THAT SOUND YOU HEARD from Ottawa late Wednesday afternoon was that of Industry Minister Maxime Bernier jangling his keys to the shackles Canada’s incumbent telephone companies have said repeatedly they are burdened with.
The regulations holding back Bell Canada, Telus, Bell Aliant, MTS, SaskTel and the other smaller ILECs are on their way out far sooner than the CRTC perhaps envisioned when it made public its local forbearance decision a year ago tomorrow.
In that decision, the Commission set out a number of conditions that had to be met before any traditional incumbent telco could be granted deregulation. Until…
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TORONTO – A look at the fall, 2007-08 TV schedule at CBC shows that business program Venture has been cancelled after 22 seasons.
However, the Ceeb looks like its on the right track for ratings with the shows that are returning – all of which saw ratings success in 2006-07.
“Today is just the first look at what promises to be an extraordinary season for CBC Television,” said Kirstine Layfield, executive director, network programming, in a release. “We’ve got an exciting slate of programming that is distinctly Canadian, that is entertaining, informative and we’re confident will appeal to a…
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TORONTO – Through their taxes as well as their cable and satellite bills, Canadians will contribute over $242 million to Canadian TV production via the broadcast performance envelope system of the Canadian Television Fund.
More than $242 million will be injected into the Canadian television industry over the next 12 months to support programming including drama, children’s and youth, variety and performing arts and documentaries, in English and French.
The CTF allocates production funding to eligible Canadian productions through its broadcaster performance envelopes (BPEs) and its special initiatives streams. Of the CTF’s total program budget of $265 million, English-language…
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NEW YORK – During a recent trip to New York City, Industry Minister Maxime Bernier told reporters there the Conservative government is considering allowing foreign companies buy incumbent telcos or build their own networks in Canada, according to a Bloomberg news report.
"It’s an option on the table,” Bernier told Bloomberg News on Friday. "I just want to be sure to know the impact of that if we’re opening the foreign investment in telecom,” he said in the story.
Current Canadian law limits foreign ownership in Canuck telcos like Bell Canada or Telus to a maximum of 46%.
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – A 12.2% increase in spending on the likes of CSI, House, Lost, Prison Break, Ugly Betty, and other U.S. shows helped decimate broadcast TV profits in the 2006 broadcast year, said the CRTC on Wednesday.
While overall Canadian television station revenues were flat at close to $2.2 billion, expenditures rose by 7.8%, which reduced profits before interest and taxes (PBIT) from $242.2 million in 2005 to $91 million in 2006. The PBIT margin also decreased from 11.02% in 2005 to 4.14% in 2006.
From 2005 to 2006, revenues from the sale of local advertising grew by 3.4%…
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TORONTO – A survey done for Rogers Communications, Canada’s largest wireless company, says that Canadians are pleased with their cell phone service.
A total of 1,500 Canadians were surveyed in February by the Strategic Counsel and collectively, ‘”overwhelmingly” said they were happy, says the press release.
The survey said 82% of wireless users believed there is enough or more than enough choice in the number of wireless service providers. Of those same users, 84% believe that the number of handsets or models of wireless phones available to them at the time of purchasing their last wireless phone was enough…
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OTTAWA – Wi-LAN and Tri-Vision International announced Tuesday that the two companies intend to get together.
Specifically: "they have signed a non-binding letter of intent for a business combination under which Tri-Vision’s common shares would be exchanged for common shares of Wi-LAN based on a price of $1.72 per Tri-Vision common share. On a fully-diluted basis, the Transaction values Tri-Vision at approximately $108 million."
Tri-Vision is best known for its V-chip technology for which it owns the North American patent rights and licenses to TV set manufacturers. Tri-Vision’s U.S. Patent licensing campaign now includes 42 licensees, representing approximately 25%…
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HAMILTON – Independent cable company Source Cable will add all-high-definition channels Oasis HD, Rush HD, Treasure HD and Equator HD, to its channel lineup on April 1st.
“We are extremely pleased to be launching on Source Cable”, said Ken Murphy, co-founder of High Fidelity HDTV, the owner of the channels, in a press release. “Source Cable has been a leader in the cable industry by continually exceeding the demands of their subscribers. Adding Oasis HD, Treasure HD, Equator HD, and Rush HD to their HD lineup puts them at the forefront of the high definition revolution.
As the…
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TORONTO – Development money and a host of new, internationally-funded pitching programs worth more than $100,000 are in place for the 28th Banff World Television Festival, organizers have announced.
In addition to the continuing support of Canadian partners CTV, and the Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund, new BWTVF pitching opportunities will be offered in partnership with Canadian, U.K. and U.S. networks at this year’s event, which takes place at the Banff Fairmont Springs, in Banff, Canada, from June 10 to 13, 2007.
CTV Inc. is once again sponsoring the CTV Canadian Documart pitch, with $60,000 in development funding…
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TORONTO – The Greater Toronto Airport Authority said Monday it will launch a new all-business news radio station from its 1280 AM frequency.
The new CFBN will replace CFYZ, which functioned as a travel information station for Canada’s largest airport.
The GTAA has hired Newsroom Productions to provide programming, sales representation and technical services for the station, which will launch April 9th.
Additionally, www.cfbnnews.com will stream programming on line.
“This is a good move for the GTAA and further enhances the services being offered to travellers and the Toronto community” said Steve Shaw, vice-president, corporate affairs for the…
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