CNM Update

Director general of CCOP shifts jobsRéné Bouchard, formerly director general of Canadian Heritage’s Canadian Culture Online Program (CCOP), has been named director general of the broadcasting policy and innovation branch at Canadian Heritage. He replaces Marc O’Sullivan, who joined the CRTC as executive director of broadcasting, effective April 14 (CNM, March 21/03). A replacement for Bouchard has yet to be determined. Generations differ on downloading as theftA majority of boomers (55%) tend to agree that downloading songs from the Internet is theft, but only 31% of youth aged 12-24 agree, according to a new survey by Solutions Research Group. The same split holds for downloading movies, with 59% of boomers agreeing the practice is tantamount to theft compared to only 43% of youth. But just over half of younger Canadians agree that making copies of computer software is theft. A majority (67%) of boomers agree. The split melts at satellite piracy – 68% of boomers and 62% of Gen Y agree the practice is theft. The survey, In the Name of Cool, interviewed 1,500 Canadians 12 and older in February 2003, and is considered accurate to plus/minus 2.5 points for the population as a whole, 19 times out of 20. Feds contribute $250,000 to University of the Arctic Internet projectThe federal government announced $250,000 in further funding for the University of the Arctic on April 16, bringing total funding from Ottawa to $700,000 since June 2000. The institution is an Internet collaboration between universities and colleges in Northern Canada, Greenland and Russia. The groups share resources, facilities and expertise to build post-secondary education programs that are relevant and accessible to northern students. MIM organizers tout positive reactionMartin international, the organizers behind the recent MIM 2003 industry show in Montreal, says over 150 companies and 7,134 visitors attended the trade event, with more than 500 attending the MIMs d’Or awards night. In a media release, organizers say repositioning the event within the emerging technologies sector attracted the participation of Microsoft, Bell Mobility, Sympatico, Bell Interactif, AT&T, Tadaa Wireless, 3 Soft, Vidéotron, Xérox and more than 100 other organizations. Digital Rooster eases debt loadAdult web site builder, host and billing company Digital Rooster.com Ltd., Toronto, says that through a mix of asset sales and the conversion of shareholder advances to equity, the company has reduced its accounts payable and other liabilities by more than $500,000. Details weren’t provided in a media release regarding the sale of underperforming assets, but the company has recently shifted focus from the content side toward billing services. Digital Rooster recently announced several deals for its Avrada 1-on-1 interactive chat service (CNM, April 16/03). CAIP calls CRTC delay "unconscionable"The Canadian Association of Internet Providers (CAIP) has called the 10-month wait since it first complained to the CRTC about Shaw Communications Inc.’s advertising "unconscionable." In an April 16 letter to the telecom regulator, CAIP president Jay Thomson writes: "It has been over ten months since CAIP complained to the Commission about Shaw’s use of its local avails to advertise its Internet service contrary to it conditions of licence and despite the fact the Commission has previously ruled that Shaw could not use local avails for such a purpose." Thomson argues that the delay in bringing about action on the file is "seriously undermining the CRTC’s credibility and promoting on-going and blatant breaches of CRTC rules and regulations." CAIP asks for an immediate ruling from the commission on its complaint.

CNM Update

Broadcast | April 23, 2003

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