GATINEAU – The oral reply phase of a CRTC hearing is the last opportunity for applicants to make their final pleas, respond to comments from competing applicants but also one more opportunity for the Commission to ask questions and, most importantly to raise an issue to ensure it is on the record of the hearing.
Interestingly, in the last phase of this week’s hearing into a mandatory license for an ethnic, multi-language primarily news specialty service, the vice-chair-broadcasting, Caroline Simard, asked each applicant something new: “Could you tell us which are the main steps that you would be doing in…
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Smart glasses as next-generation computing platform
OTTAWA – Jacob Glick has a pretty good idea about how people are informed and entertained.
Until early 2017, he was part of the executive suite at Rogers Communications as the Canadian media giant’s chief corporate affairs officer. Prior to that, the onetime litigator with major Canadian law firm, McCarthy Tétrault LLP, served three tours of duty with global tech titan Google, heading the public policy and government relations teams in Ottawa, at its corporate headquarters in Mountain View, Calif., and finally in Washington, D.C.
Glick’s gigs have been to highlight the intersection of technology, public…
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Telus, Shaw, say no licence should be granted, and especially not to Bell or Rogers
GATINEAU – On Wednesday, phase II and III of the hearing into a mandatory carriage licence for a national, news oriented multilingual and multi-ethnic television service was the opportunity for the applicants and then outside intervenors to tell commissioners why they believe certain applications are not special enough to warrant a license under section 9(1)(h) of the Broadcasting Act.
Four of the eight applicants chose not to make any presentations Wednesday (perhaps keeping their powder dry for Thursday’s final public reply day) but each of Rogers…
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GATINEAU – Day two of the hearing into the applications for a mandatory carriage licence for a national, multilingual and multi-ethnic television service saw the panel of commissioners pick at the shortcomings of the applications brought forward by the final four applicants for the TV license currently held by Rogers Media’s OMNI.
Here are the highlights we saw:
BELL MEDIA WAS FIRST UP with it’s pitch for OurTV, which promised, among a number of other things, the hiring of 53 new journalists spread across the country and some international sites producing 40 hours a week of news and current affairs content…
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Chair says 9(1)(h) may not go to anyone
GATINEAU – Sometimes the headline for a CRTC hearing day comes mid-morning, or maybe late afternoon during a good Q&A session between an applicant and a commissioner which puts a tight focus on the issues at play.
On Monday, however, that headline came in the first five minutes during CRTC chairman Ian Scott’s short opening speech. While we have surmised here that granting a mandatory carriage licence to a national, multilingual and multi-ethnic television service was a foregone conclusion – and that the only question is which of the…
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CCTS Annual Report shows troubling trends
OTTAWA – Just over a month after the telecom industry was raked over the coals for their sales practices by the CRTC, the Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services (CCTS) released its annual report showing such complaints about wireless, broadband, telecom and TV carriers are on the rise.
Today, the CCTS reported a 57% increase in the number of complaints received during its 2017-18 year (ended July 31st) from Canadian telecom and TV customers, following an 11% increase the prior year. Canadians complained most often about non-disclosure of information, which accounts for almost 15%…
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WINNIPEG and KING TOWNSHIP, ON – Rogers said Monday that it has improved its wireless service in eight locations in Manitoba as well as in Ontario’s King Township as part of its multi-year network plan to bring gigabit LTE and 5G to its customers.
The upgrades will impact Rogers and Fido customers in Winnipeg, Falcon Lake, Woodridge and Neepawa in Manitoba as well as the Schomberg Village area along Hwy 27 in King Township in Ontario.
The enhancements will also improve the wireless experience for its business customers in these areas.
www.rogers.com
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Ethnic license now held by OMNI up for grabs next week
SECTION 9(1)(h) OF THE Broadcasting Act says the CRTC can “require any licensee who is authorized to carry on a distribution undertaking to carry, on such terms and conditions as the Commission deems appropriate, programming services specified by the Commission.”
It’s commonly known in the industry as the must-carry clause, the one applied to certain TV channels in which cable, satellite and IPTV are forced to offer in their entry packages. They include the main local broadcasters and a handful of other channels which the Regulator believes fills an “exceptional…
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HAMILTON – Community television channel Cable 14 is behind a series of public service announcements designed to promote Hamilton Food Share’s organizations and programs to local residents in need.
Through a campaign called ‘14 Ways To Feed The Hammer’, the PSAs will feature not only how these organizations support individuals over the holidays, but how they ensure that vulnerable citizens have access to food all year round. According to the news release, approximately 10,000 Hamilton households will reach out to the emergency food system for assistance in providing their family with the celebrations that many of us take for…
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Just part of negotiations, though
TORONTO – Within its most recent bills to some of its cable TV customers, Rogers Communications noted that as of January 1, 2019, their roster of channels will be a little lighter.
“From time to time, we adjust our channel lineups to reflect the changing viewership trends of our customers. As of January 1, 2019, Stingray Juicebox, Stingray Retro, Stingray Loud and Stingray Vibe, will no longer be in your TV package,” reads the note at the bottom of the bills.
All four music video channels are ones which Stingray purchased from Bell…
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