CNM Short Takes

Kalador launches on Irish mobile phone networkVancouver-based Kalador Entertainment Inc. has launched its games and entertainment services on the mobile phone network run by Vodafone Ireland. The Irish telco has over 1.7 million subscribers, and holds 57% of the market in that country. Kalador's Play Anywhere technology is deployed over carrier networks across North America, Europe and Asia and generates millions of page views of network traffic.How to Web TV, Chaos Media ink programming dealChaos Media Ventures Inc., a provider of video-on-demand (VOD) programming, will add Toronto-based How To Web TV Inc.'s content to its VOD channels. The programming will be available to U.S. cable providers starting in late 2002. A media release makes no mention of which cable providers will offer the service in the U.S., but its branded content is currently available to nearly a million cable homes in northern California. The how-to videos will be available via subscribers' set-top boxes and on demand via the remote control.Canadian Heritage trounced by Industry in GooglefightAmid continuing and persistent rumours of a split between Canadian Heritage and Industry Canada on copyright matters, Canadian NEW MEDIA turned to Googlefight to assess the departments' respective influence. With 195,000 hits returned, "Industry Canada" buried Sheila Copps' department. "Canadian Heritage" returned just 97,400 pages. Have fun with the web's hottest new addictive time-waster at www.googlefight.com.CinéGroupe to distribute Pig City through Fox Kids EuropeMontreal-based CinéGroupe has concluded an alliance with Fox Kids Europe to distribute its new animated television series, Pig City. The show is a 26-episode half-hour animated series executive produced by Jacques Pettigrew, Michel Lemire, Phillippe Garell, Marie-Claude Beauchamp and Andrew Makarewicz. Jennifer Hibbard and Annick De Vries produce and Andy Knight (Ned's Newt) directs. The series currently airs on TELETOON and will be on Pro Sieben Germany and Fox Kids Europe this fall.CinemaNow and Universal Studios offer on-demand filmsCinemaNow Inc., a majority-owned subsidiary of Vancouver-based Lions Gate Films (CNM, Mar. 7/02) has hooked up with Universal Studios to offer streaming and downloading of big-name films. CinemaNow will offer Internet video-on-demand of the studio's titles concurrently with their traditional pay-per-view-windows, including Big Fat Liar and The Scorpion King. Other titles not in first-run PPV will also be made available, such as Psycho and Erin Brockovich. The first services will be offered as a four-month test.CFTPA argues CTF only means to ensure distinct programmingThe Canadian Television Fund (CTF) is purported to be the only means to ensure the creation of distinctly Canadian programming in the wake of findings by the Canadian Film and Television Production Association (CFTPA). An update of the CFTPA's survey released last fall estimates that $456 million in foreign financing would be required if the CTF were ever eliminated. The update was compiled by PwC Consulting. The report also finds that any elimination of the CTF would result in a 26% to 31% decline in the largest sector of independent production, and an estimated $520- to $622-million loss in production activity. Between 13,700 and 16,500 direct and indirect jobs would also disappear. View the CFTPA's release of its findings on the impact of the CTF at http://www.cftpa.ca/newsroom/press/10_08_02.html.Toothpaste accepted to Louvre competition as only Cdn. entryThe marblemedia and Rhombus Media co-production of Toothpaste, a humorous operatic short, has been accepted as an entry to the Classique en Images Competition Internationale competition at the Louvre Museum in Paris. The short will be the only Canadian entry. The film will be screened on October 17 (CNM Update, Jan. 30/02). HBO, Airborne Entertainment sign content distribution dealHome Box Office and Airborne Entertainment have signed a deal on undisclosed terms to create and distribute wireless content based on several of HBO's original programming such as The Sopranos. The products will be built and launched over the next 18 months.Celtic House leads partnership to create US$80M fundCeltic House Venture Partners, the CPP Investment Board, the Ontario Municipal Employee Retirement System, the Teachers' Merchant Bank, the private equity arm of the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board and entrepreneur Terence Matthews have teamed to create a new US$80-million venture capital fund targeting the storage, telecommunications, networking and Internet infrastructure markets. The new investment will come under the Celtic House Fund II, which already includes more than 20 companies. The fund will also have the participation of an unnamed U.S. investor.Aliant makes Galaxie partnership officialAliant Telecom has announced plans to offer subscribers to its high-speed Internet service the CBC's Galaxie music network. Subscribers will be offered more than 30 channels of digital music delivered to their computer. The service will offered to DSL customers in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia at first, then eventually throughout Atlantic Canada. Aliant's director of strategy and business development, Joe Mosher, described how the Galaxie service and others fit into the company's plans to deliver secure content via DSL earlier this summer (CNM, July 10/02).Alliance numériQC offers online guide to new media firmsThe Alliance numériQC is offering a free online guide to over 1,500 multimedia and new media companies in Quebec. The guide is available at http://www.numeriqc.ca/guide.New behemoth Toronto studio launches web siteThe massive new television and film studio to be built in Toronto on the shores of Lake Ontario, the Great Lakes Studios Toronto, now has full information online following a groundbreaking ceremony on October 8. The site is at www.GreatLakesStudiosToronto.com. A corporate backgrounder on the project is available at http://www.comwebgroup.com. It was also recently announced that a new managing partner in the enterprise is The Comweb Group, headed by Paul Bronfman, president/CEO.CYOP offers new games portalVancouver-based CYOP Systems International Inc. has launched a proprietary gaming portal backed by an intensive marketing campaign to back the site. The site, SkillArcade.com, offers popular skill-based games played against other people for cash prizes. In a media release, company chair Mitch Ross states: "The games have been developed with the foresight to create a user-frendly experience without long downloads or loading times and a secure transaction system has been developed with multiple layers of security and redundancy. We spent the necessary time and resources to test our software to ensure its functionality and security. Consumer focus groups were used in the development process to guarantee that our players had an opulent experience online, and future marketing efforts will be aimed at customer service and attention."Copps offers General Publishing victims cash bailoutCanadian Heritage is offering publishers and authors affected by the demise of General Publishing Co. Ltd. assistance on a one-time basis with a total cash package of $2.5 million. Affected companies must be eligible for funding as part of the Book Publishing Industry Development Program to qualify for aid. Publishers will be able to receive up to 65% of the amount of their lost receivables as of May 16, 2002. To offset lost royalties, a fund will be set up and administered by the Writers Development Trust. Full details at http://www.canadianheritage.gc.ca/newsroom/news_e.cfm?ActionDisplay&code2N0247E.Decode wins Export awardDecode Entertainment came home Oct. 7 with the 2002 Canada Export Award for which it had been nominated (CNM, Aug. 21/02). The company also won a special achievement award in the same competition. Nine other winners were announced, including ZENON Environmental Inc., the winning Exporter of the Year. View the full list at http://www.infoexport.gc.ca/awards-prix.New data transfer record set from B.C. to EuropeVancouver's TRIUMF, working with CANARIE Inc. and Atlas Canada, has set a new record for data transference. It sent a terabyte of research data to CERN in Geneva, Switzerland in under one minute.

CNM Short Takes

Broadcast | October 16, 2002

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