CCR Short Takes

Corus to drop Category 2 digital rock music channel Edge TVCorus Entertainment Inc. announced June 12 that it has given up on its Category 2 digital channel EdgeTV. The alternative rock channel will come off the air on July 12. The decision to drop EdgeTV follows an unsuccessful appeal to the CRTC for a change in the rule that requires distributors to carry five unrelated Category 2 channels for every affiliated Category 2 channel carried. Corus is affiliated with Shaw Communications Inc. and Star Choice. EdgeTV is not carried by either of those two distributors, which reach about 1.5 million digital television households. The channel has 255,056 subscribers. Earlier this year, Shaw Communications was forced to remove Corus’ diginet Scream from its lineup because it was in breach of the commission’s five-to-one rule (CCR, Jan. 16/03). There are unaffiliated diginets that Shaw could launch that would allow it to add services like Scream, but the Calgary-based company has declined to do that. At the same time it made the EdgeTV announcement, Corus said it had inked a deal with CHUM Ltd. to cross-promote its Toronto and Vancouver alternative rock radio stations with the Toronto-based broadcaster’s digital channel MuchLOUD. Bell ExpressVu adds 26 new channels, including more HDTVBell ExpressVu LP on June 12 added 26 new channels to its lineup, including 15 that are in high-definition. Ten international and multicultural channels were also added: ATN B4U, which features Bollywood movies aired in Hindi; ATN Alpha Punjabi; ATN Tamil, featuring dramas, sitcoms, and talk shows; TV Polonia; two Polish radio stations; Odyssey 1 and 2, containing Greek programming; and two multicultural local channels, OMNI.2 and CH Montreal. As well, the Catholic news and documentary channel Eternal Word Television Network was added. The 26 channels are part of a programming expansion that will see 76 new channels added by the end of 2003 (CCR, March 13/03). Whistler Cable TV testing voice-over-IP telephone serviceWhistler Cable Television is testing voice-over-IP telephone service in the hopes of offering another local and long-distance telephone service in the resort town of Whistler BC. DTH satellite TV distributors win representation on CTF boardThe Canadian Television Fund (CTF) has established a new board seat for a representative from the direct-to-home (DTH) satellite TV distribution industry. Although DTH satellite TV distributors Star Choice Communications Inc. and Bell ExpressVu LP have added over $110 million to the CTF over the last five years as their customer bases grew, they did not previously have a say on how the fund operated. A representative is expected to be named shortly by the DTH providers. Minority French producers happy with CTF advanceOttawa-based producer Guy Charbonneau tells CCR that he’s pleased that the $12.5 million advanced from next year’s Canadian Television Fund has already started to be allocated to minority-language producers. The new sum was contributed to the CTF’s equity investment program, and according to Canadian Heritage is intended for "high-profile programming" and "productions from minority French-language communities." French-language producers outside of Quebec recently appeared before the Standing Committee on Official Languages to protest the level of funding they received from the CTF this year (CCR, June 5/03). Charbonneau was a member of that group. Canadian clone of U.S. reality TV show American Idol is big hit The premiere of CTV Inc.’s Canadian Idol, modeled after the U.S. reality TV show American Idol, was seen by 2.013 million viewers (2+) on June 9. The first episode of a 26-part series was up against game seven of the Stanley Cup final, and was not carried in New Brunswick, where the provincial election dominated the news. Diginet All Points Bulletin wants right to air local advertisingGéracitano Vincent wants the CRTC to amend the licence of his national English-language Category 2 specialty TV service All Points Bulletin and its French-language cousin Avis de Recherche (Broadcasting Public Notice 2003-32). He wants to be able to broadcast up to six minutes per hour of local or regional advertising. The licensee is currently authorized to distribute up to two minutes of national advertising an hour on both diginets. Comments on the application are due by July 21, 2003. ACTRA denounces Macerola report on Canadian contentThe Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) Toronto Performers and the Writers Guild of Canada have criticized François Macerola’s report for proposing that Canadian productions with lead foreign actors, directors and writers be considered Canadian content. Macerola delivered his report, Canadian Content in the 21st Century in Film and Television Productions: A Matter of Cultural Identity, on June 17, following 10 months of cross-country consultations with about 600 stakeholders. The report addresses the requirements that must be satisfied for a film or TV production to be considered Canadian content. The definition is used to determine access to various public support programs, such as the Canadian Television Fund and Canadian film and video production tax credit. "These recommendations call for substantial changes within Canada’s film and broadcasting sectors," commented Canadian Heritage minister Sheila Copps in a media release. See the next issue of Canadian Communications Reports for a broader look at the new definition of Canadian content proposed by Macerola.

CCR Short Takes

Broadcast | June 20, 2003

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