TORONTO – ACTRA says it’s optimistic about Friday’s CRTC’s decision, saying it “offers a glimmer of hope” that the Commission has heard its pleas that private TV broadcasters in Canada do more to support Canadian programming.
“Today, performers have reason to believe that the CRTC is finally listening to Canadians’ desire to see more Canadian content. Especially on the heels of a record-spending year buying Hollywood shows, it’s good to hear the CRTC suggest that it’s now time for private broadcasters to invest equally in Canadian content as they do on foreign programming,” said Stephen Waddell, ACTRA’s national executive director, in a…
Continue Reading
BACK IN NOVEMBER, on a regulatory panel at the Canadian Association of Broadcasters final convention, I said then that the broadcasting in new media hearing, which is beginning this Tuesday in Gatineau, was a waste of time.
I qualified it, of course. I do think it’s a good idea that the Commission gather information on what new media is and what it’s doing to the regulated system – and generally be aware of what’s up, on line. But I stand by what I said, especially after seeing some of the submissions.
A hearing by a regulator into something that…
Continue Reading
TORONTO and OTTAWA – Industry reaction to the CRTC’s decision to issue one year broadcast licences to four private conventional television networks has been swift.
The Candian Media Guild (CMG) warned that the decision “poses an immediate threat to local programming” in Canada, and “should raise fears across the country” over the future of over-the-air television after the digital conversion in August, 2011.
“We know that broadcasters have had an unprecedented number of closed-door meetings with the CRTC," said Lise Lareau, president of CMG, in a statement. “Our concern is that this fast-tracking of the process is going…
Continue Reading
TORONTO – The Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) says that for the sake of the local economy, Canadian TV broadcasters must invest in Canada’s film and television industry, not spend “record amounts to buy Hollywood shows”.
The statement follows the release of the CRTC’s annual report earlier this week showing that Canada’s private TV broadcasters spent $775 million on foreign programming in 2008, up 7.4% from 2007, while spending on Canadian dramas "remained relatively stagnant" at $88 million.
“Buying shows like ‘Access Hollywood’ and ‘Entertainment Tonight’ does not help Canada’s economy. Private broadcasters are already spending almost 10 times more on foreign programs…
Continue Reading
GATINEAU – While Canadian private broadcasters are increasingly spending big on American programming, their profitability took a huge hit in the 2008 broadcast year, ended August 31st, CRTC numbers show.
When compared with 2007, revenues for private conventional television stations decreased by 1.5% last year while expenses increased by 4%. This resulted in profits before interest and taxes (PBIT) of just $8 million, well off the $112.9 million reported in 2007.
In 2008, private broadcasters generated $2.1 billion in total revenue, with $387.3 million from local advertising remained – about the same level as last year. National advertising sales,…
Continue Reading
GATINEAU – The CRTC decided Wednesday to eliminate restrictions on the broadcast of hits by English-language FM radio stations in English-language markets, but to uphold the restrictions in the bilingual markets of Montréal and Ottawa-Gatineau.
And at least one radio broadcaster is unhappy with the Commission’s decision. Calling the policy “insane, inane and asinine”, Chuck McCoy, executive vice president of programming and marketing for Rogers Radio, said that there is “no logical reason” for the decision.
“If you live in Medicine Hat, Lethbridge, Winnipeg or Toronto, you can listen to stations that play hits, the music that the consumers…
Continue Reading
SAN JOSE, CA and TORONTO – Global mobile traffic will increase 66-fold between 2008 and 2013 with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 131% over that same period, predicts a report from Cisco.
The Cisco Visual Networking Index Mobile Forecast for 2008-2013 says that these projections reflect a transformation in the fourth-generation (4G) mobile Internet that will “enable consumers to view more mobile video and access a variety of mobile broadband services”.
"The evolving 4G mobile Internet transformation is further diversifying how people access and experience the Internet and is causing an undeniable surge in bandwidth growth”, said…
Continue Reading
TORONTO – The recent cutbacks and sharp shift in focus for the Canadian Association of Broadcasters is something that should be re-thought, say its independent broadcast members.
Readers will recall that the group recently cut its size in half and retrenched its focus so that it will be much less involved with the CRTC and spend far more time and resources lobbying government MPs directly instead.
That’s not to say the smaller members don’t recognize some change is required. “I think it’s important to recognize that the CAB leadership had every good intention of being responsible and changing with…
Continue Reading
A national coalition of self-described “Internet democracy watchdogs” is calling on Canadians to voice their opinion on the issue of network neutrality and Internet traffic management practices to the CRTC, in advance of their February 16 deadline for comments.
SaveOurNet.ca, a coalition of media watchdogs, industry and public interest groups, says the “debate” pits the interests of “monopoly against the larger interests of Canadian innovation, democracy, and a healthy 21st century economy”.
"There needs to be some basic rules in place to protect Canadian citizens and businesses from being unfairly throttled, blocked or squeezed out by a few telecom…
Continue Reading
TORONTO – Canadian Women in Communications (CWC) has selected this year’s award winners in the categories of ‘Woman of the Year’ and ‘Employer of the Year’, plus the inaugural ‘Excellence in Leadership’ award.
Susanne Boyce, president of creative, content and channels for CTV, has been named Woman of the Year. The award recognizes an outstanding woman who has made a significant contribution to any sector of the communications industry throughout her career, and who has contributed materially to the advancement of women within the industry.
Employer of the Year goes to Xerox Canada, as an organization that has an outstanding history, and/or…
Continue Reading
