GATINEAU – There are always some interesting figures which emerge with the publishing of the annual aggregate returns of the large carriers and broadcasters by the CRTC.
Below are a few highlights from the data filed by Canada’s cable, satellite and IPTV companies (we’ll look at the conventional TV, pay and specialty and radio numbers later) for the broadcast year ended August 31, 2014.
Of the subscriber losses suffered by the large, established TV carriers (cable and satellite brands Rogers Cable, Shaw Cable, Shaw Direct, Videotron, Bell Satellite TV, Cogeco Cable and Eastlink) almost all went to…
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OTTAWA – While some have yet to react and others have decried the CRTC’s decisions today on the carriage portion of the Commission’s TV Policy Review, the overall reaction has ranged from generally positive to indifferent. Bell Canada and Quebecor Media have chosen not to respond as yet.
Shaw Communications president and CEO Brad Shaw:
“We support the Government’s direction and the Commission’s commitment to maximize choice for Canadians – as citizens, producers, and consumers. We are pleased that the Commission has built on the foundation of previous Talk TV decisions to support a bold yet balanced and orderly policy framework…
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OTTAWA – Announcing the most recent round of Let’s Talk TV decisions last week, CRTC chair Jean-Pierre Blais spoke about the need to create fewer, higher quality Canadian TV shows instead of a larger number of mixed quality television – and to build a more sustainable production sector populated by larger, well-capitalized firms.
In essence, he was saying less is more. However, those who make the shows believe, conversely, less will only lead to less.
Broadcasting Regulatory Policy CRTC 2015-86, released on March 12, made a number of significant changes to Canadian content rules. Chief among…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC has returned applications filed by the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) and Consumers’ Association of Canada (CAC) challenging the tied selling of streaming services CraveTV and shomi to existing TV subscription services, citing Thursday’s Let’s Talk decisions.
A March 12 letter addressed to the consumer groups and signed by secretary general John Traversy said that the PIAC-CAC applications “would benefit from taking into consideration the Commission’s clarifications” in BRP 2015-86 in which the CRTC said that it would add a hybrid VoD service as a new type of exempt undertaking. “Accordingly, by majority decision, the…
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OTTAWA – Canada’s broadcasters aren’t about to give up spectrum and go through another digital upgrade again without being paid for moving – and believe some of the funds coming from the next big wireless auction must be re-directed towards a new local television production fund.
First comments were due into Industry Canada Wednesday on its consultation into repurposing the 600 MHz band – the slice of spectrum upon which much of the country’s TV signals ride.
While most agree that harmonizing our bandwidth plan framework with the United States is a good idea, independent broadcasters and vertically integrated media and…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC unveiled sweeping changes to the Canadian TV broadcasting system earlier today. The Regulator has eliminated genre protection rules, shifted from Canadian content exhibition quotas to spending requirements and created a new class of online video-on-demand (VOD) services.
In a speech to the Canadian Club of Ottawa, Commission chair Jean-Pierre Blais underscored the need to adapt the broadcasting system to meet the realities of today where “people watch content in the ways, on the devices and at the times that most suit them.” He acknowledged that content is still king, but added that the viewer is now…
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TORONTO – Global Television and comedy club Second City are teaming up on The Second City Project, a multiplatform collection of addictive, laugh-out-loud content launching on Globaltv.com and Global Go Monday.
Introducing a host of hilarious new comedic characters from the world's premiere name in comedy – the Second City Toronto and Chicago theatres – The Second City Project features sketch comedy at its finest with two parallel worlds: a sleek cinematic world of filmed sketches and semi-scripted scenes from the writers' room.
New sketches will be posted each week, also available on Vine, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram…
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MARKHAM – The Ontario Association of Broadcasters held its tenth annual Career Development Day on March 2, with more than 360 students from 11 post-secondary broadcast schools registering for the event.
Career Day allows soon-to-be graduating broadcasting students to meet with professionals in their field to talk candidly and ask questions. The event’s ever popular round-table discussions featured hosts from all areas of broadcasting and included: (alphabetically) Shelley Barry, Blair Bartrem, Keith Beaulieu, Richard Bloom, David Boorne, Paul Brousseau, Scott Burnett, Chris Byrnes, John Coldwell, Pat Cugliari, Amanda Dwyer, Dave Farough, Andrea Gagliardi, Pat Gonsalves, Jonathan Green, Gord Harris, Jennifer Howe, Stu…
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TORONTO – Competition in business television is about to get fierce.
On Thursday, Channel Zero and Bloomberg Media will officially announce a new, long-term, exclusive partnership which will see the independent Canadian broadcaster launch a new, Canadian version of the popular business news cable channel early in the second half of 2015. (Bloomberg TV, the financial news channel owned by billionaire entrepreneur and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, is currently on the CRTC’s eligible satellite list and is carried by most large and many small distributors in Canada, the notable exceptions being Bell Canada and Vidéotron.)
“It’s a really…
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TORONTO – Telus has finalized a new partnership with global Internet of Things (IoT) platform leader Jasper that it says will help Canadian businesses to launch, manage and monetize IoT services.
The Telus Control Centre, a purpose-built IoT service platform provided by Santa Clara, Calif-based Jasper, promises to simplify the deployment and management of IoT services by offering automated device provisioning, real-time diagnostics, integrated billing, and deep reporting and cost-management features. The self-service platform manages the entire lifecycle of an IoT service, enabling companies to introduce new business models, go to market faster and scale over time to meet…
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