Search Results for: industry canada

Radio / Television News

Broadcast scholarships awarded

OTTAWA – The 2005 Ruth Hancock Foundation Scholarships, awarded to applicants who demonstrate strong character and leadership qualities, a willingness to assist others and a genuine interest in pursuing a broadcasting career, were awarded to three deserving candidates. “Their commitment is reflected through involvement in extra-curricular activities related to broadcasting or broadcast sales and marketing, or through self-initiated undertakings,” says the press release. Jennifer Copestake, Jessie Venegas-Garcia, and Ashly Dawn Larson are this year’s award recipients, and have each received a $1,500 scholarship. Sponsored by the Broadcast Executives Society (BES), the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) and the Canadian… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

TMN HD targets Future Shop/Best Buy customers

TORONTO – What do HDTV set buyers want when they bring their big, bright, expensive new TV home? HD content, of course. However, what those in the TV industry are finding is that consumers are often under-informed when it comes to what’s available in high definition when they plug that set in. So, in co-operation with Rogers Cable and Cogeco Cable, Astral Media’s The Movie Network has partnered with Future Shop and Best Buy on a cross-promotional initiative designed to promote The Movie Network and High Definition at retail stores across Ontario beginning tomorrow (Thursday, December 1, 2005.) Consumers… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

TiVo to offer targeted ad search function

ALVISO, Calif. – TiVo customers trying to remember whether it’s Pontiac or Honda offering “3.9% financing for a limited time” will be able to turn to their PVR boxes to find the right commercial for them. On Monday, digital/personal video recorder manufacturer TiVo announced plans for a television-based advertising search solution coming in Spring 2006. “Leveraging TiVo’s television search capabilities that enhance the TV viewing experience, the new product will deliver relevant, targeted advertising to subscribers that want to view particular advertising categories,” crows the press release. (In Canada, Montreal company etc.tv, along with Videotron, Molson’s and TVA, is… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Government pushes through do-not-call legislation

OTTAWA – Late Friday, the government adopted amendments to the Telecommunications Act which gives the CRTC the ability to establish a national Do Not Call List, aimed towards reducing the volume of telemarketing calls Canadians receive at home. The amendments also give the CRTC the power to levy substantial penalties against telemarketers who do not follow the rules, and to contract with a private sector third party to operate and maintain the list. "By passing these amendments, the government has ensured that Canadians will have an easy and effective way to better protect their privacy and reduce intrusive telemarketing… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

Just like starting over

OTTAWA – With an election call to come this morning from the Governor General, Canada’s broadcast, cable and telecom industries get a legislative time out… again… from the feds. Any hope for copyright reform is dashed, once more. This was the fourth time the industry had lobbied heavily for changes to the Radiocommunications Act to make it tougher on signal thieves and again, the government couldn’t – or wouldn’t – do it. Last time Parliament dissolved, in 2004, the copyright reform bill went before parliament as Bill C-2, the very first one to face lawmakers. Alas, even that didn’t… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

APTN launches AMEF

WINNIPEG – The Aboriginal Peoples Television Network announced the launch of the Aboriginal Media Education Fund (AMEF) on Monday. The AMEF “will foster the growth of the Aboriginal independent production industry and increase the amount of Aboriginal programming in Canada and internationally by developing a talent pool which can produce, distribute, market and broadcast programming that will be relevant to today’s Aboriginal cultures,” says the press release. One of APTN’s primary challenges – since its inception – has been finding enough aboriginal TV producers to fill out the original content portion of its daily schedule. “APTN is proud to launch this… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

The TUESDAY INTERVEW: Talking transition with Bill Roberts, president and CEO, VisionTV

YEARS BACK, IT WAS EASY to pick on VisionTV. Its programs were old, appearing only on the specialty channel in their second or third (or fourth!) window. Much of its original “Mosaic” programming looked and sounded terrible – and violated the channel’s Canadian content requirements, it turns out, causing CRTC sanctions. Preachers and traditional religion dominated the channel. However, when current president and CEO Bill Roberts (left) came on board in 2000, he set out to drastically alter VisionTV. More original, interesting, programming – about faith and spirituality and not necessarily organized… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Feds find $1.5 million more for rural broadband

OTTAWA – A pair of announcements from Industry Canada on Wednesday will see over $1.5 million more flow into developing broadband access in Aboriginal and rural communities. Up to $973 592 in program savings from Industry Canada’s Broadband for Rural and Northern Development Pilot Program has been made available to the Matawa First Nations Management organization to deploy broadband, or high-capacity Internet, to local communities that are currently not served by broadband. This project represents an estimated eight communities, as defined by the participant and originally submitted in the project’s business proposal. The Broadband Pilot Program’s implementation funding was… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

Radio station to be all-Canadian, all the time

TORONTO – Next week, new Humber College radio station CKHC 96.9 FM will launch as likely the only all-Canadian station in the country. The station plans to play nothing but music by Canadian artists. The Humber campus radio station has been operating at the north campus since 1973. CKHC 90.7 FM currently operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In 2003 the school applied to the CRTC for a ‘developmental campus license’ to operate a new radio station on the FM frequency of 96.9. The college was officially awarded a license as of Sept. 13, 2004. Beginning… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Quebec ISPs launch Commission complaint over Bell

MONTREAL – Fifteen independent companies, today lodged a complaint with the CRTC over the business practices of Bell Canada they say is unfair. The document ultimately strives to end what the Quebec ISP Coalition calls the "unfair conduct of Bell Canada with regards to the provision of high speed Internet services." The Coalition’s two main complaints relate to Bell Canada’s "taking advantage of its dominant position" regarding its high speed basic Internet access, and that its long-term, so-called promotional rates are unfair. "Bell Canada gives with one hand and takes with the other," said Sophie Léger, spokesperson for the… Continue Reading