OTTAWA – Canadian Heritage minister Bev Oda said it would be “inappropriate to prejudge its review” of the Canadian Television Fund (CTF) currently underway by the CRTC, in her response earlier this week to a Parliamentary committee’s report on the private-public fund.
The government’s response to the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage’s “The Funding Crisis of the Canadian Television Fund,” offered no opinions on the report’s conclusions.
Oda’s response consisted of a summary of events surrounding the funding crisis resulting when Shaw and Quebecor decided to withdraw their monthly contributions to the CTF. Those payments have since been resumed….
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LAST WEEK THE Cable Public Affairs Channel celebrated its 15th anniversary of bringing Canadians the nitty gritty of politics.
As the only place where you find federal Parliamentary debates, committee meetings, inquiry hearings, political talk shows, some international flavour and of course, Question Period, it’s also just about the only Paris Hilton-free media outlet in the world, which perhaps explains why it’s often on in our house…
But, just because Canadian cable companies created it, own it, and politicians on the Hill love it, CPAC still, like any other traditional media outlet, has its challenges. While it was a…
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BANFF – The Canadian Television Fund, saying it was responding to “a concern” but declining to name whose concern, said it would put off any changes to its bylaws until the CRTC is finished its review of the fund.
Two weeks ago, Shaw Communications CEO Jim Shaw sent a blistering letter to the CTF saying the fact the organization was planning to alter its bylaws at the same time the CRTC is examining the fund and its operations “flies in the face of common sense.”
Today, buried in a press release of the CTF’s report to stakeholders, the…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – While the Canadian TV world was concentrated on the portion of CTVglobemedia’s deal to purchase CHUM that was denied, the Commission also used Friday to announce decisions on Alberta’s new TV choices.
The CRTC approved Rogers Communications application for another OMNI multicultural station serving Calgary and Edmonton. It also denied an application by MVBC Holdings (owners of Vancouver’s Channel M) for an ethnic over-the-air license in the same cities.
"We are delighted with today’s decision. Since 1979, OMNI Television has been a prolific producer and purchaser of Canadian television in over 40 languages," said Leslie…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – Citing the "questionable business practices" of independent cable co-op Campbell River TV Association, Shaw Communications declined earlier this year to renew the contract of its Shaw Pay-Per-View service with the small cable company.
When Shaw made it known to CRTV that the contract would not be renewed, the co-op filed a complaint with the CRTC under section 6.1(1) of the Pay Television Regulations, 1990, which prohibits a licensee from giving an undue preference to any person, including itself, or subjecting any person to an undue disadvantage.
While CRTV said the PPV or VOD options available to it…
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CALGARY – Proposed changes to bylaws coming at next week’s annual general meeting of the Canadian Television Fund "seems to fly in the face of common sense," says a tersely-worded letter sent Friday by Shaw Communications CEO Jim Shaw to the fund’s chair Douglas Barrett.
Shaw noted that while Star Choice received notice of the meeting, Shaw Communications did not and that after looking at what the organization has planned for the June 12 meeting during the Banff World Television Festival, "(w)e were surprised that you and the board of the CTF have decided to pursue an aggressive and…
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KELOWNA – CommTech Trade Show and Seminars host Janice Lee could be spotted touring the hotel property over the past couple of days, examining every spot at the Coast Capri Hotel for the expansion of next year’s conference.
A success on just about every measure (every vendor and delegate we talked to was very pleased with the show), CommTech will likely be expanding next year. This year, vendor table space sold out months in advance and the waiting list from this year means the trade show floor will be larger in 2008.
There were 42 exhibitors this year, 20…
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OTTAWA – Quebecor and MTS Allstream are not alone among telecom and cable firms in their desire for a wireless spectrum auction that would shackle the "big three" mobile phone companies in Canada.
Among those aligned with the Quebec and Manitoba companies that have been leading the charge to have spectrum in the auction set aside for new entrants – and who have also proposed other rules like mandated roaming and tower sharing – include: Cogeco Cable, the Canadian Cable Systems Alliance, Shaw Communications, EastLink, the Assembly of First Nations and Toronto Hydro Telecom, among others.
The list…
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MONTREAL – Bell Canada Enterprises’ Strategic Oversight Committee confirmed today what’s been rumored since last week, that another group is looking at taking the country’s largest telecom company private.
Members of this new group, headed by American private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management (the same company buying Chrysler) "have signed non-disclosure and standstill agreements with BCE on a non-exclusive basis," says today’s BCE press release.
Besides Cerberus, the also Canadian investors. Printed reports over the past few days suggest a number of partners, such as Shaw Communications and CanWest Global.
According to Canadian telecom regulations, majority ownership of the…
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COUNT CANADA’S SATELLITE and cable companies (outside Quebec, anyway) as generally pleased with the Commission’s new policy on over-the-air TV broadcasters.
"We think it’s a very balanced decision and we’re happy with it," said Rogers Communications vice-chair Phil Lind.
"I think it’s overall a balanced decision," added Shaw Communications vice-president, regulatory, Ken Stein.
"They were clearly listening to everybody because they’ve come up with a balanced decision that reflects all parties representations I think," explained Bell ExpressVu president Gary Smith.
Only Telco TV’s Ann Mainville-Neeson stayed off the balance beam, saying: "Kudos to the Commission for a very…
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