VANCOUVER – Gigi Boyd has been named VP of industrial relations in the BC office of the Canadian Media Production Association (in transition from the CFTPA).
A Gemini and Leo award winning producer/production manager, Boyd joins the CMPA-BC on July 19 after working extensively in the western film and television industry. Previously, Boyd was business affairs manager and director of the television unit at Telefilm Canada in the Western office, as well as a member of the executive board of the DGC-BC and vice-chair of the board of the Shaw Rocket Fund.
The BC Producers’ Branch of the CMPA represents the…
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THUNDER BAY, ON – Three additional projects in Ontario have been conditionally approved for funding under the ‘Broadband Canada: Connecting Rural Canadians’ program.
Friday’s announcement said that the projects will bring broadband to 4,000 additional households in the areas of Beaucage, Chisholm, Rutherglen, Nipissing, West Nipissing, Sundrige, Strong, Markstay, Warren, Estair, Wahnapitei, Skerryvore, Shawanaga, Bell Lake, Bonfield, McDougall, McMurrich, Armour, Cochrane District, Oliver-Paipoonge, Fort William, Neebing, and Township of Shuniah.
Galaxy Broadband Communications, Spectrum Telecom Group Ltd. / Blue Sky Economic Growth Corp. and TBay Tel / Northwestern Ontario Innovation Centre were named to share in the $5.5 million…
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MONTREAL – CBC/Radio-Canada is updating its 50 year-old antenna located at the top of Mount Royal in Montreal.
The overhaul will allow the city’s radio stations to improve their technical parameters, and TV stations to install the antennas they need to move into the digital age, according to the announcement. The upgrade will also ensure compliance with the new Health Canada and Industry Canada standards relating to Safety Code 6 for the 3 kHz to 300 GHz frequency range.
The work, scheduled for June through August, will require occasional temporary interruptions in radio and television signals, but these interruptions will be…
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MONTREAL – The federal government’s plan to increase foreign ownership in the telecommunications sector will not result in cheaper wireless service, and could serve to undermine plans for universal access, says Canada’s largest telecommunications union.
Dave Coles, president of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union (CEP), said that CEP-commissioned research actually disputes claims that wireless services are more expensive in Canada than in other countries.
"Existing studies compare pricing in markets that have very different usage, that don’t have special plans with unlimited minutes, or free phones, for example, like we do in Canada," Coles said. "When taking all of that…
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TORONTO – The World Fishing Network will dedicate an entire day of programming and commercial airtime on June 30th to support recreational anglers affected by the Gulf oil spill disaster.
The on-air campaign, which will air on its Canadian and U.S. channels, aims to raise awareness of the catastrophic impact this spill is having on the entire fishing industry, and to raise money for organizations providing aid and support to those most negatively impacted by the disaster.
In addition to in-depth coverage of the impact of the spill on recreational and commercial fishing in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, the channel…
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TORONTO and WINNIPEG – Disgruntled Canwest Global shareholders, including the Asper family, are continuing in their efforts to stop Shaw’s purchase of the company’s television divisions.
According to a report in the Financial Post, the group filed an affidavit in Ontario court this week alleging that the proposed $2 billion sale “was not the result of a full and informed auction”, and therefore did not “fetch hundreds of millions of dollars in additional value the company is estimated to be worth”.
The group, which includes the founding Asper family, three U.S. investors and four unidentified Canadian investors, also served…
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IF EVERYONE PLAYS their expected part, Canadians may end up clamouring for the new SunTV News channel that its owner, Quebecor Media, envisions.
The launch strategy, it appears, is so far playing out brilliantly. After a couple of weeks of leaks (“It’ll be like Fox News, but in Canada!” “They’re going to spend $100 million!” “They’ve asked the CRTC for permission! “We’ve hired some reporters!”) which were linked and retweeted everywhere across the country – and especially in Ottawa – newspaper, TV and radio reporters, camera folks, online newsers (including yours truly) and bloggers crowded…
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BANFF – Today’s youth expect a fully integrated, holistic content experience – not just games and contests on-line, according to a Shaw Rocket Fund study.
The 2010 Media and Technology Landscape Study, which garnered over 1100 responses among 9 to 17 year-old Canadians, captured young people’s expectations on how they wish to consume and interact with media both today and into the future.
At a presentation earlier this week at the Banff International Television Festival, Shaw Rocket Fund president Agnes Augustin and Decode strategist Jacquelyn Salnek outlined some of the study’s highlights, including:
– Youth have a much different view of the…
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EVEN THE NON-SPORTS fan will know there’s a bit of a soccer tournament about to begin in South Africa this weekend. And yesterday was press release day on the TV front.
In Canada, the CBC is leading the coverage of the 2010 FIFA World Cup with broadcast across multiple platforms, a World Cup CBC mobile app – and the third place and final games are to be available in 3D for the dozens (?) of fans who have new 3DTVs.
After CBC sent out it’s announcement, so did Shaw Cable, Telus, Shaw Direct, Cogeco, Rogers…
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OTTAWA – Telesat has chosen Space Systems/Loral to manufacturer its new Anik G1 satellite and International Launch Services (ILS) for its launch into geostationary orbit, scheduled for the second half of 2012.
The powerful new multipurpose bird will carry 16 transponders operating in the extended Ku-band for Shaw Direct, as the DTH company announced in March. Co-located at the 107.3 degrees West Longitude orbital location with the Anik F1R satellite Shaw Direct presently uses, the satellite could boost Shaw Direct’s satellite television services by 30%.
Anik G1 also will also have satellite capacity operating in the X-band frequencies with geographic coverage of the…
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