CCR Short Takes

Dalfen calls for more action by government against piracy CRTC chair Charles Dalfen is calling on the appropriate government agencies and departments to "continue and intensify their efforts to combat signal theft in Canada and to give full effect to the Supreme Court of Canada's unanimous April 2002 decision declaring such activity to be illegal." In a media release issued March 20, Dalfen further noted, "At the time, I remain seriously concerned about the negative impact that black market theft of satellite signals is having on the Canadian broadcasting system. …there remains a great deal of work to be done." Dalfen held informal consultations with industry players, including Bell ExpressVu LP, Star Choice Communications Inc., Rogers Communications Inc., Quebecor Inc., Shaw Communications Inc., Cogeco Inc., CHUM Ltd., Astral Media Inc., the Canadian Cable Television Association (CCTA) and the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) on the matter. He encouraged them to develop and commit to implementing specific measures to combat signal piracy. The measures were not made public as the "commercially sensitive information…could be used by those attempting to pirate signals." Each party has agreed to report at least annually to the CRTC on its efforts to eliminate signal piracy. The CRTC says it will review the industry's overall progress on signal theft in its annual Broadcasting Monitoring Report. The industry players met with the CRTC chair in December 2002.Dalfen announced his intention for discussions to explore potential courses of action in a Nov. 27, 2002 speech (CCR, Dec. 5/02). His action followed a request by the CCTA for a hearing on the security of Bell ExpressVu's system. The CRTC bypassed an opportunity to become directly involved in fighting piracy when it decided not to get involved in a CCTA complaint against CTY Telecom. Instead, it passed the file onto Industry Canada, which is responsible for the Radiocommunication Act that prohibits black and grey market activity (CCR, Oct. 24/02). After seven months of mulling over the complaint against CTY, the CRTC said it would not pursue the matter because it was outside its jurisdiction. During the CRTC process, CTY admitted to grey and black market activity, but it argued that it was not operating as an unlicensed broadcast distributor because it didn't have uplink facilities. CanWest disputes Toronto Star claim on its arts reporting CanWest Global Communications Corp. denies allegations made in a Toronto Star column by Antonia Zerbisias that the broadcaster's CanWest News Service (CNS) initiative is actually an exercise in job cutting. In a media release issued March 19, CanWest president Gordon Fisher stated, "Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, CNS has created five new positions that will expand national reporting on film, television and pop music/pop culture. As a result, all our newspapers will have greater flexibility to assign experienced arts reporters to the local cultural scene. We will also provide regular, at least weekly, coverage of Canadian movies, something not currently available in the Canadian media." He added that the new positions would result in more coverage of Canadian culture. "They have the potential to become national stars with opportunities to perform their work for national television while also receiving national coverage for their articles in CanWest newspapers," Fisher said. CBC to focus on programming to remain distinct: Rabinovitch Canadian Broadcasting Corp. president and CEO Robert Rabinovitch says the public broadcaster will focus on programming as it evolves in an increasingly competitive and fragmented broadcasting environment. Speaking March 20 before the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal, he said, "Midway through my mandate, what has been accomplished? Our commitment to maintaining a public space and a distinctive Canadian voice in a world dominated by foreign programming is unwavering. …Clearly, all of our efforts must be focused on programming. It must be designed, developed and produced with all Canadians in mind." Family Channel to return to Vidéotron systems April 1 The Family Channel will return to Vidéotron ltée cable systems in Quebec after the cableco resolved a dispute with broadcaster Astral Media Inc. The specialty channel, owned by Astral, will be back in the cableco's lineup on April 1. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Astral pulled the channel off Vidéotron's cable systems in November, claiming that the Quebecor Inc.-owned cable company had paid only half of what it owed for the channel since April (CCR Update, Nov. 13/02). Bill banning compulsory Internet retransmission in force As expected, the bill that makes it illegal for new media companies to take advantage of compulsory licensing to retransmit conventional TV signals over the Internet came into force on March 21. Bill C-11, an Act to amend the Copyright Act, applies to companies operating under the CRTC's 1999 New Media Exemption Order. "Starting today, Canadian broadcasters and producers of Canadian programs can count on the clear provisions in the Copyright Act. In a constantly changing technological environment, the government of Canada has ensured that the Act will contribute to widening Canadians' experience and enhancing their cultural diversity, while offering fair remuneration to creators," Canadian Heritage minister Sheila Copps said in a March 21 media release. As a result of the implementation of the bill, companies looking to use the Internet as an alternative to cable and satellite TV distribution will have to negotiate with broadcasters to carry their signals, or obtain a broadcast distribution undertaking lice nce from the CRTC. FTQ union members ratify agreement with Vidéotron Members of the West Quebec division of the Syndicat canadien de la fonction publique (FTQ) voted 77.6% to accept an agreement in principle worked out with Vidéotron ltée. Another 370 unionized employees, belonging to the East Quebec division of the union, are due to meet in Quebec to vote on the deal. The cable technicians went on strike in May 2002, about four months after their contract expired. Sympatico.ca to bring concerts by JUNO nominees online Sympatico.ca and HP Canada are producing and hosting a series of four online concerts from JUNO-nominated artists. Following an appearance on the CTV Inc. show Open Mike with Mike Bullard, the artists will perform an exclusive set before a private studio that will then be streamed online at junos.ctv.ca. All concerts will be archived and available on-demand until April 30. Rogers gets OMNI.2 extension The CRTC has granted Rogers Cable Inc. an extension to Sept. 13, 2003 to distribute OMNI.2 as a distant Canadian signal on basic cable (Broadcasting Decision 2003-99). Look planning shareholder rights offering to raise funds Look Communications Inc. announced March 26 that it is planning a rights offering to its shareholders that is expected to raise between $20 million and $25 million. The move will entitle shareholders to each obtain additional common shares of Look. The company says it will use the proceeds to expand its network and customer base, and for general corporate purposes. The additional shares in Look will also provide some protection to its current shareholders from a hostile takeover. Craig Wireless International Inc. purchased 7.2 million common shares in the company from a third party to raise its stake to 29.9% with the possibility of expanding the stake to 32.5%. Look said it was not in merger talks with Craig, although Craig Wireless CEO Boyd Craig indicated that he'd be interesting in combining his company's Western Canadian operations with Look's Eastern Canadian operations (CCR, Jan. 30/03). Shaw sells Business TV unit Shaw Communications Inc. has sold its Star Choice Business Television unit for an undisclosed amount. It was sold to unit founder Larry Steinman, Star Choice founding chair Brian Neill and a group of private equity investors. "The divestiture of Star Choice Business Television remains consistent with our company's decision to focus on our core operating divisions," Shaw Communications president Peter Bissonnette said in a media release. The unit allows for people to communicate simultaneously with multiple locations. Banff TV Foundation expanding The Banff Television Foundation announced March 20 that it would be operating two more industry events. It will take on the management of News World, an independent forum of the international news industry, and launch the first World Congress of Arts Producers and Performance. The World Congress of Arts Producers and Performance will be an annual forum for arts professionals to share ideas and discuss key issues and trends. The first edition takes places November 5-8 at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa ON. The Banff Television Foundation has been licensed by Media Ventures, which has run News World since 1995, to manage that event beginning in 2003. It will be held October 21-23 in Dublin, Ireland.

CCR Short Takes

Broadcast | March 27, 2003

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