TORONTO – New wireless entrant DAVE Wireless has added Paul Godfrey and Michael Neuman to its Board of Directors.
Godfrey was president and CEO of the Toronto Blue Jays from 2000 until 2008, and currently serves as president and CEO of the National Post. Neuman, a wireless industry veteran, was president and CEO of Bell ExpressVu, WorldLinx Telecommunications and Cerberus Canada, as well as president of Bell Mobility from 2002 to 2005.
"Building a company that can compete and succeed in a competitive wireless industry requires strong leadership and guidance," said chairman John Bitove, in the statement announcing the appointments. "I am…
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GATINEAU – April 27, 2009 – It was low-key, seldom confrontational and sometimes as languid as the 30-degree heat outside, but CTV’s appearance to open the CRTC’s OTA licence renewal hearing sought tirelessly to redefine the assumptions that underpin much of Canada’s conventional TV business.
The Commission did not reduce the scope of the hearing, anticipated to last 11 days, with the expectation that renewal applicants would respond as CTV did. The regulator asked companies to structure applications based on the premise that it would award one-year administrative renewals in the economic turmoil of 2009 and longer terms next…
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THERE IS SO MUCH left to do in order to make the transition to digital television happen in Canada that it’s impossible to see how we’re going to make the deadline despite the fact there’s still 28 months to go before the August 31, 2011 date set by the CRTC.
That thought struck me yet again, but harder, during the DTV transition session the National Association of Broadcasters held for international broadcasters here in Las Vegas. The association helpfully hosted the session, complete with panel representation from the FCC, cable, consumer electronics, the telecom industry and a social group representative….
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OTTAWA – In its appearance Wednesday before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, CTV called for “swift federal action” to address “the crisis” in local Canadian television, and offered a few ideas of its own.
CTV outlined a three point reform plan that it said will “provide a viable new framework for local television”.
Not surprisingly, the first point in the presentation called for the immediate implementation of fee-for-carriage.
"Fee-for-carriage does not need to impact the consumer nor will it invoke undue harm to the cable and satellite industry," said CTVglobemedia president and CEO Ivan Fecan,…
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MONTREAL – In its appearance Monday at the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage hearings, Quebecor Media took the opportunity to pat itself on the back for spending over $370 million on “cultural content” in 2008.
Calling the impact of its investment in cultural industries “substantial”, the Quebec media giant said that in fiscal 2008, it spent more than $373 million on developing, creating, producing, broadcasting and promoting Canadian content, making it the largest private producer of original content in Canada. The figure includes $123 million spent by its TVA Group on original television content for the Quebec market.
Describing…
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INDIANAPOLIS, IN – Corus Entertainment’s 52 radio stations in Canada have been added to the Broadcaster Traffic Consortium (BTC) as contributing broadcasters for FM-RDS and HD Radio data distribution.
The BTC is a nationwide terrestrial broadcasting network distributing local traffic and other map-related data via radio technology. Calling itself “the alignment of the traditional radio business model with high-growth, consumer-demand applications”, the group was launched in 2008 by eight U.S. radio companies.
“Our purpose is to further accelerate consumer HD Radio receiver penetration and create new revenue," said Paul Brenner, president for the consortium, in the announcement. “The expansion…
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TORONTO – Canada’s television industry is not in crisis, Rogers told Parliament’s Heritage Committee in Ottawa on Monday.
Encouraging the Committee to evaluate CTV and Canwest’s broadcast assets “as the sum of their parts, not as though each segment were a standalone business”, the cable giant argued strongly against the notion of fee-for-carriage which has been advocated by conventional broadcasters CTV and Canwest.
"Fee for carriage would set up the worst of all public policy solutions, a two tier taxation system,” said Phil Lind, vice chairman of Rogers Communications, in an announcement. “Those who subscribe to cable or…
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FREDERICTON and CHARLOTTETOWN – The provinces of New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island have signed on to enable their residents to recycle used wireless devices through the Recycle My Cell program.
The national program, announced in January, helps users find out where and how to properly dispose of their cell phones and other wireless devices – regardless of carrier, brand or condition – at the website www.RecycleMyCell.ca.
The free program, organized by the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association in conjunction with cell phone service providers, handset manufacturers and recycling companies, aims to raise awareness about the importance of cell phone recycling and…
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OTTAWA – The Copyright Board of Canada has set the royalties for Canadian satellite radio services at approximately 6.2% starting in 2010, and is offering discount rates for prior years to the two struggling services.
Royalties can be collected from multichannel subscription satellite radio services by three copyright collective societies – the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN), the Neighbouring Rights Collective of Canada (NRCC), and by the Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency/Society for Reproduction Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers in Canada, or CMRRA/SODRAC Inc. (CSI).
The Copyright Board set the tariff rates at 4.26% of…
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MONTREAL – Telefilm Canada said that their priority this year will be the transition toward “a new model of support for the television and interactive-media industries”, also known as the Canadian Media Fund, while staying focused on its core objectives.
The federal cultural organization administers the funding programs for the Canada Feature Film Fund, the Canadian Television Fund, and the Canada New Media Fund. The Canadian Media Fund, announced last month and coming April 2010, will be a combination of the existing Canadian Television Fund and the Canadian New Media Fund.
Now in its fourth of a five year corporate…
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