CCR Update

Illegal satellite descrambling cards cause interference to public safety communicationsIndustry Canada has determined that certain devices used to provide unauthorized access to direct-to-home (DTH) satellite TV signals can cause interference to communications systems used by law enforcement agencies and emergency response teams. The department began an investigation into the interference issues after receiving several complaints from public safety organizations in Canada. Industry Canada concluded that illegal AVR cards, used to bypass DTH companies’ conditional access systems, were causing the interference and subsequently made a Determination of Interference. DTH broadcasters use conditional access systems to protect their transmissions from unauthorized reception. "These analyses have demonstrated that certain devices used to defeat conditional access systems of DTH broadcast satellite receivers, when used in conjunction with such receivers, cause the emission of radio frequency signals of sufficient strength that interference is caused or is likely to be caused to radiocommunication, including that used for law enforcement and search and rescue," Industry Canada says in Notice No. DGRB-002-02. Industry Canada will now send out notices to persons or companies that make these illegal devices available. Failure to comply with the notice can result in fines and/or jail time for offenders. Individuals can be fined up $5,000 and/or be jailed for a year, while corporations can receive a $25,000 fine. The Radiocommunications Act also allows for a person to be convicted for a separate offence for each day on which the offence is committed or continued. For more detailed information on the Determination of Interference, please see the next edition of CCR affiliate publication Report on Wireless. More details. CRTC announces regulatory policy for transition to over-the-air digital TV signalsThe CRTC has released a policy on the transition to conventional digital TV services that, unlike the United States, doesn’t impose a deadline, but instead lets broadcaster investment and consumer demand control the speed of the rollout – Broadcasting Public Notice 2002-31. The regulatory framework, released June 12, is similar to the draft policy it released a year ago for comment (CCR, June 7/01). Broadcasters will have to apply for a licence to operate a digital TV station and will be expected to maintain their existing analog coverage in full during the transition period. Existing broadcasters will be given the first opportunity to apply for digital TV licences, but the CRTC will consider new entrants if the incumbents are too slow to apply. Broadcasters will be permitted to offer up to 14 hours of programming on the digital channels that is not on the sister analog channels, provided that it is high definition and 50% is Canadian. The commission also expects broadcasters to ensure that two-thirds of their schedules are in high definition by December 2007. More details. CRTC proposes policies for distribution of digital TV signalsIn conjunction with the release of a regulatory policy for the transition to over-the-air digital TV, the CRTC issued a proposed distribution framework for digital TV signals that includes a provision that would guarantee a DTV signal the same priority of carriage as its analog mate – Broadcasting Notice 2002-32. The commission is also proposing giving over-the-air digital TV signals substitution rights over distant signals as long as the quality of the signal is equivalent or better than that of the distant signal. The broadcast regulator is considering allowing DTV services to be delivered via direct feed for a period of up to 18 months, pending construction of over-the-air transmitters. Comments on the proposals are due September 9. More details. Look introduces high-speed Internet service in Toronto and MontrealLook Communications Inc. has announced the launch of Look ULTRAFAST, its wireless high-speed Internet access service to small- and medium-sized businesses in Toronto and Montreal. "High-speed wireless access is our core business services offering and a critical differentiator for Look in the SME marketplace," Look president and CEO Paul Lamontagne said in a media release. The introduction of the Internet service along with its new digital TV lineup will allow Look to resume customer growth in the second half of the year, according to Lamontagne. A special introductory offer allows customers to get unlimited Internet access for the first three months at $24.95/month. Look has already rolled out the Internet service in Milton and Hamilton ON (CCR Update, May 15/02; CCR, Feb. 15/02). More details. Marchi trumps cultural instrument in Banff speechCanada needs a rules-based international system for cultural industries, and that’s why the county is championing the New International Instrument for Cultural Diversity (NIICD), Sergio Marchi, Canada’s ambassador to the World Trade Organization and chair of the WTO general council, told delegates at the Banff Film Festival on June 10. "And until the New Instrument is fully developed, Canada will continue its strategy of not making any commitments that restrict our ability to achieve our cultural objectives," he said. The NIICD, however, is no longer that new and has failed to get much recognition on the trade front. Delegates warned in February at the annual convention of the Canadian Film and Television Production Association that the NIICD concept had not spilled over from the cultural sphere to the trade arena (CCR, Feb. 15/02; June 21/01). More details. CanWest questions calls for tax incentives for independent newsroomsCanWest Global Communications Corp. disagrees with a call by 40 former publishers, editors and directors of Southam Inc. for government tax incentives for media companies that maintain independent newsrooms. CanWest Global purchased 14 major metro Southam daily newspapers, 18 additional dailies or weeklies, and the National Post in 2000. CanWest Global argues that such a move would facilitate entry of the government into Canada’s newsrooms in contravention of Section 2 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Winnipeg-based media company’s comments were in response to full-page ads calling for the tax incentives that ran on June 6 in some Canadian papers and