OTTAWA – Can’t let a week go by without a telecom announcement from Industry Canada.
This Monday’s was the announcement that the policy direction tabled in June is now in force. The directive told the CRTC that it had to rely on market forces "to the maximum extent feasible" and regulate "to the minimum extend necessary."
(Cartt.ca has covered the Industry Ministry’s directives and other moves throughout 2006. Search "policy direction" or "policy directive" on our site to see what we mean.)
"Canada’s New Government has again furthered its ambitious policy agenda for the telecommunications sector by issuing the…
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TORONTO – Astral Television Networks has hired Stephen Green as vice president, sales and affiliate marketing.
Green will oversee the newly integrated affiliate sales and affiliate marketing departments and will be responsible for developing strategic marketing programs and sales plans "to achieve growth targets for The Movie Network, Family Channel, Mpix, Viewers Choice and GSN (Game Show Network) brands. Green will also administer affiliation agreements with key customers," says the company’s press release.
"We’re thrilled to have Stephen join Astral Television Networks. I am confident that under his leadership and guidance, our affiliate marketing and sales department will continue…
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OTTAWA – While profits grow for many ISPs, the days of dial-up Internet appear to be numbered, says a report from Statistics Canada.
Consumers continued their rapid shift to broadband with three-quarters (76%) of 2005 Internet access revenues generated from the provision of broadband access, compared with 70% in 2004 and 60% in 2003. Internet access revenues from narrowband services matched those from broadband as recently as 2002. Figures from 2005 are Statscan’s latest.
The nation’s Internet service providers (ISP) grew more profitable in 2005, according to the Survey of Internet Service Providers (which, oddly, doesn’t include cable and…
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MONTREAL and OTTAWA – Telesat won’t be going public after all. Bell Canada Enterprises announced this morning it has sold 100% of the satellite company to Public Sector Pension Investment Board and Loral Space & Communications.
The two companies (PSPIB is a crown corp.) will pay $3.25 billion plus the assumption of $172 million of debt, under a newly formed joint venture between PSP Investments and Loral (all figures in C$). The new Canadian holding company will be known as Telesat and will continue to be based in Ottawa.
The company had previously announced its intention to explore all…
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TORONTO – Ashok Kalle, president of independent ISP Pathway Communications says the federal government’s decision to relax the rules of the regulatory game when it comes to telecom is bad news for Canadians.
Pathway offers voice and data services to Canadian residential and business clients.
"The decision by Industry Canada to allow deregulation of the telecommunications market will hurt consumers of long distance, VOIP and other telecommunications/online services in the long-run," said Kalle in a statement. "I am clearly in agreement with comments made by Liberal MP and consumer affairs critic Dan McTeague who attacked the new regulations as…
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CALGARY – Could it be any other way for Shaw?
The company has long been a proponent of deregulation on the broadcast and cable side of its businesses, so it would have been disingenuous for the company to come down on the side of those who want to maintain regulation in Canadian telecom.
On Tuesday, the day after Industry Minister Maxime Bernier’s well-publicized announcement which will see the feds override a CRTC decision and move towards deregulation of the local phone space, the western cableco said it "had reviewed Minister Bernier’s decision to vary the CRTC’s decision on local…
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SANTA MONICA and TORONTO – On Friday, a new way to distribute new movies will launch in California which will see very new first run movies available on broadband.
ClickStar, a partnership between chipmaker Intel and actor Morgan Freeman’s production company Revelations Entertainment will sell first run movies, some as recent as a week or two after their theatrical debut. If it starts a trend, that impacts existing sales windows (DVD, PPV, VOD, etc.) for movie content.
The company has agreements with Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Universal Studios Home Entertainment, and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, but has not yet…
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SOME THOUGHTS ON the TV Policy Review hearings that one day, could grow up to be full-sized columns. ********** ONE OF THE MOST interesting questions at the hearing came late in the day on Monday, December 4th, when Media Awareness Network faced the five-person panel.
MNet, as it calls itself, is a non-profit organization with the laudable goal of boosting media literacy among children. The group promotes media and Internet education through its online programs and resources, working with a number of organizations in Canada and elsewhere. Its sponsors include Bell, Shaw, CTV, CHUM, Rogers, Telus and CanWest Global….
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OTTAWA – It was a quick decision issued by the Federal Court of Canada late today that will save Canadian private broadcasters hundreds of millions of dollars.
The Canadian Association of Broadcasters just a few weeks ago presented its case to the court that the $700 million or so paid over the past decade was an illegal tax. The court agreed.
"This is a monumental victory for Canada’s broadcasters, who have been forced for too long to pay an unfair and unjustified tax,” said Glenn O’Farrell, president and CEO of the CAB. “These fees have drained more than three-quarters…
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GATINEAU – The CRTC’s 2006 Radio Policy is on the schedule for release this week.
That, of course, doesn’t necessarily mean it will happen this week, but radio executives have been promised the decision will be released before Christmas (so many have predictably hauled out that old chestnut which goes: CRTC = Can’t Release ‘Til Christmas…)
In case readers would enjoy a bit of a recap of the issues prior to the release, check out Cartt.ca’s extensive coverage of the May hearings below. All stories were written by Cartt.ca’s radio editor, Laurel Hyatt.——————————————-COMMENTARY: Fifty percent Cancon is radio welfare I LOVE MUSIC. Many…
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