OTTAWA – It’s time for the CRTC to set a deadline for Canadian television broadcasters to shut off their analog signals, Industry Canada’s assistant deputy minister Michael Binder told a wireless gathering this morning.
The 700 MHz band, which broadcasters use to send their traditional over-the-air analog signals, is being given back to the U.S. government as of February 17, 2009 and Binder says now is the time to set a deadline in Canada. “We would like to see broadcasters vacate this band and we could use (it) for other applications,” he said during the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association…
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SHERBROOKE – Charges are expected to be laid after the RCMP arrested a man in Sherbrooke, Quebec this week in connection with the theft of satellite signals and possession of equipment used to intercept satellite signals.
“The search conducted in the residence of the alleged offender led to the seizure of cash and a vehicle. The investigators also found devices that could or would have been used to steal satellite signals. This equipment will be examined by experts,” said Corporal Sylvain L’Heureux of the RCMP Communications Office.
The arrest came as a result of a joint effort by the…
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LAS VEGAS – The Canadian Suite, packed as usual, was back at its familiar spot at The Flamingo this year. Sponsored by several dozen companies (including Cartt.ca), if you’re a Canadian in the industry, this is where you go in the early evening. Kudos to Applied Electronics for running it – and to their Rosie Patey, who does a lot of the work.
Like my opening paragraph above, not everything I saw or heard about at the 2007 NAB Show in Las Vegas can be turned into a full blown story like all of these here…
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QUEBEC CITY – Former Radio-Canada television journalist Christine Saint-Pierre, freshly elected Liberal MNA in last month’s Quebec election, joined the Cabinet today of Premier Jean Charest.
She takes over responsibility for Culture and Communications, as well as the Status of Women, in the Cabinet of Charest’s minority government. She succeeds Line Beauchamp, who moves into the Environment portfolio.
Saint-Pierre worked as a researcher and journalist with Radio-Canada for 30 years, including six years in Quebec City as National Assembly reporter covering some of the same politicians who will now be her colleagues.
She moved to Ottawa as parliamentary reporter…
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LAS VEGAS – Spending a little time listening to some of the people working on IPTV – and among those making IPTV work, you can kind of see why Bell Canada hasn’t yet launched.
Because it already has a “me too” service in Bell ExpressVu, it is in no hurry to rush a terrestrial service to market before it is completely different than what is already out there.
Today during IPTV World at NAB, Microsoft TV’s CTO and general manager of engineering, Peter Barrett provided an overall glimpse at what might be to come from Bell (assuming they’re able…
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LAS VEGAS – Microsoft has lined up additional suppliers providing technologies that support the Microsoft TV Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) Edition software platform, which is being deployed by several service providers worldwide.
The announcement, made here at NAB2007, the world’s largest electronic media show, illustrates the accelerating growth of the IPTV industry, the company said in a statement. It also shows Microsoft’s commitment to work with a broad range of solutions providers to ensure ongoing innovation, while allowing service providers the flexibility to choose from a variety of technologies to deploy IPTV services, it said.
The Microsoft TV platform…
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CLEVER TITLE, HUH? Maybe that’s why I’m writing about the ratings as opposed to participating in them.
Who am I? A 30 year veteran of nearly 120 books, and for the last year or so, an interested observer from the sidelines.
Okay, here’s a hint. My name rhymes with Mumble Foward.
In Toronto the story of the Spring/Winter book was as always, “The AC Domination Continues” – the never-changing saga of Adult Contemporary music and its’ strangle-hold on tuning.
CHFI, EZ-Rock, CHUM FM (Hot AC blend) and MIX Fm add up to nearly 25%! I’ve wondered for years why…
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TORONTO – Canadian Satellite Radio Holdings reported a second quarter loss of $15.8 million Monday, an improvement over the same quarter of 2006.
In releasing its financial results, based on hitting 237,500 subscribers, the company reported revenue for the three-month period ending Feb. 28, 2007 of $4.9 million, also an improvement over the same quarter in 2006.
“We are pleased with our performance this quarter and are confirming our position as Canada’s premium digital audio entertainment and information company,” said John Bitove, CSR’s Chairman and CEO.
“We will continue to build our subscriber base through innovative partnerships such as…
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GATINEAU – CRTC Chairman Konrad von Finckenstein made two appointments today, following up on his promises to begin re-organizing the Commission’s operations.
He named long-time public servant Robert A. Morin as the Commission’s Secretary General, starting April 23. Morin, an executive coach since retiring from his senior post with the Competition Bureau of Canada three years ago, has been given a specific mandate to launch an internal review of CRTC operations and processes.
Von Finckenstein also announced the creation of a new Strategic Communications Branch that will bring together Public Affairs, Parliamentary Affairs, Internal Communications and the personnel involved…
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LAS VEGAS – If traditional broadcasters are going to be successful in our altered media world, they have to abandon yesterday`s terminology, David K. Rehr, the president and CEO of the National Association of Broadcasters told the assembled delegates opening the convention this morning.
The NAB show is a $50 billion marketplace with over 105,000 delegates, so what can a few words mean to such a rich industry?
Plenty, if you continue to use words that let others define you or your arguments. “The words we use matter,” said Rehr.
He pointed to how in-band on…
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