CCR Short Takes

Approval of Food Network Canada opens door for Canadian versions of other U.S. channels
The CRTC has approved a licence application by Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc for a Canadian version of the Food Network. Released Tuesday, the decision bodes well for digital channel applicants who are trying to win licences for Canadian franchises of other U.S. channels, such as A&E’s Biography.
Food Network Canada will replace the Food Network on all cable systems that currently carry the U.S. service. Programs will cover the culture of food, food selection, preparation , presentation and cooking instruction. Feature films on the new service will be restricted to theatrical releases with food as a central theme, and no more than one film can be broadcast each week.
Canadian programming must make up 50 per cent of the schedule, with a minimum of 175 hours of original Canadian programming in the first year. That level will increase over the licence term, to a minimum of 350 hours per year by 2006.
Alliance Atlantis owns 51 per cent of Food Network Canada, while Corus Entertainment Inc has 20 per cent (with only 10 per cent voting interest) and Television Food Network G.P. (TVFN) owns 29.8 per cent. If Corus wants to raise its equity stake, it will have to seek CRTC approval. Alliance Atlantis convinced the CRTC that ultimate control of the channel will reside with itself as the majority shareholder. Alliance Atlantis also retains control over Food Network Canada’s program schedule, and will decide which U.S. programs to air.

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Regional producers worry CTF restructuring will cut off funding pipeline

Television producers outside Toronto and Montreal are worried that proposed changes to the Canadian Television Fund (CTF) will cut off the special funding and regional bonuses they receive.

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Rogers bolsters communications studies with $35-million gift to U of T and Ryerson

Ted Rogers and his wife Loretta have donated $25 million to the University of Toronto and $10 million to Ryerson Polytechnic University to help train a new generation of engineers and communicators.

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Heritage committee takes stand on local newscasts; urges CRTC’s to rein in CBC

The the House of Commons Heritage Committee has waded into the battle over proposed CBC cuts to regional programming, demanding the CRTC intervene to prevent any scale-back of local newscasts.

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Quebec groups call for overhaul of community TV; CRTC review pending

The CRTC plans to review the future of community channels in Canada within the next few months, after receiving hundreds of complaints about how cable operators are operating the local channels. The criticism has been particularly vocal in Quebec, where individuals, organizations and institutions have written asking that the regulator hold a proceeding to clearly define what it meant, and required from, community television. The Bloc Quebecois is among the critics.

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Satellite TV and wireless cable companies urged to establish complaints agency

The CRTC wants satellite TV and wireless cable companies to create a standards council to deal with the rising number of consumer complaints. Now, consumers who have problems with satellite or wireless systems must turn to the company, rather than an industry organization, for help. The CRTC warns that, while this system worked when these technologies had a small subscriber base, it’s beginning to breakdown as wireless and satellite systems become more popular.

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Germany lags in digital pay TV take up in Europe

Honhenheim University conducted a survey recently to find out why Germans are buying less digital pay TV than consumers in Spain, Great Britain and France. It seems the main entry barriers in Germany are a lack of standardized decoders, 35 free television channels and high costs.  

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Seagram sale to Vivendi could ignite new battle over foreign film distribution

The US$30-billion takeover of Seagram Ltd by Vivendi SA and its subsidiary, the French pay TV network Canal Plus, is threatening to re-open the politically charged issue of allowing foreign film distributors into the Canadian market. The issue centres on PolyGram, which four years ago as a foreign-owned company, applied to Industry Canada for an exemption to Canada’s film distribution policy, in an attempt to set up distribution and production operations here. It was a contentious application that – to the relief of Industry minister John Manley and Heritage minister Sheila Copps – became a non-issue when Canadian-owned Seagram purchased PolyGram in late 1998.

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NL Editorial

The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports.

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Don’t bid adieu to the glory days of telecom monopolies just yet

BCE plans to buy Teleglobe Inc. BC Telecom and Telus merge. AT&T acquired Metronet. MCI Worldcom wants Sprint. And British wireless giant Vodafone PLC gobbles Mannesmann AG in a US$127-billion hostile bid.

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