| 06 September, 2010 | Last updated 2 days 14 hours 49 minutes ago |
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Having Trouble Logging In?Canadian New MediaArpin wanted to stay, 'but the wise men decided differently,' he saysTwo days after leaving his position as vice-chair of broadcasting at the CRTC, Michel Arpin sat down with me for an exclusive interview in his new office at Université de Montréal, where this week he officially took on a position as visiting professor in the communications studies department. For more than two hours, we discussed his departure from the CRTC, Quebecor Inc.’s Sun TV News application, and the transition to digital over-the-air broadcasting. The following excerpt has been edited for length and style. Google to target local, business-to-business advertising in Canadian expansion September 3, 2010 - 12:58pm — Stefan Dubowski
Experts expect Google Inc. to make local search central to a Canadian expansion plan focused on business-to-business online advertising. The search giant and online advertising broker has announced an expansion into Canada to garner a bigger share of the business-to-business market. The shift includes moving its headquarters of 70 staff from Waterloo, Ont., to neighbouring Kitchener. Google, Yahoo, concerned about Bill-C-32 'enabler' provision August 27, 2010 - 3:39pm — Simon Doyle
OTTAWA—A so-called “enabler provision” in the Conservative government’s copyright reform bill is drawing concern from major companies Google and Yahoo, industry sources say. Sources close to the legislation say the companies are having internal discussions about the provision, which is intended to provide a legal remedy to catch copyright infringement “facilitators”—like BitTorrent trackers—that point to infringing content on the web. Yahoo wouldn’t comment for this story, and Google is revealing little, but industry sources say Google and Yahoo are working on the provision behind the scenes. Government offered von Finckenstein plum jobs to push him out: Report August 20, 2010 - 5:58pm — Simon Doyle
The communications industry was buzzing this week following a report that the Conservative government offered CRTC chair Konrad von Finckenstein positions as an ambassador or judge to encourage him to leave his post early. Lawrence Martin, a columnist for The Globe and Mail, wrote this week that although von Fincksenstein’s appointment as chair of the CRTC does not end until Jan. 24, 2012, the Conservative government and Prime Minister Stephen Harper find him too “independently minded” and are trying to encourage him to leave “well before that date,” replacing him with “a rubber stamper.” In confidential background interviews, The Wire Report canvassed six industry and regulatory insiders for their knowledge about the matter. 'Digital has a seat at the table,' says CTV's Marcovici August 20, 2010 - 5:31pm — Jonathan Migneault
CTV Inc. is not a “TV company” but a media and content company where “digital has a seat at the table,” Alon Marcovici, the company’s new executive vice-president of digital media, said in an interview. Marcovici told The Wire Report that CTV’s hand in the distribution of digital media during the Vancouver Olympics was a “watershed moment” because it demonstrated consumer demand for multiplatform content. “We learned in general that Canadians have a voracious appetite for content, for being interactive, for at times choosing to lean back to consume their media, and at other times to lean forward and be active in it,” Marcovici said. New copyright coalition launched to counter 'louder voice' of user lobbyOTTAWA—The recently announced Balanced Copyright for Canada online advocacy group formed because rights holder groups felt they needed to counter the user lobby’s “louder voice” online, Stephen Ellis, a board member of the group, told The Wire Report in an interview. “The pro-copyright forces needed, for the lack of a better term, a soap box,” Ellis said. Ellis, president and CEO of Ellis Entertainment Corp. in Toronto and a member of the coalition’s 14-member advisory board, said members of the group hope to facilitate discussion among creators and rights holders and build consensus on key copyright reform policies. Canadian production needs access to 'creative risk capital,' Newman saysOTTAWA—A man of 50, Kevin Newman has ideas of a 20-something. In two weeks Newman is stepping down as anchor and executive editor of Global National, Global Television’s flagship national newscast. Newman, who has about 30 years in the broadcast news business, says he wants to take some time off for “creative renewal.” He talks regularly about how the Internet is changing media, about the need for creativity and taking risks. CBC pleased with new CMF envelope factorsOTTAWA—The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) is pleased with the Canada Media Fund’s (CMF) new performance envelope calculation factors, CBC spokesman Angus McKinnon told The Wire Report. When the CMF launched in April, the public broadcaster had expressed concern about cuts to its funding envelope. Prior to the fund’s creation, the CBC received a guaranteed funding envelope of 37 per cent. Under the new factors for the 2010-2011 broadcasting year, the CBC had estimated it would lose $12.6 million in funding. Navigating convergence sometimes easier than navigating the CRTC websiteOTTAWA--For many in the broadcasting and telecommunications industries, the CRTC website is something of a second home. But it’s also common to hear complaints that the site could be more welcoming and easier to navigate. The CRTC website went through a complete makeover in early 2009, but many who use it on a daily basis continue to say there is room for improvement. Netflix to rewrite Canadian content distribution rules, experts saySet to reach Canadian audiences in September, Netflix Inc. is drawing the attention of broadcasting industry players who say the service could threaten Canadian programming online and rewrite the content distribution rules. Netflix, the California-based company known for its online video streaming library and DVD-rental-by-mail service, said last week it will make its first foray outside of the U.S. by offering streaming service to Canadians. “Streaming is the future, and it’s the service more and more people are gravitating to,” Steven Swasey, Netflix vice-president of corporate communications, said in an interview. |
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