signed by the former publishers, editors and directors. More details. Bill C-48 goes to clause-by-clause review todayThe Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage is to proceed today (June 13) with a clause-by-clause examination of Bill C-48, which is supposed to clarify the role of Internet retransmitters (CCR, June 7/02). The examination of the legislation follows an intense two weeks of hearings on the matter. The committee will likely follow the wishes of the departments of Industry Canada and Canadian Heritage and pass C-48 without regulations attached. However, it is possible that the bill will go to third reading in the House of Commons containing an explicit moratorium on the operations of Internet retransmitters such as JumpTV.com Canada Inc. for at least one year. For an in-depth look at this issue, see the upcoming edition of CCR affiliate publication Canadian NEW MEDIA. Some Internet users turning away from the technologyAbout 232,000 Canadian households that had used the Internet regularly said they are no longer doing so, according to newly released data from Statistics Canada. Using figures from its 2000 Household Internet Use Survey, Statscan notes that 30% of Internet dropout households said they no longer used the Internet because they did not have a "need" for it. About 17% stopped using the Internet because it was too expensive, and 14% because they no longer had a computer. More details. Lions Gate, TVA Films form JV Media Inc.Lions Gate Entertainment and the Toronto office of TVA Films are forming a new company – JV Media Inc. – to distribute and market movies and TV programming from the two companies. Along with theatrical distribution, JV Media will oversee sales of Lions Gate and TVA Films’ TV libraries to pay television, cable, and over-the-air TV stations in Canada. The move is meant to save costs as the two companies can share office space and staff. The arrangement is similar to one the Montreal office of TVA Films entered into with Christal Films Distribution in April. Christal and TVA Films formed Topaze Communications to jointly market and distribute their productions in Quebec. More details. CAB objects to private copying collective tariff proposalIn a letter to the Copyright Board of Canada, the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) has submitted a "formal objection" to the private copying tariff proposal filed by the Canadian Private Copying Collective (CPCC) for 2003 and 2004. "…As users of blank audio recording media the CAB’s members have a direct interest in this proceeding," notes the association. The CAB calls the proposed tariff "grossly unfair and excessive in its potential application to broadcasters." For more details about this matter, see the upcoming edition of CCR affiliate publication Canadian NEW MEDIA. CRTC streamlines radio licence renewal processThe CRTC has streamlined its radio licence renewal process by requiring AM and FM radio operators whose performance in the past has raised no concerns to file an abridged licence renewal form – Broadcasting Circular 2002-448. The CRTC can then issue a public notice proposing to renew the licence for a full seven-year term and to seek public comment on the proposal. Radio licensees who have been found to be in non-compliance will be required to submit a long form application, and could be required to appear at a public hearing. CTV inks conventional TV rights to ‘The Osbournes’CTV Inc. plans to begin airing The Osbournes this fall after acquiring the over-the-air rights to seasons 1 and 2 of the MTV hit. It also has an option on season 3. CTV is subleasing the conventional rights for the Canadian market for an undisclosed amount from MTV Canada, a digital channel owned by Craig Broadcast Systems Inc. and MTV Networks. Wayne Sterloff, MTV Canada’s VP and general manager, says the deal will extend the MTV brand to more Canadians. The Osbournes will continue to run first on MTV Canada, and Sterloff says the show is "the first big hit that’s really driving subscribers to the digital channels." More details. INTERNATIONAL NEWS VOD will be attraction on broadband: In-Stat/MDRVideo-on-demand (VOD) services offered via Internet Protocol (IP) networks will reach 17 million users and generate U.S. $1.9 billion annually in subscription and pay-per-view revenues during 2006, according to research by In-Stat/MDR. In a report, the research firm also notes that revenue generated by family-oriented VOD services will eventually surpass those of adult content sites, which currently dominate. More details. U.S. senators call for political moment – at no chargeU.S. senators John McCain and Russ Feingold are attempting to force broadcasters to provide politicians with free airtime and to make them pay for political advertisements, according to a report by Multichannel News. They have drafted a two-part bill. Part 1 would require radio and TV broadcasters to provide two hours a week in the month leading up to elections to candidates. Part 2 would levy a spectrum fee equal to about 1% of revenues on broadcasters, which would be used to finance ad time for politicians on TV and radio. More details. FCC releases study on horizontal concentration in cable TV industrySellers representing the least popular programming networks had difficulty earning a profit, according to a June 2002 study conducted by Mark Bykowsky, Anthony Kwasnica, and William Sharkey and released by the Federal Communications Commission. The study also revealed that when the number of programming networks exceeds the cable operator’s channel capacity, higher levels of horizontal concentration (holding the number of buyers constant) led to a modest reduction in "economic efficiency." As well, the research indicated that there is a statistically significant decrease in a satellite TV operator’s bargaining power when two cable operators serve 44% and 39% of the multichannel video program distributor (MVPD) market than when the largest cable operator serves 27% of the MVPD market. The report further notes, "A reduction in its bargaining power means that the DBS (direct broadcast satellite) operator can expect to pay higher affiliate fees following the increase in horizontal concentration." More details.

CCR Update

News | 06/13/2002 4:00 am EDT

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