OTTAWA – In a press conference on Monday, the NDP presented a document it obtained which it says shows the governing Conservatives are pushing ahead with plans to strip foreign ownership limitations on broadcast and telecom companies.
The document will be tabled as Canada’s official position at General Agreement on Trade and Services (GATS) discussions which opened in Geneva Monday. It commits Canada to strip foreign ownership limitations in telecom — with profound implications for telephone, cable and ultimately broadcast services. This position also runs counter to present Canadian law, says the NDP.
NDP Heritage Critic Charlie Angus (Timmins-James…
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TORONTO – Global Television has announced that the 21st Annual Gemini Awards will be held outside of Toronto for the first time.
The two-hour special on November 4th will air from the River Rock Resort Theatre in Vancouver, B.C.
Of course, throughout Gemini week, Global Television’s own Entertainment Tonight Canada will be on-hand with exclusive coverage of all the parties, preparations, and up close nominee and industry features. Throughout the 21st Annual Gemini Awards, ET Canada fans can keep up with winners, celebrity guests, sound-bites and sound-offs – direct from the backstage ‘ET Canada Gemini Lounge’.
"We’re delighted to…
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MONTREAL – Without an updated, more flexible regulatory regime, a drop in ad sales among private conventional radio stations will mirror that of conventional television, Canadian Association of Broadcasters president and CEO Glenn O’Farrell said in a speech today.
As specialty TV services gained in acceptance and popularity, their ad sales grew dramatically (and are still growing), costing traditional over-the-air broadcasters any kind of growth and for some, ad sales fell dramatically. While conventional TV broadcasters draw a larger audience, specialty services have much more targeted demographics, which ad buyers are often more eager to reach.
O’Farrell told the…
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TORONTO – The 2006 Canadian Telecom Summit includes 21 keynote addresses by the leading influencers on the sector, and early registration rates expire April 1st.
As announced last week, Industry Minister Maxime Bernier’s first major policy address since assuming office and the release of the Telecom Policy Review report will happen here.
Delegates will also hear from the leaders of all of Canada’s major telecom service providers, equipment and software suppliers and professional services firms. Panel discussions will take more in-depth looks at next generation networks, consumer and business services, wireless applications, voice over IP and illegal content on…
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GANDER, NL – Up to $542 723 in program savings from Industry Canada’s Broadband for Rural and Northern Development Pilot Program will be invested in the Kittiwake Economic Development Corporation.
This will deploy broadband, or high-capacity Internet, to communities in remote or rural Newfoundland & Labrador that are not currently served by broadband announced Loyola Hearn, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and Regional Minister for NL (on behalf of Industry Canada).
"Broadband is an essential tool that enables communities to strengthen their collective approach to commerce, education, health and other areas," said Hearn. "The Government of Canada is committed…
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OTTAWA – The federal government should not heed the recommendation of the telecom policy review panel to scrap the win-back rule, says Vonage Canada.
Understandably, the VoIP pioneer wants to keep the rule prohibiting incumbent telcos from contacting customers who’ve left for competitors, such as Vonage, within 12 months.
“The win-back rule has been an effective and necessary measure to combat the strong market players’ dominance and give newer, smaller entrants an opportunity to compete against the monopoly telephone companies,” says Bruce Robertson, director of marketing programs, Vonage Canada.
Vonage is on the whole pleased at the thrust of…
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OTTAWA – Reaction to Wednesday’s report of the federal government’s telecom policy review panel was mixed, including polar opposite opinions from two incumbent phone companies.
MTS Allstream said the recommendations were “hopelessly complicated and impractical,” while Bell Canada called the document “a detailed blueprint for change.”
The CRTC, apparently befuddled by a report that, at 400 pages, is even longer than one of its own policy review documents, said virtually nothing at all.
“The recommendations in this report do not bode well for the pace of competition or innovation in Canada’s telecom sector,” said Chris Peirce, Chief Regulatory Officer…
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LOUISVILLE, Colo. – CableLabs announced today that it has approved a recording technology developed by EnCentrus Systems, Inc. of Montreal that enables consumers to enjoy home recordings of certain high-value cable programming.
The Content Protected Digital Output (CPDO) technology from EnCentrus allows cable content marked as “copy freely” or “copy once” to be securely stored on hard drives internal or external to Digital Cable-Ready (DCR) devices. In addition, CPDO enables secure “pause” and “trick play” functions for interactive digital cable ready devices that access “copy never” content.
“The CPDO technology protects next generation DCR devices with digital output ports,…
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MONTREAL – This week, Astral Media launched a new annual scholarship for diversity in broadcasting.
The scholarship is worth $5,000 and geared towards encouraging a francophone student from a visible minority or Aboriginal background to pursue his or her university studies in broadcasting.
"Through this initiative, Astral Media reinforces its support for up-and-coming talent and for developing a broad and diverse base of young media professionals in Canada. With a firm belief that more cultural minorities should be integrated into Canada’s broadcasting industry, Astral Media is delighted to contribute to changing the face of the industry by investing in education,"…
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TORONTO – Looking to the future (small screens, big screens, portable media, etc.) is great fun, but what’s really driving the industry rightnow? Of course, it’s the focus on the bundle of voice, video and high speed Internet.
Come hear – and interact with – three North American industry leaders who will set out the successes they’ve had, the opportunities they see, and the pitfalls to avoid, when it comes to the voice, video and data bundle. This session will be key for cable operators to hear new ideas from new sources and for programmers since there are significant…
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