OTTAWA – Calling Canadians’ local television needs “fundamentally important objectives of Canada’s broadcasting policy”, the Canadian Association of Community Television Users and Stations (CACTUS) said that the upcoming analog-digital transition could breathe new life in to community television.
In a statement issued prior to its appearance at Monday’s CRTC hearing, CACTUS said that independent community TV organizations, such as those in Valemont and Ash Creek, BC, could help remote private and public signals remain available over the air to all communities, regardless of size.
The group also contrasted the amount of original, local TV programming produced by independent community TV channel NACTV in…
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TORONTO – Nickelodeon in Canada will offer over eight million households a chance to sample its kid friendly programming over the holidays thanks to a month long free preview.
From December 15 through January 18, the newly launched channel will be available on Rogers (channel 231), Shaw Direct (channel 182), Shaw (channel 135), Cogeco (channel 142) and Bell TV (channel 559).
Nickelodeon in Canada is a licensing agreement between MTV Networks International and Corus Entertainment.
www.nickcanada.com
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GATINEAU – The next hearing into whether or not we’re going to adopt a new revenue model for conventional television broadcasters begins Monday and judging from the very few of the nearly 200,000 submissions we’ve read, Canadians are, well, ticked off.
Some are mad at their TV broadcasters, some at their cable or satellite companies. Some are mad at the Commission. Many are mad at any combination of them. Not many of them want to pay more for TV.
So at BNC 2009-614, the hearing into value for signal (yes, we hear you folks sticking to the “fee-for-carriage” terminology getting…
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OTTAWA – At its annual board meeting, the Canadian Association of Broadcasters board of directors has given its new chair, independent radio broadcaster Elmer Hildebrand of Golden West Broadcasting, 45 days to come up with a new strategy for the group.
When contacted by Cartt.ca on Wednesday, Hildebrand asked for patience as he meets with various member companies to sort out next steps. However, several sources with both large and small broadcasters who spoke to Cartt.ca on condition of anonymity said the Association is almost certainly finished as an association representing TV broadcasters.
Simply put, Canwest and CTV too often want…
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By Christopher Maule, Professor Emeritus, Carleton University
THE BATTLE BETWEEN CANADIAN BROADCASTERS and cable companies taking place before the CRTC is about the past and the disappearing present and not about the future of traditional television and other forms of video.
If the protagonists and the Commission are to consider the public interest as reflected by how consumers spend their money and time, they need to look for ways to profit from what consumers want instead of struggling over what consumers have been forced to take.
Today, consumers use their Kindle and computers to read books and view pictures, use their iPhones…
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TORONTO – Media companies looking to monetize their content with online subscription models would be advised to look for additional sources of revenue.
According to results from the Q3 edition of Digital Life Canada, Solution Research Group’s quarterly trend survey.
The research benchmarked consumers’ willingness to pay for various types of content online. Only 14% said they would pay for newspapers online; TV shows did better at 22%, and books seemed worthy of payment to 29%. At the top of the list was movies which had the most potential, with 37% indicating a willingness to pay.
Those currently paying for online or…
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TORONTO – The high definition television subscribers of Bell TV say they love their nature and sports channels, according to a new Angus Reid survey done for independent broadcaster High Fidelity HDTV.
Leading the way is Oasis HD, a nature and natural history channel owned and run by Toronto-based High Fidelity HDTV Inc. According to the survey, Oasis HD is the high definition television channel most-often talked about or recommended to others.
Among the 505 Bell TV subscribers surveyed – who had at least one HiFi channel – Oasis HD ranked ahead of Bell’s other HD offerings (see chart).
"We have known…
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GATINEAU – We could have a story here about the CBC’s plea for a skinny basic.
We could have re-analyzed its re-demands for new revenue in the form of a wholesale fee and how forcefully its executives argued it needs one, despite how detractors point out it already gets a billion dollars from taxpayers and as a public broadcaster an increase from that stream seems more appropriate.
We could have expended more words on Bell’s SD Freesat proposal and how the company re-iterated it will resist new fees to local broadcasters no matter what right to negotiate might be enshrined in…
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TORONTO, November 16, 2009 – Last week, home improvement specialty channel DIY Network Canada launched a consumer advertising campaign to build awareness of the brand new channel and notify existing and potential subscribers of a free preview currently available through Rogers, Bell TV and Shaw Direct.
DIY, a Canwest channel, launched last month, replacing the Fine Living, as Cartt.ca reported.
The national three week campaign consists of print, radio, on-air and online executions targeting adults 25-54 “with a bulls-eye of 35-year-old males and their partners,” says the release.
Humorous…
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IF YOU JUDGED BY the various ad campaigns, Facebook pages and Twitter streams, you’d be thinking that the hearing beginning today in Gatineau is only about whether or not conventional broadcasters should get a fee for their signal.
Well, granting the broadcasters the right to negotiate a fee for carriage of their local TV signals is a foregone conclusion. I’m convinced this will happen. The term “negotiation for value” – which has begun to replace “fee-for-carriage” in the industry lexicon – was coined by CRTC chairman Konrad von Finckenstein himself earlier this year and while I’m not necessarily opposed to…
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