TORONTO – Add the Writers Guild of Canada (WGC) to those backing Monday’s CRTC decision on new TV policy.
The WGC said that it is “optimistic” about the re-introduction of expenditure requirements, though said that it needs to do some modelling to determine if the spending requirements and drama minimums in the new policy are enough “to make a real difference”.
“The CRTC heard us”, said executive director Maureen Parker, in a statement. “This policy marks a philosophical shift. The re-introduction of expenditure requirements will help build the supply of Canadian programming, including high-quality dramas and documentaries. And expenditure…
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IF YOU TALK TO ANYONE under 20 they will consider it quaint to hear tales of phones that were connected to walls; notes that were sent with a stamp; and televisions that were housed in large cabinets offering four channels, if you were lucky, accessible with the turn of a dial.
Online and offline; wired and wireless, the world is a dramatically different place than it was 19 years ago. Yet the Canadian media market is still governed by broadcasting legislation from 1991 at a time when urgent action is needed to bring regulation in line with technology to meet…
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GATINEAU – Despite the majority’s decision today to stick to the August 31, 2011 deadline where all over-the-air TV transmitters in Canada have to switch from analog to digital, commissioner Suzanne Lamarre echoed what many in the industry have been thinking for a long while:
We’re not going to make that date, despite close to six years of notice the industry was given by the CRTC and that the U.S., which made its switch in 2009, has given Canada a road map to follow.
“No one can be expected to achieve the impossible. Based on the evidence on the public…
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TORONTO – Internet service providers got little more than a slap on the wrist Friday during a Canadian Music Week session billed as ‘ISP Liability on Trial’, where panellists debated the role of ISPs in protecting the rights of music creators and publishers in the on-line world.
Although there was a palpable feeling of frustration emanating from David Basskin, president and CEO of the Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency (CMRRA), most of Basskin’s disdain was targeted at the Federal Government which had no representation on the panel.
Collective rights management agencies such as CMRRA and SOCAN (the Society of…
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TORONTO – Mobilicity is the latest new entrant wireless carrier to find itself in the CRTC’s ownership review crosshairs, but the company’s chief executive says it is much ado about nothing.
In a letter to the Toronto-based company dated March 5th, the Commission said that while the service provider appears to comply with the legal control requirements in the Telecommunications Act, it points to a significant debt facility from foreign interests and the “sufficiently complex nature” of its ownership structure as reason to investigate whether Canadians remain in control of the company. In ‘legalese’, this is referred to…
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OTTAWA – Canada’s wireless carriers added more than 1.3 million new net subscribers last year, bringing total Canadian cell phone subscribers to 22.84 million by the end of 2009.
According to data from the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA), wireless penetration in the country stands at approximately 70%.
Despite a slight slow down in growth – 6.2% increase from 2008 to 2009, down from a 7.7% increase from 2007 to 2008, CWTA spokesperson Marc Choma said that “wireless growth remains healthy in Canada.”
Half of all phone connections in Canada are now wireless, and 75% of Canadian households have access to…
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TORONTO – Canadian consumers filed the most complaints about food advertising in 2009, says the Advertising Standards Canada (ASC).
In its annual Ad Complaints Report, the ASC said that it received 163 complaints about the food advertising category, which includes advertising by food manufacturers, food retailers and restaurants.
“With the economic downturn, consumers have become increasingly value-conscious, comparing prices and searching for deals and discounts," said Janet Feasby, VP of ASC standards, in a statement.
Feasby also said that ASC “heard more frequently than ever” from consumers when they did not get a product or service at the advertised sale price; when…
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TORONTO – What’s not to like about RfoG, asked speakers at the SCTE Canadian Summit Tuesday morning at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre?
Suppliers, of course, offered a number of compelling reasons for cable operators to deploy Radio Frequency over Glass technology as a way to reduce operating costs while extending the capacity of their existing hybrid fibre-coaxial infrastructures.
As explained by Mike Emmendorfer, senior director of solution architecture and strategy for Arris, RFoG leverages traditional HFC components already in place, increases both upstream and downstream bandwidth capacity, supports DOCSIS services, enables easy migration to Ethernet Passive Optical Network (EPON)…
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MONTREAL – Carolle Brabant has been promoted to executive director of Telefilm Canada.
Currently the organization’s director of administration and corporate services, Brabant will take on the new role effective March 15. She has worked with the organization for the past 20 years in various capacities, including a six month stint as interim director in 2004.
“Her role and achievements inside Telefilm Canada as Director of Administration and Corporate Services did not allow her to benefit from much visibility with the industry but it will soon discover her to be forward-looking and a person with vision”, said board chair Michel Roy,…
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DARTMOUTH – Growth in its broadcasting segment helped power Newfoundland Capital Corporation (NewCap) to its “best fourth quarter ever”.
Broadcasting revenue of $29.7 million was $1.3 million or 4% better than the same quarter last year, while for the year, broadcasting revenue of $101.8 million was $2.0 million or 2% ahead of last year. The company’s Atlantic Canada radio properties and “organic” (same-station) operations accounted for primarily all of the revenue growth in the quarter and for the year, the company said.
Consolidated revenue of $30.5 million in the fourth quarter improved by 4%, and for the year ended December 31,…
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