OTTAWA – Independent producers receive little or no compensation from Canadian broadcasters for the digital rights to their programming, according to a new study released by the Canadian Film and Television Production Association (CFTPA).
The study, Towards a Framework for Digital Rights, included a survey of CFTPA members which found that more than half (56%) of respondents indicated that they did not receive any additional compensation for the digital (Internet and mobile) rights to their shows, whether in the form of an incremental licence fee or a revenue share. At the same time, the majority of respondents said that…
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TORONTO– Although Canada ranks highly on most international measures of PC penetration and broadband connectivity, the nation’s lagging investments in information and communications technology (ICT) are dragging down its business productivity, increasingly hurting its global competitiveness and lowering its standard of living.
That consensus emerged from telecom industry execs, academics, government officials, and other speakers during a pair of afternoon panels at the Canadian Telecom Summit on Tuesday afternoon. Despite a wide range of different perspectives and proposed solutions, the panelists generally agreed that Canadian companies must boost their ICT spending substantially to make better use of broadband technology and…
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BANFF – What does 3D, Internet connected televisions and physical computing mean for the future of entertainment? A session at the Banff World Television Festival, which opens this weekend, will try to answer that question.
Geneva Film’s founder James Stewart will host ‘The Future of Television – 3D’ and provide a rounded view of the 3D ecosystem and business models emerging for the industry, from storytelling to new S3D Platforms, mobile to theatres. With broadcasters in Canada and worldwide launching 3D channels, delegates will find out why 3D matters, how it is produced and what it will cost.
3D is having…
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TORONTO – Non-profit corporation Media Access Canada is hosting a private roundtable of audio-visual associations, guilds and unions at the end of this month in Ottawa, to discuss ways of strengthening Canada’s broadcasting system, it announced Tuesday.
The roundtable will include sessions on the federal government’s just-announced consultation on foreign ownership, its ongoing digital consultation and the CRTC’s 2011 licence renewals of Canada’s major broadcasting ownership groups.
"The announcement earlier this week by Industry Minister Tony Clement of another important consultation that will directly affect Canada’s cultural businesses clearly shows that non-broadcasting stakeholders must identify new ways and means of strengthening the…
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TORONTO – In light of Industry Minister Clement’s comments on foreign investment on Monday, it wasn’t long before the topic du jour came up again at Tuesday’s ‘Regulatory Blockbuster’ panel, an annual highlight of the Canadian Telecom Summit.
And while all six of the panelists supported the idea in theory, sparks flew, albeit in a good natured way (well, most of the time), on how best to loosen Canada’s foreign ownership restrictions.
Mirko Bibic, Bell’s senior vice-president of regulatory and government affairs, said his company favours the approach put forth by CRTC chair Konrad von Finckenstein to boost foreign ownership…
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TORONTO – With Canadian consumer adoption of smart phones still relatively low, meaning tremendous market opportunity right now, one device maker says he’s concerned about a shift in focus toward consumer-oriented mobile applications at the expense of the kinds of productivity apps that drive enterprise business growth.
Jeff McDowell, senior vice-president of business marketing and alliances for Waterloo, Ont.-based Research In Motion, said individual employees within organizations are increasingly influencing corporate policies regarding smart phone adoption and usage. Instead of simply accepting a new mobile device their employer wants them to use, many employees are expecting their companies to…
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TORONTO – Oh, but there’s so much more still to talk about…
Foreign investment, auction rules, a level playing field, government partnerships, rural broadband. Those items and more top the to-do list for Rob Bruce, president of the communications group at Rogers Communications.
During his speech yesterday at the Canadian Telecom Summit, Bruce acknowledged his company’s founder was more fond of finding solutions to problems, developing new technology and building networks than he was talking about setting the rules and regs needed before such things can happen.
However, in an interview with Cartt.ca after his speech, Bruce outlined some of the solutions…
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TORONTO – At least two top telecom executives said they’re pleased with how the federal government has been handling its telecom policy initiatives in recent months.
MTS Allstream CEO Pierre Blouin and Videotron president and CEO Robert Dépatie both extended their congratulations to Industry Canada this morning during each of their keynote speeches to attendees of the Canadian Telecom Summit.
MTS Allstream’s Blouin was reacting positively to Industry Canada Minister Tony Clement’s announcement at the Telecom Summit yesterday that the federal government is initiating a public consultation process into the issue of foreign investment in the telecommunications industry.
“I…
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TORONTO – Despite how the issue of foreign ownership/investment in Canadian telecom companies has been endlessly debated for what seems like eons – and that there will be yet another governmental report released on the issue this month – there’s to be yet another, albeit short, round of talking about it, Industry Minister Tony Clement said on Monday.
In his opening keynote at the 2010 Canadian Telecom Summit here in Toronto, Minister Clement waxed eloquently on the virtues of the industry in Canada. “Companies in the ICT (information, communications, technology) sector account for about 5% of our gross domestic product,…
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TORONTO – Mobilicity says that its new mobile content portal has something for everyone.
The customizable, mobile download store allows customers to personalize the digital skin of their Mobilicity phones with three distinct homepages, each providing a direct link to news sources from Canada (CTV, The Globe and Mail, Toronto Star) and around the world (Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post, Shanghai Daily, Reuters India, The Times of India). Content also includes games, ringtones and wallpapers from the music industry’s Top 40, plus Asian and Bollywood pop stars.
"We live in one of the most multicultural cities in the…
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