CNM Update

Smiley Guy joins convergence ranksThe Comedy Network has picked up six episodes of a new Flash animation show and related web content from Toronto’s Smiley Guy Studios. The project is dubbed "Odd Job Jack," which The Comedy Network is calling the world’s first "sit.com." It stars Don McKellar, Dave Foley, Gary Farmer and Matthew Ferguson. Beyond a February 6 media release announcing the show, Canadian NEW MEDIA expects several developments to be announced between now and a full story to be published next week in our full newsletter. The show has seen several iterations from its initial roots in the Canadian Film Centre, and was developed with significant help from both the Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund and Telefilm Canada. Molson is playing a key sponsorship role. Key executives from both the network and Smiley Guy will explain the reasoning behind the deal, and how the site will evolve, in next week’s full issue of Canadian NEW MEDIA. Judge rules in favour of election lawThe Canadian Press reports that B.C. provincial court judge Kerry Smith ruled February 11 that posting election results on a web site while polls are still open in that province violates the Elections Act. Paul Bryan of Coquitlam is charged with doing so during the 2000 federal election, but argued that his Charter right to freedom of expression protected his action. Smith disagreed, ruling that the government’s right to make laws reasonably limiting those freedoms renders the Elections Act acceptable. With the constitutional question settled, Bryan’s case will now be heard at trial. Digital media and entertainment being driven by 16 companies: In-Stat/MDRResearch firm In-Stat/MDR finds that just 12 media conglomerates and four "key influencers" are driving the global market for digital media and entertainment. The largest of the media giants, AOL Time Warner accounts for 22.4% of the group’s value, while Disney, Viacom, and Vivendi Universal each account for about 10%, according to the firm’s new report, Top Dozen Worldwide Media Mega Companies Plus Four Influences. The firm identifies mergers and acquisitions as the key trend among the group, which also includes Sony, News Corp., Cox Enterprises and Bertelsmann. The four influencers identified by In-Stat/MDR are the British Broadcasting Corporation, NKH in Japan, PBS in the U.S., and Microsoft. According to the firm’s research, these four companies "have a strong influence on the media industry." Bell ExpressVu buys ExtendMedia ITV applicationSatellite TV operator Bell ExpressVu LP is now carrying a new interactive television (ITV) application created by Toronto’s ExtendMedia – I Lottery. The application allows for quick access to winning numbers for national, regional and provincial lotteries across the country. Within 15 minutes of winning numbers being drawn, they will be available through the service. Further, the application will also allow subscribers to generate random numbers. The new service is being provided to subscribers for $0.50 a month, with two months free to new users. A media release indicates that the same pricing plan has proven extremely successful for Bell ExpressVu’s other ITV applications. New dubbing technology enjoys broad funding, research supportMontreal-based Ryshco Media has launched a new post-synch and dubbing product called dubStudio to digitize and automate that process. A long list of research and industry partners were involved, including the Centre de recherche informatique de Montreal, the National Research Council’s Industrial Research Assistance Program, the Economic Development Agency of Canada, the Corporation to support digital imaging projects for film, the Alliance numériQC, Quebec’s Ministry of Industry and Commerce, la Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec, the Inno-centre, and others. The firm includes principals Jocelyne Côté and Howard Ryshpan; Gaétan Lussier, former president of Culinar and Weston-Quebec; Pierre Raymond, formerly an associate at Stikeman Elliott; and Pierre Carrier, former president of Roctest. Nominations open for Canadian New Media AwardsNominations for the fourth annual Canadian New Media Awards, to be held in Toronto in May, will open shortly. This year’s show will be produced not by Delvinia Inc., but by CANEMA Inc., a federally-registered non-profit company formed in April 2002. But the event hasn’t moved far from its roots. Adam Froman, Warren Coughlin, Sam Punnett and Bill Sweetman – who formed the core of Delvinia until its very recent personnel (CNM Update, Jan. 15/03) are listed as directors of the company. Nominations for all categories open on February 17, and will close on March 31. Visit http://www.cnma.ca for further details. 2003 events/conferencesThe following items were recently added to our Calendar of Events: April 1-3, Bordeaux, France: 8th International Conference on Intelligence in Next Generation Networks February 18-21, Cannes, France: 3GSM Congress World April 27-29, Toronto: Canadian Cable Television Association’s Cable Summit April 27-May 1, Ottawa: Global Standards Collaboration October 5-8, Halifax: Association of Public Safety Communications Officials of Canada conference March 5-7, Ottawa: 2003 UTC Canadian Utility Telecom Conference March 7-11, Austin TX: SXSW Interactive Festival and Conference March 26-29, Toronto: digifest 2003 Electronic Cities April 5, Montreal: Canadian Telecommunications Consultants Association Conference – Spring 2003 May 29-30, Calgary: Wireless Connections 2003 Decima Publishing maintains one of the most comprehensive events listing for information and communications technology professionals with full information available at the click of your mouse. Visit frequently to stay abreast of new listings.

CNM Update

Broadcast | February 12, 2003

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