I’LL CUT RIGHT TO the chase. When CanWest Global’s interim television division president Peter Viner was asked Wednesday afternoon, point-blank, by one of the financial analysts who cover the media industry in Canada if the money-losing E! network might be altogether shut down, he said:
“Maybe. That’s an option we have to think very hard about.”
To me, that’s a blockbuster comment. A “wow” moment. That shows that it is so bad in the conventional TV market right now – and inside CanWest in particular – that the broadcaster is thinking about shuttering a TV network serving millions in…
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TORONTO – Canadian actor Sandra Oh will receive the ACTRA Award of Excellence in recognition of her contribution to Canada’s film and television industry.
ACTRA’s national president Richard Hardacre will present the award on January 21 at a reception in Los Angeles.
The ACTRA National Award of Excellence recognizes a member’s career achievements and contribution to fellow performers and the Canadian industry. Previous recipients include Kiefer Sutherland, Tonya Lee Williams, Lloyd Bochner and Leslie Nielsen.
www.actra.ca
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TORONTO – Canadian corporate icon Nortel Networks has announced that it is seeking bankruptcy protection under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act ("CCAA") in Canada and under the Chapter 11 provisions in the U.S., as well.
Certain of the company’s overseas subsidiaries are expected to make consequential filings in Europe.
Nortel’s normal day-to-day operations are expected to continue without interruption, added the company’s press release this morning. “Nortel remains 100% focused on serving customers worldwide through continued R&D investments and support of its product portfolio to fulfill customer needs.”
Nortel made this decision with the unanimous authorization of its board…
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OTTAWA – Industry Canada has posted some of the information that broadcasters will require in order to make applications for permanent over-the-air digital television (DTV) services.
The information includes details on the interim agreement between Industry Canada and the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) concerning digital television broadcasting along the common border until both countries complete their transition from analogue to DTV.
It also released its DTV Post-Transition Allotment Plan, whereby applications for digital transmitters must be filed by August 31, 2011.
For more information click here and refer to SMBR-005-08 and SMBR-006-08, published on December 20, 2008. Public…
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MONTREAL – Inukshuk Wireless has issued a call for proposals that help to promote on-line learning in its ten licensed areas.
Approximately $2.4 million is available to be awarded for ideas that focus on content or connectivity related to learning and the Internet. The Inukshuk Wireless Learning Plan invests annually to promote learning in unserved rural and underserved communities across Canada.
Inukshuk Wireless’ network footprint currently covers 55 cities and more than 100 communities in areas of Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Eastern Ontario and Outaouais, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia, and the Yukon.
A…
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OTTAWA – Members of the Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance (CATA) feel that a government stimulus package would be best spent on programs that support the development of a “smart infrastructure” for Canada.
Smart infrastructures include networks to link vehicles to themselves and ground services, city-wide wireless access for mobile devices, the provision of online services for communities and other public sector organizations, innovations in the services sector, and the creation of advanced materials, CATA outlined in a press release.
As reported by Cartt.ca, the organization asked the federal government to create an "infrastructure fund” equal to four percent of…
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TORONTO – The Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS) will invest up to $50 million in new wireless company BMV Holdings.
BMV was created last July following its purchase in Industry Canada’s wireless spectrum auction of PCS G Band, which covers almost 19 million Canadians in the Windsor to Quebec City corridor across Ontario and Quebec.
"BMV and its investors made an astute purchase in Industry Canada’s wireless spectrum auction last summer and we believe the company has great potential in the Canadian wireless market," said Paul Renaud, president and CEO of OMERS Private Equity.
BMV announced plans to…
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Exton, PA – The Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE) kicked off a year long celebration in honor of its 40th anniversary of “providing quality service and technical leadership for SCTE members and the cable telecommunications industry”.
Built around a theme called ‘The Best Is Yet to Be’, celebrations include a contest named the ‘Future of Cable’, trivia, a commemorative DVD and memorabilia.
In other news, Mark L. Dzuban was named the new president and CEO of the SCTE effective February 2. The 41-year cable industry veteran was previously with Cedar Point Communications.
The SCTE is a non-profit professional…
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THE FINAL PUSH IS on for the inaugural SCTE Canadian Summit, to be held at the Toronto Congress Centre February 3-4.
The conference promises to be a key date in the engineering calendar for Canadian cable telecommunications engineers, technicians and vendors looking to share information and broaden their knowledge on challenges like switched digital, DOCSIS 3.0 and other myriad network issues.
While vendor tables have long been sold out, registration for the conference is still open and can be accessed by clicking here. As well, the deadline for nominations for the first-ever young Canadian Engineering Professional of the…
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OTTAWA – More job cuts in the media could “hobble high-quality journalism” in Canada, says the Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ).
In a statement released Monday, the CAJ says that they fear that journalism in Canada is reaching “a tipping point where the decline in the quality of news content will lead to an industry death spiral of less content, smaller audiences, and yet more cuts”.
"The decisions taken this Fall will lead to more centralization of news in Canada, fewer opportunities for Canadians to learn from different voices and will threaten the very existence of quality local and…
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