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Lisa Lyons has been appointed as VP and general manager of Max Trax and content distribution at Corus Television. She will lead the affiliate relations team and be responsible for all aspects of the company’s business associated with affiliate revenues as well as managing the Max Trax digital music business. She has 16 years experience launching and building successful brands and partnerships within the entertainment and media sectors, including working as VP of distribution and affiliate relations for broadcasting at Alliance Atlantis Communications from 1997 to 2000.

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ACTRA members ratify new production agreement
Canadian actors belonging to the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) voted 96% to ratify a new independent production agreement (IPA) with the Canadian Film and Television Production Association (CFTPA) and the Association of Producteurs de Film et de Télévision de Québec (APFTQ). The IPA covers all terms and conditions of employment on independent film and television productions in Canada. The agreement includes increases in minimum fees of 1%, 1.5% and 2% in the three years of the deal. It also includes an almost 9% increase in the ACTRA extra hourly rate over the term of the deal as well as a 32% increase in the cap on the producer’s maximum retirement contributions. The current IPA expires in December.

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Two recent CRTC decisions are turning the tide on the tough haul that the western-based telcos were having getting pay per view (PPV) for their digital TV services. Earlier this year, it looked as though the telcos had no feasible way of offering PPV as negotiations turned sour with Shaw Communications Inc. and Bell ExpressVu LP hadn’t initiated its terrestrial PPV licence. But the CRTC rulings have opened up both these options, obviously much to the approval of the telcos.

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CTV Inc.’s Women’s Sports Television Network (WTSN) will go off the air at the end of the month, making it the first must-carry Category 1 digital specialty service to close. The shutdown of the world’s first channel dedicated to women’s sports and athletes will result in the loss of 11 full-time jobs at CTV. Five of the positions are to be reassigned within the company, while opportunities to place the remaining six positions are being sought.

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The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. (CBC) is pressing ahead with an expansion of its pilot video-on-demand (VOD) project, which currently consists of a few theme packages of programming offered to Rogers Cable Inc. digital subscribers. Growth plans include adding the VOD content to the services of other distributors, such as Shaw Communications Inc. and Cogeco Cable Inc., as well as expanding the programming available.

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Canada’s three wireless cable operators are seeking major regulatory concessions for their TV services in their licence renewals as they struggle with the technology and larger, more successful competitors. Noting that it lost $38 million during its first licence term and saw its subscriber base in Manitoba fall from a peak of about 10,000 in 1999 to 5,251 in 2003, Craig Wireless International Inc., which operates under the Skycable name in the province, asks the CRTC to exempt multipoint distribution system (MDS) distributors from licensing.

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A new low-cost digital cable set-top box that Motorola Inc. expects to begin marketing this fall has cable operators expecting a quicker rollout of digital offerings. The Motorola DCT700 interactive set-top box will be priced at under US$100, while current digital set-top boxes can run as high as US$300 or US$400. Most cablecos end up subsidizing the cost of digital boxes to secure customers.

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