of Fame has unveiled the names of the Class of 2010 Telecom Laureates, slated to be officially inducted into the Hall of Fame at the organization’s November 10th gala.
John L. Bragg (Atlantic Canada’s Communications Entrepreneur) and Charles Sirois (Global Communications Visionary) will both be inducted in the ‘Icons of Business’ category; Stephanie MacKendrick (Advocate for Women in Canadian Telecom) in the ‘Advocates and Academics’ category; and the late Major W. Bruce M. Carruthers (Father of Canadian Military Communications) in the ‘Servants of the Public’ category.
In addition, this year’s Special Recognition Award will go to…
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OTTAWA – The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council has been awarded the Bill Hutton Award of Excellence from the Radio Television News Directors Association of Canada.
The award is given to individuals or organizations which have shown a true commitment to RTNDA and the betterment of broadcast journalism in Canada. Previous recipients include The Canadian Press, WIC, VOCM Radio, Golden West Radio, CTV, and the U.S. RTDNA. Formerly known as the ‘Friend of RTNDA Canada Award’, the award was renamed in 2009 to honour the late Bill Hutton, RTNDA Canada’s first president.
“Our members may not always agree with the rulings handed…
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KORY TENEYCKE AND PIERRE KARL PÉLADEAU launched some stinging attacks on the established Canadian news channels last week in Toronto when they made public Quebecor Media’s plans to launch a new national news channel.
CTV News Channel and CBC News Network were the primary targets when Teneycke (QMI’s new VP business development) called them “bland and boring and Canadians, as a result, have largely tuned them out.” Mainstream media outlets have labelled the channel “Fox News North” for its plans to tilt to the right and aim at both informing and entertaining.
(Teneycke did not at all embrace the…
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MONTREAL – CBC/Radio-Canada is updating its 50 year-old antenna located at the top of Mount Royal in Montreal.
The overhaul will allow the city’s radio stations to improve their technical parameters, and TV stations to install the antennas they need to move into the digital age, according to the announcement. The upgrade will also ensure compliance with the new Health Canada and Industry Canada standards relating to Safety Code 6 for the 3 kHz to 300 GHz frequency range.
The work, scheduled for June through August, will require occasional temporary interruptions in radio and television signals, but these interruptions will be…
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